2013 UTEP FOOTBALL
Game 4| Sept. 28, 2013 | Fort Collins, Colo. | Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium (32,500)
UTEP at COLORADO STATE POST-GAME NOTES
The 75-yard touchdown pass from Jameill Showers to Jordan Leslie in the third quarter was a career-long for Leslie and the longest by a UTEP player since Trevor Vittatoe connected with Jeff Moturi for an 80-yard TD pass in the final game of the 2009 season against Marshall. It was the second-longest completion of Showers’ career; he threw for an 80-yard touchdown versus Sam Houston State while at Texas A&M last season.
Leslie added a 48-yard TD catch later in the third quarter to register the first multiple touchdown performance of his career. He had eight games with one score in his career entering the contest. Leslie is the first UTEP receiver to score multiple touchdowns in a game since Michael Edwards at Houston last season (two).
Leslie now has five career 100-yard receiving games, tied for the 11th-top total in school history with Bubba Garcia (1976-79) and Chris Francies (2002-05).
Jameill Showers established career-highs for passing attempts (43), completions (26), yardage (365), and passing touchdowns (five). He is the first UTEP player to throw for 300 yards since Nick Lamaison did so versus NM State a year ago, and the first to throw for five TDs since Trevor Vittatoe against NM State in 2010. The last UTEP quarterback to throw for as many yards in a game was Lamaison versus Stony Brook in 2011 (365), and the last to do so versus an FBS opponent was Vittatoe in the ‘09 season finale versus Marshall (school-record 517).
Jameill Showers is one of nine UTEP quarterbacks to throw for five TDs in a game. The others are Brooks Dawson, Sammy Garza, Howard Gasser, Bob Laraba, Jordan Palmer, John Rayborn, Billy Stevens and Vittatoe.
Jameill Showers has three rushing TDs this season. That ties the most by a UTEP quarterback in the last 10 seasons. Lorne Sam and James Thomas also had three in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The last UTEP signal-caller with more than three rushing TDs in a season was Orlando Cruz in 2003 (five).
Two UTEP running backs (Nathan Jeffery & Darrin Laufasa) have touchdown receptions this season. No UTEP running backs had TD catches a year ago, and the last time two did so in a season was 2008 (Terrell Jackson & Daniel Palmer one each).
The last safety allowed by UTEP (prior to the third quarter today) came in the 2009 season opener against Buffalo, when punter Greg Hiett fumbled and was tackled in the end zone.
The fumble lost by Aaron Jones in the third quarter was the first for the Miners in 163 rushing plays this season.
Eric Tomlinson set career-highs for catches (eight) and yards (75). His eight receptions were the most by a UTEP tight end since Jamar Hunt had 10 versus UAB in 2005.
DBs Jameel Erving and Da’Carlos Renfro became the 12th and 13th players to make their first starts for the Miners on defense this season. Ten of the 13 players are in the secondary.
The 101 points were the fifth-most scored in a UTEP game (both teams), and the most since a 77-35 defeat at Tulsa (112 points) in 2008.
The 1,088 total yards were the most in a UTEP game since Sept. 29, 2011 against Houston (1,248 combined - 710 UTEP, 538 Houston).
UTEP has lost in its last five trips to Fort Collins and hasn’t won at CSU since 1987, when current Director of Athletics Bob Stull was the Miners’ head coach.
The Miners dropped to 6-6 in games versus Mountain West Conference foes since the league’s inception for the 1999 season, including 2-3 on the road.