EL PASO- Even as the UTEP Miners have struggle through a winless season, the effort and the resolve had been there. It was there again on Saturday night, but as has been the case most of the season, they could not sustain it. UTEP struggled offensively, mustering just 243 yards of offense, and UTSA made enough plays to pull out a 31-14 win to drop the Miners to 0-8 on the season.
“That wasn’t very good,” UTEP interim head coach Mike Price said following the game, “We played hard but we didn’t play very smart. The team who makes the fewest mistakes usually wins. No question about it, we just made some plays that came back and hurt us.”
The Miners struggled on offense early, going three and out on consecutive possessions to start the game. In the end, UTSA only managed to kick a 20-yard field goal on their first possession of the opening quarter to make it 3-0.
The Miners showed some promise on their next drive, moving the ball 57 yards before quarterback Zack Greenlee was intercepted by Nate Gaines to end the drive. UTSA cashed in the turnover for points as senior quarterback Dalton Sturm marched down the field and led an 80-yard drive capped off by a Jalen Rhodes 17-yard touchdown run to make it 10-0.
UTSA would take advantage of another Miner three-and-out and struck quickly, as Sturm found Kerry Thomas Jr. for a 46-yard touchdown to make it 17-0. It was the pass of the night from the signal caller, who would finish with 188 yards passing on the night and it looked like it would be a runaway for the Roadrunners. The Miners had other plans.
UTEP running back Josh Fields ran for his first collegiate touchdown Saturday night in the loss to UTSA. (Photo: Tony Venegas/TexasHSFootball.com)
Greenlee took UTEP down on their next drive and broke through with a 6-yard touchdown run. It was the Miners first points in nearly two full games. The defense would give UTEP another break as cornerback Justin Rogers intercepted a deflected pass from Sturm. UTEP would move quickly and former El Paso Americas star Josh Fields would get his first collegiate touchdown to make it 17-14 and stay that way heading into the locker room.
“I thought we had a real chance in the first half to win and the defense was playing well enough to win,” Price said, “But, we’re just not a very good second half team and we just have to quit making mistakes like that that cost us.”
That burst of offense was short lived. After each team punted on their opening possession, the Roadrunners did not speed away. Rather, they pounded the ball on a 17-play, 85-yard drive capped off by a second Rhodes touchdown run from a yard out to make it 24-14.
And as was the case for the Miners in the season, they couldn’t transition that offensive success into the second half. A host of penalties and incompletions led to the Miners accumulating just 65 yards of total offense in the second half. That struggle showed itself in the fourth quarter UTSA cornerback Devron Davis intercepted a Greenlee pass and took it back 22 yards to ice the game away at 31-14.
The Miner defense had actually held UTSA below their season average 458.7 yards per game but it simply wasn’t enough.
UTSA running back Jalen Rhodes (5) ran for two touchdowns in UTSA’s 31-14 win over UTEP. (File Photo: Gordon DeLoach/TexasHSFootball.com)
“It gets frustrating,” UTEP defensive back Kalon Beverly said after the game, “We just have to look past it and keep moving forward.”
With four games left, the Miners are still searching for that elusive first win. The team believes they can do that, but know they have to be better.
“We just have to execute better,” Fields said, “We also have to stay together and believe in what Coach Price says. There’s still fight in this team and especially for the seniors, we’re going to stick to it in the end.”
The Miners will get another chance next Saturday when they travel east to take on Middle Tennessee.
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