One thing was guaranteed Wednesday night. One of the two Texas-based Conference USA programs would feel a sense of relief, picking up its first FBS victory in the midst of a difficult 2025 season.
The UTEP
Miners traveled from one end of the state to the other to battle the Sam Houston Bearkats in Weekday CUSA action. And the 750-mile trip proved well worth it for the Miners. In front of a barren Shell Energy Stadium crowd of 4,657 — due to Sam Houston playing its games 70 miles south of campus in downtown Houston — UTEP created noise for itself in a 35-17 victory over Sam Houston to snap a 4-game losing skid.
“It speaks to the growth of our program,” UTEP head coach Scotty Walden said. “Last year these guys got after us really, really good at home. For us to go on the road and get a big-time road win, it means a ton to our program. It talks about the growth we’re having. We needed to play complementary football, and that’s what we did tonight. Offense played off the defense and defense played off the offense. That was really, really fun to watch. It wasn’t just the score. It was how we won with physicality and effort in that fourth quarter.”
The result was largely shaped by a bizarre special teams sequence in the fourth quarter. Ahead 21-17, UTEP’s 45-yard field goal attempt was rejected at the line of scrimmage by Sam Houston. The Bearkats couldn’t capitalize off the block and quickly suffered a three-and-out, punting the ball back to the Miners. However, that punt was muffed and recovered by Sam Houston at the UTEP 7-yard line. Sam Houston was in prime position to capture its first lead since the opening quarter, but a feisty Miner defense forced a 4th and goal at the 5. The Bearkats sent the kicking unit onto the field, and UTEP returned the favor by blocking the field goal with 10:29 remaining.
“The momentum was shifting a lot in the game, so we knew we had to grab it back,” said inside linebacker Micah Davey, who totaled 14 tackles including 13 solo. “The DC and the rest of our defensive staff always say, ‘When your back’s against the wall, there’s only one way to go, and that’s forward.’ I feel like we did a great job of doing that.”
UTEP notched two touchdowns in the five minutes that followed the blocked field goal in the other direction, sealing its largest victory over FBS competition since 2022.
“It’s not just about getting the win, it’s how we won,” Walden said. “To me speaks a lot to the mental toughness and mental growth of this team. In the past, I think we would have let that game get back into their favor. We bowed our neck. We made some critical mistakes. We had a field goal blocked. We muffed a punt. But good teams find a way to overcome those things and that’s what we’re building here in UTEP is a football team that can compete in any situation.”
The Miners posted 35 points in total, marking their most against an FBS opponent all season. After scoring 11 or fewer in three of its last four games, they were in desperate need of offensive ignition, and lighting the flame was quarterback Skyler Locklear. Locklear was the primary option in 2024 but didn’t earn his first start of this season until last Wednesday. He completed 21-of-26 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 48 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the side.
“It felt awesome,” Locklear said. “I went out there with confidence, and I can have confidence because my guys are really good. It makes it pretty easy to have confidence. I just give a lot of props to the o-line, to the run game, and my receivers allowing me to feel confident throwing the ball, and I know they’re gonna make plays.”
One discrepancy between the CUSA rivals guiding UTEP to victory was fourth down execution. Sam Houston finished 0-of-4 on fourth downs — three 4th and 2s and one last-ditch 4th and 10. Meanwhile, the Miners converted 2-of-3 tries as Locklear fooled the entire Sam Houston defense on a 4th and goal naked bootleg in the second quarter — establishing a 14-7 lead that would never be matched or relinquished.
“Last week we gave up four out of five against Liberty on fourth down,” Walden said. “We really talked about it, because we have a really good third down defense. Coming into the game we were top-5 in America in third down defense. Teams are not just gonna drop back and pass against us. They’re gonna run, try to throw in the quick game, try to get in a fourth and manageable. And our defense did a fantastic job of bowing up on fourth down and getting off the field.”
Adversity struck for Sam Houston in the second quarter as it lost starting quarterback Hunter Watson due to injury in the late second quarter. Watson, who has dealt with a share of injuries in his two seasons with the Bearkats, went to the locker room for examination and did not return until the middle of the third quarter — donning sunglasses and street clothes.
“I know they did not clear him to play in the second half,” Sam Houston head coach Phil Longo said. “I am not exactly sure what the final diagnosis was.”
Watson was replaced by Mabrey Mettauer, who attempted to lead the Sam Houston rally. Mettauer’s screen to Lonnie Adkism in the late third quarter touchdown sliced the deficit to 21-17, but without their starting quarterback, the Bearkats only collected 14 combined yards in the three drives that followed. Landyn Locke entered for the final drive as Longo utilized three quarterbacks in the team’s seventh-straight defeat.
“Last week we did a good job offensively and defensively of marrying — playing what everybody calls complementary football. That was why we were in a position to win the game last week,” Longo said. “That’s what you need. You need the sides feeding off each other. We stalled out a little bit when Hunter did not come back out. We had two three-and-outs or three three-and-outs, and that hurt us a little bit. We were playing good complementary football when we were controlling the football and controlling the line of scrimmage. That changed a little bit when we last our starter. That wasn’t necessarily Mabrey’s fault, but the rhythm just wasn’t the same.”
The Wednesday night affair was no stranger to bizarre moments. The aforementioned fourth quarter flurry of special teams fiascos was one. In the first half, an absurd stretch involved three possession changes in three plays — although no points were produced from the chaos. Sam Houston stuffed UTEP on a Shay Smith 4th and 1 QB sneak at the Miners’ 31-yard line. The following play, UTEP nickel Kode Lowe jarred the ball out of Landan Brown’s hands, and the pigskin flew into the hands of Ekow Taylor who raced down to the Sam Houston 7-yard line. The Bearkats snatched the ball right back as Locklear threw across his body to Sam Houston cornerback Emon Allen right before the goal line.
“I’m a playmaker and I have confidence in that, but I also have to know when our defense gets a big turnover like that, we need to capitalize on that,” Locklear said. “It’s in my hands to protect the ball and lead the team to points.”
But through all the craziness, UTEP (2-5, 1-2 CUSA) found a way to collect its first road win of 2025 while winless Sam Houston (0-7, 0-4 CUSA) was eliminated from bowl contention. The Miners cited the offense and defense coming together as a team as the impetus for their Wednesday night success in downtown Houston, and they’ll look to build on the most dominant FBS win of the Walden era as final stretch of the regular season approaches.
“There’s not a 1-5 team in America that’s practicing the way we’re practicing,” Walden said. “Guys are bringing it every day striving to get better, and if we keep our practices intense, competitive, and detail, and we hold the standard in everything we do, then we can continue to grow off this. Right now our bye week’s coming at a perfect time to get healthy, and we’re gonna ride this wave of momentum the last few games of the year.”
