What UTEP did right against Texas Southern as a 25 1/2-point favorite was the most tangible of things. The Miners won 51-10 in front of 24,580, and that's a good place to start. They won't be 0-12 this year, and for huge parts of the game, didn't look like a 1-11 team either.
They got touchdowns on consecutive third quarter offensive snaps from brothers Cash and Carver Cheeks, which surely is some kind of impossible-to-look-up history.
They charged home, starting from when they came from behind in the last half of the second quarter and suddenly played like they were supposed to in all phases as they scored the most points in the three-year Scotty Walden era. The special teams and kicker Carlos Arreola were almost flawless. The Miners covered
that huge spread that was the biggest in at least two decades.
Miners start slow, speed up
Was that enough to allay concerns from a 20-minute stretch of the game in the first half when Texas Southern looked like the superior team? Was that an extended hiccup that showed the Miners' resilience and ability to adjust, or was that an omen of what happens when superior teams from the Mountain West arrive on the schedule in three weeks?
Those question will become clear soon enough, but UTEP takes a win and a .500 record to Michigan, which in that two dimensions is all that could have been expected.
This one, though, was a struggle for a bit. Trailing 10-7 with 5:30 in the second quarter and lucky it wasn't worse, at one point trailing 28-4 in snaps from scrimmage, UTEP scored five straight touchdowns and got six straight three-and-outs or better (there was a first-down turnover forced in there) in less than 15 minutes of game time and suddenly was at full gallop.
They wore down Texas Southern, as an FCS should do to a mediocre FBS, and took advantage. This wasn't a wire-to-wire win, but UTEP began to identify some strengths as the game went on.
CJ Colson, Tavorus Jones, Shay Smith shine
Quarterback CJ Colson showed the leadership and toughness he showed at Oklahoma, as he ran the ball 10 times, but he also displayed his arm, starting with a perfect 83-yard bomb to Kam Thomas on the first Sun Bowl snap of the season. He finished 14 of 21 for 239 yards with four touchdowns before giving way to Raymond Moore III to mop up the rout.
The offensive line and running back Tavorus Jones (16 carries for 104 yards), a Burges alum, started slowly, and that is undoubtedly a concern with Michigan next, but seemed to adjust and take over as they should have earlier. However, even in the second half there were some issues protecting Colson that Michigan will magnify.
UTEP didn't turn the ball over, the first time that's happened in the Sun Bowl since the second game of the 2024 season.
Defense dominates after slow start
The defense gave up 137 yards on Texas Southern's first three possessions and 19 on the next six while forcing two turnovers. Franklin alum Shay Smith recovered a fumble forced by Sterling Miles and Esteban Guillory had an interception right after UTEP went up 14-10 that enabled the Miners to lead 21-10 at the half.
By the end of a dominant third quarter (21-0), the score looked like UTEP wanted it to.
There were some dicey moments, though. Texas Southern went on two early sustained scoring drives, creating big holes and finding seams in the Miner secondary when they threw it, and sandwiching those around an anemic Miners three-and-out where the offensive line struggled. Texas Southern converted five of its first six third downs (then none of its next seven), enabling it to take that 28-4 lead in offensive plays run.
Then the game changed, UTEP pounced when it smelled blood, and soon enough could starting thinking about Michigan.
Up next
UTEP gets its next swing at the biggest upset in school history when it travels to Michigan's Big House to take on the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. The 1:30 p.m. MT/3:30 p.m. ET (local) kickoff will be televised on the Big 10 Network.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP turns early deficit into runaway win before Michigan trip
