UTEP Football Home Opener vs. Southern Utah: 34K Tickets Sold for Highly Anticipated Debut of Scotty Walden
After a tough 40-7 defeat to Nebraska, UTEP football (0-1) shifts focus to their highly anticipated home opener against Southern Utah on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Saturday will mark the debut of first-year head coach Scotty Walden in front of the home crowd, where he said 34,000 tickets have already been sold.
"I'm beyond excited to coach my first game in the Sun Bowl, it will be an honor to do so," Walden said at his weekly press conference. "But we have to prepare, we have to have a great week of practice so we can give these fans what they deserve..."
On new gameday traditions, Walden expressed his excitement over his Sun Bowl debut.
"Miner walk is something we are going to start this week," Walden explained. "I think we have almost all tailgates spots sold. We're going to walk our players right through to the (Larry K. Durham Center). The return of the Mine Shaft, we're really excited about that too."
Game Details
Time: 7 pm
Listen live: KLAQ (95.5 FM)
Watch live: ESPN+
MinerTalk Watch Party: The District West (3233 N. Mesa) starting at 2 pm
Look back to Nebraska
With just over 10 minutes in the second quarter, UTEP and Nebraska were tied, 7-7. The Miners had just scored off a 38-yard touchdown pass from Skyler Locklear to Kam Thomas and forced a Cornhusker fumble two drives later. Following UTEP's forced turnover, Nebraska stuffed a Miner run and forced a safety. Nebraska never looked back and scored a total of 33 unanswered points to eventually win, 40-7.
The Cornhuskers out-gained the Miners in total yards, 507-205, and converted 11-of-17 third down plays.
Linebacker Dorian Hopkins, who filled in for an injured Jalen Rayam, racked up a career-high 16 total tackles. Spur Kory Chapman also totaled 10 tackles against Nebraska.
Offensively, Kam Thomas led the Miners with 132 all-purpose yards, including his 38-yard touchdown.
Scouting FCS Southern Utah
Walden is no stranger to Southern Utah. While Walden coached at Austin Peay, the two programs were in the same league. Walden's squad came out victorious in 2023 against the Thunderbirds in a 48-45 double-overtime shoot-out. Though Southern Utah is considered Division I, they compete at the FCS level.
UTEP has also faced challenges against FCS opponents. In Dana Dimel’s debut game as coach in 2018, the Miners fell to Northern Arizona, 30-10, at home. Last year, UTEP was tied 14-14 with Incarnate Word before pulling away in the second half for a 28-14 victory.
For Southern Utah, they were shut out against Big 12 power Utah, 49-0, in week one. Like UTEP, the Thunderbirds are also juggling between quarterbacks in Jackson Berry and Bronson Barron. Coach Walden praised how hard Southern Utah plays and also talked about the strong defensive line they have.
The Quarterback battle
Head coach Scotty Walden revealed on Tuesday that Skyler Locklear will be the starting quarterback against Southern Utah. The coaches will "see how things play out," in reference to playing Cade McConnell in addition to Locklear.
Last week, the competition dragged out between Locklear and McConnell late into the week. Walden ended up naming Locklear the starter by Thursday afternoon. Despite an early touchdown against Nebraska by Locklear, Walden elected to play McConnell in the second quarter. Locklear had the majority of the snaps against Nebraska, completing 11-of-17 passes for 115 yards, one touchdown and one interception. McConnell completed 3-of-7 passes with an interception and 12 rushing yards.
Before the season started, Walden said he wanted to have one starting quarterback and roll with them for the entire season. However, last Monday at his presser, Walden said the quarterback battle could drag out for the first three games.
Does Walden play both Locklear and McConnell against Southern Utah? Or, will one quarterback take the reigns and secure the job for the remainder of the season in this one?
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Gallery Credit: Marcell "Flash" Gordon