Utah State vs. UTEP: Score and Twitter Reaction for 2014 New Mexico Bowl

The Utah State Aggies continued their recent postseason success Saturday in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl by defeating the UTEP Miners 21-6 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Utah State ended the season with an impressive 10-4 record, while UTEP fell to 7-6. Winning the New Mexico Bowl was an especially big accomplishment for the Aggies considering all the adversity they faced in 2014, according to NFL.com's Bryan Fischer:

As seen in this graphic from the Mountain West Conference's official Twitter account, both teams entered the game with a run-centric mindset:

That trend held true as Utah State and UTEP combined to rack up 428 yards on the ground compared to just 194 through the air.

With that said, both defenses played an excellent game and were able to prevent the opposition from getting into a rhythm and putting too many points on the board.

While UTEP entered the game as a 10-point underdog, according to OddsShark, it had high hopes in terms of ending its 47-year bowl win drought. Miners head coach Sean Kugler explained what he believed a victory would mean for his team, per KVIA.com.

"

I think we would make history if we take the opportunity to win the bowl game. We're not done yet. We've got a lot of work to prepare. We are going to have to play our best to beat a great Utah State team. That would put a punctuation on this season. Regardless of the outcome of this game, I couldn't be more proud of these kids the way that they have fought all year.

"

The Miners got on the board first with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter with a 32-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Jay Mattox.

UTEP drove 60 yards on seven plays with the big strike coming via a 53-yard pass from senior quarterback Jameill Showers to senior wide receiver Ian Hamilton. Although that got the Miners down to the Utah State 21, they couldn't capitalize with a touchdown.

Utah State made them pay on the ensuing drive as freshman signal-caller Kent Myers scored on a 48-yard run after dazzling the UTEP defense with a read option.

As pointed out by Wade Denniston of The Herald Journal, the blocking exploits of junior wide receiver Devonte Robinson downfield aided Myers significantly:

The Aggies very nearly added to their lead shortly after that as junior wide receiver JoJo Natson returned a punt 78 yards before being stopped just shy of the end zone.

That game-breaking play didn't hold up, however, as a penalty canceled it out, per Rick Wright of The Albuquerque Journal:

Utah State committed another miscue midway through the second quarter as UTEP senior defensive back Damian Payne intercepted Myers after the QB absorbed a big hit, as seen in this video courtesy of ESPN College Football:

The Miners offense stalled once again after that, but the defense then picked up for the second consecutive possession.

With Utah State at its own 32, UTEP senior defensive back Adrian James blasted Myers, which resulted in a fumble and Miners recovery deep in Aggies territory, according to Chris Jackson of Examiner.com:

To make matters worse for Utah State, Myers was shaken up on the play and had to be checked out on the sidelines, per Aggies Radio Sports:

"

After two massive hits Kent Myers looks to be going through concussion protocol on the sideline. #NewMexicoBowl

— Aggie Radio Sports (@Aradiosports) December 20, 2014"

Myers was taken to the locker room in the closing minutes of the half as UTEP attempted to convert the advantageous field position into points.

The Miners had to settle for a short field goal attempt, but even that went awry as the holder mishandled the snap, which gave Utah State the ball at its own 10.

With Myers still in the locker room, senior Ronald Butler was forced to take over at quarterback. Since only 43 seconds remained and the Aggies were pinned deep, most probably figured they would be content to enter the half up 7-3.

That changed, though, when Butler took a quarterback draw 61 yards to the UTEP 29 on his first play. To make matters even more shocking, Butler is a wide receiver by trade, according to Yahoo Sports' Dr. Saturday:

Butler is the Aggies' second-leading receiver with 478 yards, but he is also a capable passer with two scoring tosses. Utah State has been so decimated by injuries at quarterback this season that Butler became their fifth quarterback of the year, per Jeff Rhineer of Fox13Now.com:

Myers surprisingly returned to the game near the end of the drive, but the Aggies had to settle for a late field goal attempt.

Utah State senior kicker Nick Diaz appeared to extend the lead to 10-3 after a 28-yard make, but Kugler iced him.

The tactic worked as Diaz shanked his next kick well to the right, and the score remained 7-3 in favor of Utah State at halftime despite both teams having golden scoring opportunities late in the second.

Even though the first half ended in disappointment for the Aggies, it didn't seem to impact them at the start of the third quarter. After having a big play nullified earlier in the game, the speedy Natson made up for it with a 46-yard reception from Myers on Utah State's opening drive.

As pointed out by Lya Wodraska of The Salt Lake Tribune, Natson used his elusiveness to weave through the UTEP defense and get down to the Miners' 24:

Utah State then ran the ball down UTEP's throat, culminating in a three-yard touchdown run by sophomore linebacker and running back Nick Vigil to go up 14-3.

The Aggies once again put themselves in great position with less than six minutes remaining in the third as junior cornerback Tyler Floyd picked off Showers.

Although Floyd made a nice play on the ball, Showers wasn't helped by his receiver, according to Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune:

Utah State couldn't convert that turnover into points, and both offenses struggled for several drives.

The Aggies had a chance to make things difficult on the Miners with about 10 minutes left in the game as a 47-yard field goal would have put Utah State up by two touchdowns. Diaz couldn't atone for his earlier miss, though, as he was wayward once again, which gave UTEP some hope.

With just over three minutes remaining in the game, the Miners made a 34-yard field goal to cut the deficit to eight points.

Since UTEP had two timeouts remaining, it decided to kick the ball deep rather than opting for an onside attempt. That plan ultimately didn't pay off, though, as Utah State put the game away with a 32-yard run from Joe Hill followed by an 11-yard touchdown scamper by Hill to make it 21-6.

This win caps another strong season for the Aggies, and it extends their bowl winning streak to three straight. Also, Utah State has now won 10 or more games in two out of the past three seasons, which speaks to its progress as a program.

As for UTEP, it will continue to chase that elusive bowl win in the coming years. After winning just two games in 2013, though, going 7-6 in 2014 has to be considered a major accomplishment.

Utah State was a great measuring stick, and the Miners learned Saturday that they aren't quite at that level yet.

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