One-on-one with UTEP’s Scotty Walden; Miners open conference play at Liberty
EL PASO, Texas - UTEP will begin Conference USA play when the Miners travel to Lynchburg, Va., to take on the defending conference champions [RV] Liberty in its 50th Homecoming game on Saturday, Sept. 14.
The Miners and Flames are set to kick off at 4 p.m. MT/6 ET in Williams Stadium. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ while fans can tune into 95.5 FM KLAQ.
The Miners (0-2, 0-0 CUSA) are coming off a 27-24 overtime setback against Southern Utah on Sept. 7.
UTEP starting quarterback Skyler Locklear settled in with a stellar performance in his Sun Bowl debut.
The redshirt sophomore set career highs in passing yards (295), completions (22), attempts (29), passing percentage (75.9) and rushing yards (47). He also threw a four-yard touchdown pass, found the end zone on a five-yard scramble, and caught a four-yard score. Locklear pulled off the trifecta in one game, which hadn’t been done by an FBS player in nine seasons.
Defensively, spur Kory Chapman tied his collegiate career best with 13 tackles as he’s racked up 23 in his first two games as a Miner.
Linebacker Dorian Hopkins leads the team with 25 stops after amassing 16 in his UTEP debut at Nebraska and tallying nine last week.
The Flames (2-0, 1-0 CUSA) kept their undefeated mark intact while chalking up a CUSA win at NM State on Sept. 7 in Las Cruces. Liberty rallied back for a 30-24 win after being down 17-3 and 24-15, respectively in the contest. Liberty held the Aggies to 84 second-half yards and outscored NM State 21-7 in the fourth quarter.
CUSA leading rusher running back Quinton Cooley ran for 111 yards on 12 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 27 (5:12 mark in 4Q) and 44 yards (1:05, 4Q) to outscore NM State 15-0 down the stretch. Cooley leads the league with 221 yards on 28 carries (7.9 avg.) and three touchdowns. The Flames’ overall rushing attack leads CUSA at 248.0 yards per game. LU also leads in points per game (35.5 ppg) and total offense (503.0 ypg).
“We know we’re playing a great opponent and Liberty is the standard in this conference – they’re the reigning conference champs,” UTEP Head Coach Scotty Walden said. “Coach [Jamey] Chadwell is an amazing coach and has an amazing staff. They do a great job and are extremely talented.
They deserve our full effort and preparation.”
Walden is looking to clean up the miscues from last week heading into Saturday’s league opener.
“The number one this thing week for us is us,” Walden added. “We watched every penalty as an offense and have talked about every penalty. How can we be better? For me and us, it’s all about intentionality at practice and going back and making sure we are detail-oriented with everything that we do.”
The Miners hosted no. 22 Liberty in 2023 as the two programs met for the first time on Nov. 25, 2023, in Sun Bowl Stadium. The Flames won 42-28.
UTEP (0-2, 0-0) at [RV] Liberty (2-0, 1-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 14
Time: 4 p.m. MT/6 ET
Location: Lynchburg, Va.
Venue: Williams Stadium (25,000)
X Updated: @UTEPFB
TV: ESPN+
PxP: - -
Analyst: - -
Radio: 95.5 FM KLAQ
PxP: Jon Teicher
Analyst: Cole Freytag
Sideline: Mando Medina
WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The Miners and Flames will be streamed on ESPN+. The action will be on 95.5 FM KLAQ with “The Voice of the UTEP Miners” Jon Teicher calling play-by-play in his 44th season. ‘Teich’, who called his 500th game on Oct. 11, 2023, is joined by former UTEP WR Cole Freytag (2012, 2014-16) in the booth providing analysis in his third season. El Paso native and long-running member of the local media Mando Medina will be reporting from the sidelines. The contest can also be heard on the UTEP Miners app.
SERIES VS. LIBERTY
UTEP and Liberty are facing each other for the second time and first time in Lynchburg, Va.
The no. 22-ranked Flames defeated the Miners 42-28 on Nov. 25, 2023 in the Sun Bowl.
The Flames rushed for 441 yards on 62 attempts (7.1 avg.) and five touchdowns. Quinton Cooley racked up three rushing scores and 83 yards on the ground. WR Javoni Gardere hauled in two passes for 22 yards, while DT KD Johnson recorded a career-high eight tackles. Bandit Maurice Westmoreland added a sack and QB hurry.
