For more than three quarters Tuesday night, UTEP’s overwhelming defensive effort was winning a long, lonely battle against Louisiana Tech‘s offense and special teams.
That was never a likely formula for much more than heartbreak, and UTEP found it in a 14-10 loss to the Bulldogs that dropped it to 1-7.
The Miner defense deserved much better, but the offense and special teams didn’t. UTEP wasn’t moving the ball much behind quarterback Skyler Locklear, who was knocked out with an apparent head injury in the third quarter.
In came JP Pickles, fourth team three weeks ago, who led a field-goal drive to put UTEP up 10-7 with 2:02 left in the third quarter, but the Miners obviously weren’t going to let him throw the ball aggressively and they didn’t come close to scoring again.
Louisiana Tech stacked the line, daring it to win with the pass, and UTEP didn’t push the ball downfield. The Miners did get a 100-yard game from Jevon Jackson (112 yards on 22 carries), but other than that and a 47-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, the offense mostly traded three-and-outs with the Louisiana Tech offense.
Then, the Miner defense, so good for so long, wore out and let Louisiana Tech go on a 97-yard drive that represented the bulk of their offensive output for the night. Louisiana Tech had one rushing yard when it began that drive, but it converted third-and-10 and third-and-13 on the drive that gave them their first lead.
UTEP got one final chance with 2:33 left, taking over at its own 31. It moved to their 46 on a personal foul penalty but couldn’t manage a first down. For the game, the Miners were 1-of-14 on third down, and that was 0-of-10 before Pickles entered the game and picked up one with his legs.
Louisiana Tech won with 255 yards of offense, one big play and one long drive.
Miners, Bulldogs 7-7 at halftime
The defenses dominated the first 30 minutes, as each team had a long pass—UTEP’s was 47 yards from Locklear and Kam Thomas, while Louisiana Tech struck from 48 yards out — and not much else.
The Miners’ half ended when Buzz Flabiano missed a 42-yard field goal as the conclusion of a 12-play drive.
Their score came on a 94-yard drive, and the UTEP defense forced three-and-outs on three of the Bulldogs’ first five drives. Between the Miners’ touchdown and the missed field goal, they had four drives and three or four plays before a punt.
The 12-yard drive was notable, though it didn’t result in points. Jevon Jackson got it going by converting a fourth-and-1 from the UTEP 34 with a 22-yard run. Later, the Miners had a fourth-and-3 from the Bulldog 37 and converted it when third-team quarterback JP Pickles came in, took the snap and rushed for 5 yards.
UTEP’s average starting position on its first five possessions was its 11-yard line; Louisiana Tech’s first five possessions started on average at the UTEP 49.
Up next
The Miners get a bye week and don’t play again until Nov. 7, when they return to the Sun Bowl to take on Middle Tennessee State.
Louisiana Tech is at Sam Houston next Tuesday.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP drops to 1-7 after late-game win by Louisiana Tech in 14-10 loss
