UTEP jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never looked as the Miners (2-5, 1-2 Conference USA) defeated FIU (3-4, 0-4 CUSA) 27-14 for their first conference win of the season in FIU Football Stadium on Wednesday night on ESPN2.

Cade McConnell made his first career start under center, throwing for 262 yards on 11-of-17 passing and two touchdown passes.

But Kelly Akharaiyi dazzled the night with a career-high 223 yards on eight receptions and was on the other end of those McConnell TD tosses. Akharaiyi's 200+ receiving game was the first for a Miner since 2012, while his total is tied for fifth most in school history.

Praise Amaewhule also highlighted the night by breaking the school's all-time sack record during the third quarter when he brought down FIU QB Keyone Jenkins. Amaewhule added a second sack on the night while also forcing a fumble late in the game to essentially seal the victory.

Overall, the UTEP defense tallied a season-high 6.0 sacks led by Maurice Westmoreland's career-high 2.5 QB takedowns. Westmoreland also added a career-high six tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.

The defense also held the Panthers to 363 yards and allowing only 2-of-11 on third-down conversions. The "D" forced two turnovers, while the offense played mistake-free football.

"We did the things we need to do right and we didn't make the big mistakes, we made [FIU] make the big mistakes," UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel said. "We jumped on them early and did a good job with that and held on to the football. We didn't have any unforced errors to give opportunities to come back. Of course, the defense played so well and so many guys did some really good things."

Tyler Williams led the way with nine tackles, while James Neal was credited with eight stops and recovered a fumble late in the game.

UTEP registered 441 yards of total offense, as the rushing attack gained 139 led by Torrance Burgess Jr.'s 86 yards on 20 carries. Deion Hankins rushed for 62 yards.

UTEP got on the board first with aggressive play from the offensive line. The Miners took the opening possession 75 yards on 10 plays that resulted in the Hankins one-yard touchdown rush that took six minutes off the clock. Hankins rushed for 37 yards on seven carries (5.3 avg.) and McConnell went 2-of-2 for 22 yards on the drive.

UTEP would really turn it up scoring two more touchdowns in a span of 58 seconds to jump out to a 21-0 lead.

The Miners increased the lead to 14-0 after the defense forced FIU to punt. UTEP only needed 10 seconds to get on the board for a second time as Akharaiyi reeled in a career-long 80-yard touchdown reception from McConnell.

Following another defensive stop by the Orange and Blue, UTEP used only three plays on its third possession that resulted in an Akharaiyi 23-yard touchdown reception. Jeremiah Ballard's career-long 50-yard reception to the FIU 22 from McConnell to set up score.

Akharaiyi tallied 155 receiving yards on five receptions in the first half of action.

Following the fireworks show in the first, the Miners were forced to punt on back-to-back possessions with the latter being a three-and-out. The Panthers took advantage and took a drive 94 yards on nine plays that was capped by a Kejon Owens 11-yard touchdown. He was held up by Tyrice Knight before breaking away for the score to make the count 21-7 with just over six minutes left in the half.

Buzz Flabiano put the Miners up 17 points (24-7) after hitting a career-long 37-yard field with 1:03 left in the half. The Miners drove the ball 54 yards on 10 plays. All 10 plays were rushing attempts led by Burgess Jr. runs of 29 yards and 14 yards. He accounted for 51 yards on seven carries.

FIU opened the second half a drove the ball 84 yards on eight plays capped by Jenkins one-yard scoring run to get within 10 points (24-14) with 10:28 left in the third quarter.

The Panthers caught the Miners off guard with a successful onside kick following the touchdown and took possession at the FIU 48. But the UTEP defense held their position and stopped FIU after going for it on a four-and-6 play in which Knight bottled up the runner, coming up three yards short of the first down.

Torey Richardson came up with a big interception – his first of 2023 and second career pick – that gave the Miners possession at their own 25. The drive was highlighted by a McConnell to Akharaiyi deep ball that was batted around before coming down with a 44-yard reception to the FIU 16. The drive ended with a Flabiano 20-yard field goal make to put the Miners up 27-14 with just over five minutes left in the game.

UTEP has won its last two games in the eastern time zone after winning at Charlotte last season.

UP NEXT
UTEP will return to the 915 and host longtime rival and new CUSA foe NM State on Wednesday, Oct. 18. UTEP and NM State will face each other as conference opponents for the first time in 62 years when both programs were members of the Border Conference. The Miners and Aggies will kick off at 7 p.m. MT and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.