FBS college football / FINAL / Sat Sep 12, 2026 8:00 PM CT
UTEP scores 21 in the third quarter, beats Texas Southern 51-10
EJ Colson Jr. threw touchdown passes to Kam Thomas, Cash Cheeks and Carver Cheeks, and the Miners rushed for 252 yards at the Sun Bowl.
By BetMetrics
Final
Texas Southern Tigers10
UTEP Miners51
WHERE IT TURNED
UTEP beat Texas Southern 51-10 on Saturday night at the Sun Bowl, pulling away with 21 points in the third quarter.
EJ Colson Jr. threw 83 yards to Kam Thomas at 12:32 of the first quarter. Athean Renfro Jr.'s 16-yard run at 4:55 tied it, and Miguel Arana III's 43-yard field goal at 12:05 of the second put Texas Southern ahead 10-7. Colson's 3-yard run at 5:09 and his 13-yard pass to Cash Cheeks at 0:37 gave UTEP a 21-10 halftime lead.
Cash Cheeks scored on a fumble recovery at 12:04 of the third, Colson threw 13 yards to Carver Cheeks at 10:19, and Tavorus Jones ran 33 yards at 6:28 for a 42-10 lead. Carlos Arreola's 35-yard field goal at 9:40 of the fourth and Raymond Moore III's 79-yard run at 0:48 finished it.
Colson completed 14 of 21 passes for 239 yards. Thomas caught two passes for 92 yards, and Jones ran 16 times for 104 yards. UTEP totaled 491 yards, 252 on the ground, while holding the ball for only 23:24.
Texas Southern had the ball for 36:36 but gained 211 yards, was penalized 14 times for 112 yards, and turned it over twice. Cam'Ron McCoy went 11 of 17 for 85 yards with an interception. Attendance was 24,580.