The process of rebuilding or -- in UTEP's case -- building a winning program has shown to be messy since the arrival of Dana Dimel.

In a sport that requires as many athletes to fill the team as it does, the building process is one that requires patience and a tolerance for growing pains.

Louisiana Tech showed up to the Sun Bowl Saturday -- having received seven votes in the Coaches Poll and two votes in the AP Top 25 -- and dismantled the Miners 42-21 by seizing the opportunity created by UTEP mistakes.

Despite an impressive and skilled performance throwing the ball, Kai Locksley lost two fumbles that decided the game's point disparity. Locksley couldn't handle a shotgun snap as he subsequently failed to pick up the ball -- trying to make a play -- before a Bulldog defender beat him to the dive. The second fumble came when the Miners were driving, and Locksley lost the ball as he tried to power through for more yards.

J'Mar Smith had a video-game performance, going 29-of-35 for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Cee Jay Miles (85 yards) and Justin Henderson (73 yards) benefited from Smith's brilliance with 6 receptions each. Henderson led the Bulldogs in rushing with 65 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 carries, and Israel Tucker followed with 56 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries.

Kai Locksley's strong game passing totaled 227 yards and a touchdown off a 17-of-30 performance plus a rushing touchdown. Treyvon Hughes led the Miners in rushing yards with 60 and a touchdown off 13 carries, but Josh Fields shone with a 30-yard run that contributed to a 7-carry, 52-yard finish.

Jacob Cowing caught a 54-yard touchdown to lead the Miners with 70 yards on two catches, Justin Garrett caught 5 passes for 60 yards, and Tre'shon Wolf caught 4 for 44 yards.

After the teams exchanged punts from kickoff, LA Tech used an 8-play, 73-yard drive that gave them a 7-0 lead with 7:41 in the 1st quarter. Capped by a 5-yard Treyvon Hughes TD run, a 12-play drive going 84 yards tied the game and was a tone setter -- UTEP making a point that they could play up to the Bulldogs' level.

As the 2nd-quarter clock read 9:45, Louisiana Tech scored the next touchdown on a 9-yard pass to Malik Stanley. As the Miners continued to make the plays on the way to creating a back-and-forth game, Kai Locksley mishandled a high snap and made the 50/50 decision to make a play instead of falling on the ball.

The game changer.

Louisiana Tech went on to score five unanswered touchdowns for a 42-7 lead with 2:07 in the 3rd quarter.

UTEP showed up in the 4th quarter with an aggression that should have been expressed from the start of the game. Kai Locksley finished a 15-play, 81-yard drive at 7:11, then Locksley threw a 54-yard touchdown to Jacob Cowing as the clock read 2:51 -- making the score look more respectable than how the game unfolded.

Justin Rogers became the first Miner since the great Quintin Demps to intercept a pass all four years as a Miner