SAN ANTONIO — UTEP held UTSA to just 70 yards and two first downs in a 34-0 blanking on Saturday night in Conference USA action at the Alamodome.
The Miners (4-3, 2-1 C-USA) evened the all-time series at one apiece in posting the first shut out against the Roadrunners (2-6, 1-3 C-USA) in the program’s four-year history.
Jameill Showers passed for 191 yards and a pair of early touchdowns that helped set the tone for the evening and the signal caller added 37 yards on the ground. Aaron Jones rushed for a game-high 86 yards and a score on 21 carries, as the Miners piled up 351 in the game.
Alvin Jones led the UTEP defense with six tackles, while Devin Cockrell and Anthony Puente added five stops each for a unit that limited UTSA to one first down in each half and under 100 yards for the first time.
UTEP struck quickly with a pair of long touchdown passes in the opening stanza.
Facing 3rd-and-25 on their own 25-yard line on their opening possession, Showers scrambled to his right away from pursuit and found Jaquan White open down the sideline for a 75-yard scoring strike.
Later in the first, Showers tossed a screen pass into the right flat to Jones, who scampered 40 yards to paydirt to help give the visitors a 14-0 advantage.
Jay Mattox tacked on a 20-yard field goal with three minutes left until intermission to push the lead to 17-0.
Meanwhile, the UTSA offense struggle to get things going, not picking up a first down until a little more than two minutes before halftime and registering only 41 yards in the half.
UTEP extended its lead to 27-0 through three quarters after a 24-yard scoring dash by Jones and a 47-yard field goal by Mattox.
Jimmy Musgrave stepped in front of an Austin Robinson pass early in the fourth quarter and returned the interception 19 yards to help provide the final 34-0 margin.
Drew Douglas, Brian King and Triston Wade posted seven tackles apiece to lead the UTSA defense, which held UTEP to 189 total yards after the opening quarter.
The Roadrunners (2-6, 1-3 C-USA) will take next weekend off before returning to action on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Rice (4-3, 2-1 C-USA).