The Miner Rundown: Football Battles #8 Texas, Volleyball Bounces Back
Blink and you’ll miss it—we’re over a month into the 2025 fall sports season at UTEP! Welcome to the fifth edition of the Miner Rundown, catching you up on all the weekend action.
Football Falls to #8 Texas 27-10
“No moral victories” was the mantra among Miner fans this weekend, but as head coach Scotty Walden noted, “There is such a thing as perspective.” UTEP, a +41-point underdog, battled #8 Texas in Austin, ultimately falling 27-10—less than half the expected margin.
The Arch Manning led Longhorns struggled against UTEP’s defense, which forced 10 straight Manning incompletions at one point. The Miners trailed just 7-3 with under a minute left in the first half, having held Texas to 2-of-5 on fourth-down attempts. Unfortunately for UTEP, Texas scored a critical touchdown with one second remaining in the half put UTEP down 14-3.
The Miner defense limited Manning to 5-of-16 passing for under 60 yards in the first half. In a clash of former five-star quarterbacks, both Manning and UTEP’s Malachi Nelson threw two interceptions with zero passing touchdowns and under 100 yards each at halftime.
Coming out of the half, Texas found momentum and scored 13 unanswered points to put them up 27-3 with ten minutes left in the game.
Down 24, UTEP responded when Franklin High School graduate QB Shay Smith fought for a two-yard touchdown run, set up by a 43-yard reception from Trevon Tate. Tate, a former Division II standout, had a career day and finished with six receptions for 64 yards.
UTEP now returns to the Sun Bowl this Saturday for their final non-conference game against Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks, 1-1, are coming off a bye week.
Volleyball Splits Power Four Matchups, Sweeps Others
UTEP volleyball experienced a rare setback, getting swept at home by #24 UCLA in front of a sold-out Memorial Gym crowd to open the Sun City Classic. The Bruins dominated the first set, and despite UTEP leading midway through the second, UCLA wore down Ben Wallis’ squad to take the second and third sets.
The loss stung for a Miner team accustomed to winning, but is all to familiar with tough losses at home, like last year’s CUSA semifinal loss to NMSU and the 2023 NIVC final loss to Wichita State.
The question arose: Can UTEP win big games?
The Miners answered emphatically, traveling to Tucson and defeating Arizona in four sets. The Wildcats, last year’s NIVC champions, were no match for UTEP’s dominance. The victory improved UTEP’s record to 8-1.
The Miners now head to the Stephen F. Austin tournament in Nacogdoches, where they’ll face #10 SMU on Friday for another shot at a ranked opponent.
Soccer Falls to Arizona State
Fresh off a signature road win over Boise State, UTEP soccer faced a formidable Big 12 opponent in Arizona State. The Sun Devils, off to a 6-0-1 start—one of their best in years—proved to be UTEP’s toughest challenge yet.
Arizona State’s Cameron Valladares scored in the 12th minute to take a 1-0 lead. UTEP’s defense held firm, and Ana Quintero tied the game at 1-1 in the 54th minute. However, the Sun Devils pulled away, scoring three goals in 25 minutes to win 4-1, marking their best start in 25 years.
UTEP, now 3-5-1, shifts focus to conference play after a rollercoaster non-conference schedule. Can the Miners contend for a CUSA title?
Cross Country wins Lobo Invitational
UTEP's men cross country squad took first place this past weekend at the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, while the women finished second.
The Miners edged out their rival NMSU to win the team title with 25 points.
Eastwood graduate Andrés Gurrola finished second overall with a personal best time of 15:13.67 to lead the Miners.
Coronado graduate Luis Pastor, senior Paul Rotich, and Americas graduate Carmelo Corral all finished in the top 10.
New head coach Francesca Green and her team will now prepare for the Davy Murray Invitational in Tucson next weekend. Green previously coached at Arizona for over a decade prior to becoming the head coach at UTEP.