The Miners fall to 0-6 after a 44-17 loss to Western Kentucky and will next face FIU

The UTEP football team's early schedule wasn't particularly conducive to a fast start to Scotty Walden's tenure, and the road trip to Western Kentucky always seemed to be the low point of the opening game.

Well, hopefully it was. The good news after a 44-17 loss to a much better 4-2 Hilltoppers team is that the schedule actually gets easier for the now 0-6 Miners, starting next week at home with 2-4 Florida International.

As for the contest leading up to it, Western Kentucky was supposed to defeat the Miners, and it did. Aside from an early 76-yard passing game – 70 of which came on a run after Kenny Odom's catch – and a good start to the second half, UTEP didn't seem to know what it wanted to do on offense other than switch quarterbacks Cade McConnell to Skyler Locklear after McConnell injured his wrist.

The Miners moved the ball offensively behind Locklear in the second half when they were down by several points, and WKU lost interest a little but never really got back into the game. Ezell Jolly rushed for 119 yards in his first start, but calling for improvement in the second half is a curve ball. The Miners scored three offensive points in the final three and a half quarters.

The beleaguered defense couldn't stop the run and failed to get off the field on fourth down, a devastating combination of no-goes. Their big early play was an interception in the red zone when Lantz Russell grabbed a ball that true freshman linebacker Stratton Shufelt hit, but UTEP returned it a few plays later in a first-quarter interception that led to McConnell's injury led and he left it to Lockler.

UTEP's first half included this 76-yard catch-and-run and 60 yards on the other 24 plays of the first half.

In that crucial first half, WKU averaged 5.3 yards per carry and went 4 of 4 on fourth down en route to 482 total yards. The Miners tied the game 0-3 on fourth down.

If UTEP ultimately emerges as a winner, the Miners could very well call the start of the second half a turning point that will be a talking point in the coming week.

The Miners came out of the locker room with a 100-yard kickoff return by Corey Wren and then got a defensive stop. When Locklear led the Miners with a 57-yard field goal drive, UTEP was down 27-17 with 5:29 left in the third quarter.

Western Kentucky already has a championship caliber team, and in a few weeks the Hilltoppers probably won't remember what happened next, but that's exactly what championship teams do. WKU restored order with a 75-yard, three-play touchdown drive, got the ball back on downs at midfield and traveled 52 yards to regain the lead, 41-17.

From there, UTEP managed a little more offense, but going 0-6 always seemed like a likely way this game would end, and that's how it ended.

Next up is UTEP football

The Miners have a six-day season before returning to the Sun Bowl to face Florida International. Kickoff on Wednesday, October 16th will take place at 7 p.m. and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at [email protected]; @Bretbloomquist on X

The Miners fall to 0-6 after a 44-17 loss to Western Kentucky and will next face FIU

ByVanessa

Next up is UTEP football

By Vanessa

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