UTEP drops seventh straight; turnovers cost NM State again

UTEP drops seventh straight; turnovers cost NM State again by Chas Messman Sun, November 8, 2026 at 3:59 PM Updated Sun, November 8, 2026 at 4:04 PM walden hawaii.jpg Comment on this story 0 Comment Share story Share topics: UTEP NewMexicoState Liberty Hawaii Turnovers MountainWest SunBowl Wyoming EL PASO, Texas (KFOX 14, CBS 4) — The struggles continued for both the UTEP Miners and New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday. Micah Alejado threw for 303 yards and a touchdown to lead the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors to a 17-14 victory over UTEP at the Sun Bowl. This is UTEP's seventh straight loss, as the Miners fall to 1-8 (0-5 Mountain West). Hawaii moves to 3-6 (2-4 Mountain West). At halftime, Hawaii led 10-7. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Rainbow Warriors marched 98-yards down the field and capped it off with a 7-yard touchdown run from Sitani Mikaele. UTEP responded with Raymond Moore III hitting Jude Ezinwa for a 15-yard touchdown pass. However, it was too little too late for the Miners and Hawaii hung on for the 17-14 victory. "It is two steps forward, one step back," UTEP head coach Scotty Walden said after the game. "It feels like we take two steps forward then find ourselves in a second and 14. It is hard for us to over come that. I feel like Hawaii crushed us in the play count in the second half." For the Miners, Moore was 9 of 18 for 109 yards and the touchdown. Lamar Sperling carried the ball 11 times for 63 yards and a score. For Hawaii, Alejado was 26 of 40 for the 303 yards with the touchdown and an interception. Titan Lacaden caught 11 balls for 109 yards and a touchdown. Deshawn Purdie threw for 252 yards and a touchdown to lead the Liberty Flames to a 30-14 victory over NMSU at Aggie Memorial Stadium. NMSU falls to 3-6 (2-3 Conference USA). Liberty moves to 8-1 (5-0 CUSA). Trey Hedden was back in the lineup at quarterback for the Aggies for the first time since their loss to New Mexico. On the opening drive, Hedden led a touchdown drive capped off by a 24-yard touchdown pass to AJ Williams III. The Aggie defense held tough in the first half, forcing three field goals. But late in the second quarter, Hedden threw an interception and the Flames capitalized with a touchdown pass from Purdie. Liberty led 16-7 at the half. In the fourth quarter, the Aggies cut it to a 16-14 game with another touchdown reception from AJ Williams. However, the Flames pulled away with a touchdown from Kam Davis and from Peyton Jones to win it 30-14. "If we would have been better in the critical moments it would have went a long way," NMSU head coach Tony Sanchez said. For NMSU, Hedden was 19 of 29 for 256 yards with two touchdowns and two picks. Williams had eight catches for 150 yards and the two scores. For Liberty, Purdie was 19 of 28 for the 252 yards and the touchdown. Davis carried the ball 15 times for 63 yards and the touchdown. Next Saturday, UTEP will host 6-3 Wyoming in their final home game of the season. NMSU will play on the road at fellow 3-6 Missouri State. NEWS IN PHOTOS: " Local " 3 NEW East El Paso’s Trophie Gaming hit by second break-in in under a week 4 El Paso Zoo throws 10th birthday party for Taj the rhino 5 First Borderlands Renaissance Faire draws big crowd in El Paso 4 Locomotive FC Heads to Sacramento for Playoff Semifinal