UTEP found some early life in Lincoln on Saturday, but ultimately, the Miners didn't quite have the firepower to contend for an upset win in the inaugural game of Scotty Walden's tenure.
At the end of the first quarter, UTEP and Nebraska were all square at 7-7, but the Huskers remained in control from there, as they scored the game's final 33 points to coast to a 40-7 victory.
Vaunted freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola paced a steady Nebraska offense, going 19-of-28 for 238 yards and a pair of TD's. The first of those touchdown passes broke the malaise of what was a 9-7 game to that point, as Raiola connected with Isaiah Neyor for a 59-yard score in the second quarter. That came just seconds after Nebraska had taken the lead with a safety, stuffing UTEP running back Jevon Jackson in his own end zone.
Dante Dowdell staked the Huskers to an early lead with a 5-yard touchdown run, but the Miners answered in expedient fashion, as speedster Kam Thomas reeled in a 38-yard touchdown strike from Skyler Locklear to pull UTEP even. After naming Locklear the starter earlier this week over Cade McConnell, Walden used both quarterbacks on Saturday. Locklear finished with 11 completions on 17 attempts for 115 yards, the touchdown and an interception. McConnell went 3-of-7 for 20 yards and an INT.
"I think everybody in that room expected to win," remarked Walden after the game. "But when you play a great team like Nebraska and you play great teams that are going to be in Conference USA, you gotta execute. And we did not execute. But I think you saw glimpses of some of the playmakers we have... I've gotta have a better plan for our offense in terms of simplicity."
After a strong start highlighted by the touchdown catch from Thomas, UTEP's offense stagnated for the remainder of the contest. The Miners managed just 205 yards of total offense, 63 of which came on their lone scoring drive.
"When we have our tempo and we don't hurt ourselves with penalties or missed assignments or bad reads, you saw [that] we can have the defense on their toes," said Locklear. "I think that's what helped that drive be successful."
23 of Nebraska's points came in an explosive second quarter, punctuated by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Raiola to Jahmal Banks with two seconds left in the half. But after the break, the Miner defense tightened up, surrendering just 10 second-half points and forcing a turnover on downs.
"We don't quit," said senior defensive back and captain Kory Chapman. "The scoreboard says different, but if you turn on the film, we played hard."
Nebraska won the turnover battle (one lost fumble to UTEP's two interceptions), won the time of possession battle (38:32 to 21:28) and thoroughly outpaced UTEP in third-down conversion rate (the Huskers were 11-of-17; the Miners were 3-of-10). Although Walden's group came in with an upset on their collective mind, it was not to be, as Nebraska simply wore them out on a hot Midwestern afternoon.
"Definitely thought we'd play better," remarked Walden. "Offensively, we can't do that to our defense. They obviously had double the time of possession, which normally is a stat I don't care about, but when you aren't scoring points, it matters a lot."
Looking ahead, the Miners may also have to deal with the loss of starting linebacker Jalen Rayam, who exited the game in significant pain on Nebraska's opening drive. Rayam later returned to the sideline sporting a knee brace and crutches, and Walden offered no further specifics than to call it a "lower-body injury." It's not immediately clear how much time Rayam will miss.
UTEP will look to rebound at home next week; they host Southern Utah in a 7 p.m. tilt at the Sun Bowl.
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