The Lobos returned to University Stadium after routing the New Mexico State Aggies and dominated the UTEP Miners in a 61-7 win.
The game began with a massive play from the Lobo offense when quarterback Toa Fa’avae had a quick completion to running back Kiefer Sibley downfield for 32 yards, but the offense sputtered and the Lobos turned the ball over on downs after failing on fourth-and-2.
The Miners tried to take advantage of the error by New Mexico, but an illegal touching call on their own fourth down gamble set the Lobos up at midfield, proceeding to make El Paso pay. Fa’avae’s passing quickly moved the Lobos into the red zone, after which quarterback James Laubstein checked into the game and ran the ball in from 14 yards out for a touchdown, allowing the Lobos to strike first and lead the game 7-0.
An unnecessary roughness penalty called on Miners special teamer Royce Wilson during the ensuing kickoff backed UTEP up deep in their own territory. The Lobo defense quickly forced a three-and-out, highlighted by a second down sack from Lobo defensive end Darren Agu to put the ball back in the hands of the Lobo offense, who came through after a balanced drive ending with Fa’avae finding tight end Cade Keith for a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 Lobos.
The Lobo defense continued to show off as the next Miner drive saw UTEP quarterback EJ Colson Jr. get sacked by defensive tackle Jalen McIver. Colson then promptly threw an interception to cornerback Ormanie Arnold.
Once again, the Lobo offense wasted no time capitalizing on this opportunity to take a three-possession lead; three snaps after the interception, Fa’avae launched the ball deep downfield and found wide receiver Bailen George for a massive 52-yard touchdown to extend the Lobos’ lead to 21-0.
The Lobo offense got one more chance to score before the end of the half but Fa’avae threw an interception to Miner safety Kode Lowe in the red zone to lead the game into halftime.
“I had a bad play, my first interception of the season, but it was good to know that my defense and the rest of the team had my back,” Fa’avae said.
The Lobos came out of the break aggressively as they attempted an onside kick on the second half kickoff. New Mexico failed to recover the ball, but just three plays later, Miner quarterback Raymond Moore III threw an interception to Lobo safety Austin Brawley, who took it 65 yards to the house to make it 28-0. This was the first pick-six for the Lobos since these two teams last met in 2022.
“I saw the quarterback just kind of lofted the ball into the air and I just had to attack it and make a play, and the rest was history,” Brawley said.
The Lobo domination in all phases of the game continued after another defensive stop from the Lobos forced a Miner punt that Brawley blocked. The Lobo punt return unit tried to recover the ball in the endzone but it was kicked away for a safety, making it a 30-0 Lobo lead.
This was the first blocked punt for the Lobos since Oct. 31, 2009, ending the longest streak of games without a blocked punt in the NCAA.
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“I see a lot of times guys take special teams plays off and you just have to take advantage of your moment every single time,” Brawley said.
The Lobos were not done as their next offensive drive displayed a balanced attack, ending with Fa’avae spotting George open in the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown — Fa’avae’s third passing touchdown of the day — to make it 37-0.
Things did not get better for UTEP as the New Mexico defense continued to terrorize Moore III, who threw another interception, this time to cornerback Jahmir Torres. This led to another balanced offensive drive for the Lobos that ended with New Mexico giving the ball to Scottre Humphrey at the 1-yard line for a touchdown to make it 44-0.
The Miners would not be shut out, as they eventually did get on the board when Moore III made UTEP history with an 86-yard run for a touchdown, the longest rushing touchdown for a quarterback in the school’s history, to move the score to 44-7.
The Lobos quickly got those points back as the third play of the ensuing drive saw running back Cameron Matthews break free for a 54-yard rushing touchdown.
The Lobo defense resecured the ball in no time when defensive tackle Jake Devos recovered a fumble forced by linebacker Mercury Swaim. The offense was unable to capitalize with a touchdown, but a field goal from kicker Grant Glasgow made it 54-7.
On the next drive, the defense put an exclamation point on the dominant showing for the Lobos when defensive end Brett Karhu forced a fumble that was taken back into the end zone by Devos to get the game to its final score of 61-7 .
In the end, New Mexico had 4 sacks and forced 5 turnovers — their largest margin of victory in a Mountain West win since defeating San Diego State 70-7 in 2008.
The Lobos now get a well-earned bye week before they head to Honolulu to play the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
“I think this bye week falls at a good time, it gives us extra time to prepare for Hawaii and with no classes for fall break, it’ll be a good mental break for the guys,” Head Coach Jason Eck said.
Marley Herndon is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
