Brief: In their first matchup against the University of Texas at Austin (UT) (2-1, 0-0, Southeastern Conference) since 2020, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) (1-2, 0-0 Conference USA) fell to the Longhorns on Saturday, Sept. 13 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. UT Austin defeated the Miners 27-10 in the non-conference game.
After leaving the Sun Bowl in fashion last week against the University of Tennessee-Martin, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) made the long trek and faced the seventh-ranked team in the nation, the University of Texas at Austin (UT).
The UTEP Miners (1-2, 0-0 Conference USA) ultimately came up short against the UT Longhorns (2-1, 0-0, Southeastern Conference), 27 to 10, but performed at a level that jumped out to sports pundits and college football fans nationwide. Throughout the entire game, UTEP was trending on X.
UT is one of the best football programs in the United States, boasting four national titles. But entering the 2025 college football season, the biggest narrative surrounding this team was all about their man under center, sophomore quarterback Arch Manning.
Due to the weight that the 21-year-old’s last name carries in football history, it was a given that once Manning picked up a football, all eyes would be on him. Once he started playing in high school, Manning quickly gained collegiate attention.
Yet, he wasn’t the top quarterback (QB) in his class, according to ESPN’s 2023 high school ranking. On that list, Manning ranks fifth, with the number one slot belonging to UTEP’s own redshirt sophomore quarterback Malachi Nelson.
The Athletic, two days before UTEP took on UT, released a feature piece on Nelson and reminded the world that the QB played his last season of high school with a torn labrum. That injury hindered Nelson’s ability to compete for a starting role at the University of Southern California (USC), as ESPN’s broadcasters reiterated during the game.
Nelson’s journey isn’t as linear as Manning’s. He had the original intent to play for his home state of California, but after not securing the starting role, Nelson moved to Boise State with the hope of playing for the Broncos, but again, Nelson slid into a backup role.
Originally, according to The Athletics’ reporting, Nelson hadn’t intended to play at UTEP, as he was holding offers from power four schools. But, after his father, Eric Nelson, told him, “This dude is different,” in reference to UTEP Head Coach Scotty Walden, Nelson took a second trip to the Sun City, which ultimately convinced him to stay.
According to Nelson and Walden, a main contributor as to why he chose to stay is because UTEP was the only school that didn’t guarantee him the starting role; he’d have to earn it, and that was enough to motivate Nelson.
Now, two of the top five high school quarterbacks of their generation were facing off in a game that UT was paying UTEP $1.63 million to play.
Manning’s start to the season has been interpreted as a mixed bag by analysts. Some, such as ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, have articulated that Manning will be “fine.” Others, however, like ESPN’s Ryan Clark, have publicly voiced their strong opinion.
“Arch Manning is not a generational talent. People have placed expectations upon him without any evidence,” Clark tweeted on Sept. 2.
With the college football world paying close attention to the matchup, Manning earned two rushing touchdowns but posted 69 passing yards, one interception, and a 0.31% pass completion rate at halftime.
During the first half, Texas fans booed Manning. UT Head Coach Steve Sarkisian responded to the boos.
“You’re not a quarterback until you get boo’d,” Coach Sarkisian said at halftime.
His performance caused concern among pundits but was no surprise for those paying attention to UTEP’s “Orange Swarm” defense, led by new coordinator Bobby Daly. Entering the game against UT, the Miners ranked first in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in sacks with ten. Second in tackles for losses (TFL) with 23, and 10th in stopping third down attempts.
The Miner’s defense tamed the Longhorns throughout the entire game. UT was limited on third down attempts, converting only five in 16 tries; they averaged only four yards per rush, and restricted Manning to only throw 114 yards, one touchdown, and a season low 44% completion rate, making his passing performance against UTEP his worst of the season.
The Longhorns only scored three touchdowns the whole game and had to rely on field goals to complete two of their offensive drives. UTEP’s defense was given credit by the Southeastern Conference (SEC) analysts during halftime, as the unit was able to limit the production of a power four program that last year was one game short of playing for the national championship.
Offensively, the Miners were challenged by UT’s stout defense. Nelson, in his third career start at the collegiate level, threw for two interceptions but earned 209 yards.
The first year Miner finished on a strong note. With four minutes left in the game, Nelson pioneered an 87-yard drive that was defined by a 43-yard pass to redshirt senior receiver Trevon Tate, and a pair of rushes by redshirt freshman and hometown QB Shay Smith. The offensive spark culminated in a two-yard rushing touchdown from Smith for UTEP.
The Miners may have lost against the Longhorns, but left Austin, Texas, with a strong performance that further builds up excitement for UTEP’s Conference-USA (C-USA) slate. They also may have given UT fans, and the institution itself, a reason to worry according to SEC now host Dar Nowkhah.
“If you’re a Texas fan and you continue to watch this, you’re asking yourself, ‘Are we going to be good enough offensively?’” Nowkhah said after the game.
UTEP will return to the Sun Bowl next week to face LA-Monroe (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference). Fans can catch the game on ESPN+ and listen to it on 95.5 KLAQ.
Sebastian Perez-Navarro is the multimedia editor for The Prospector and can be reached at [email protected] or Instagram and X @sebastianpn8, and on LinkedIn @sebastianperez-navarro.
