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Cowboys tied for first in Mountain West after 27-15 win at UTEP
EL PASO, Texas – Wyoming took care of business on the final road trip of the regular season by grinding out a 27-15 victory over UTEP late Saturday night at the Sun Bowl.
The Cowboys (7-3 overall, 6-1 Mountain West), who have won six consecutive games, host New Mexico on Friday at War Memorial Stadium (7 p.m., FS1). The Lobos (8-2, 5-1) dropped into a tie in the loss column with UW in the conference standings after losing 21-17 to UNLV earlier Saturday.
Landon Sims, making his first career start in place of an injured Tyler Hughes, finished 19-for-25 passing for 289 yards and a touchdown.
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Tight end Kyle Frend had three receptions for 110 yards in the first half and finished with 113 yards on four targets. Samuel "Tote" Harris led UW with 66 yards rushing and also had 82 yards receiving.
The Miners (1-9, 0-6) scored the first nine points of the second half to cut their 18-point halftime deficit to 24-15.
UTEP placekicker Carolos Arreola made a 55-yard field goal for the only points in the third quarter. Elijah McCoy added a 1-yard touchdown run with 12:00 remaining, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed.
After UW's third lost fumble, Arreola missed a 37-yard field goal with a chance to make it a one-score game.
Sims hit Harris for a 49-yard completion that set up a 41-yard field goal by Erik Sandvik to give UW a 27-15 cushion with 6:40 remaining.
Jack Dunkley came up with a fourth-down sack to end UTEP's next drive and upset hopes.
The Pokes led 24-6 at the intermission after racking up 293 yards and 11 first downs. UW finished with a 443-305 advantage in total yards.
After giving up an 80-yard touchdown run by quarterback Raymond Moore III that gave the Miners an early 6-0 lead, the Cowboys reeled off 24 unanswered points to seize control before halftime.
Frendt had catches of 45 and 22 yards to get the visitors in the red zone in the first quarter. Running back Markell Holman flipped a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Landon Pace on a beautifully designed play by offensive coordinator Christian Taylor.
The extra point gave UW a 7-6 lead.
Jones Thomas created pressure to force a muffed punt by UTEP. On the next snap Sims threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Harris.
Jaden DaCosta forced a fumble that was recovered by Thomas to thwart a scoring opportunity for the Miners at the UW 25-yard line.
On fourth-and-2, Harris took a pitch on the right side of the formation and scampered for a 33-yard touchdown to make the score 21-6 with 8:26 remaining in the second quarter.
Sandvik made a 30-yard field goal with 54 seconds left in the half.
The Cowboys lead the all-time series with UTEP 27-6-1. The previous meeting between the former WAC rivals was a 42-19 UW win on Nov. 25, 1995 in El Paso.
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