ULM slams door shut on UTEP
ULM and UTEP put on an exciting match-up Saturday night, that saw the Warhawks claim a 31-25 victory. ULM came out attacking early, while UTEP made a late attempt at a comeback that came up just short. UTEP went into the game as a 6.5-point favorite, while ULM was coming off a bye week, following one of the more painful defeats in the history of their program.
UTEP had its fans optimistic after a valiant effort against Texas on the road the previous week. The Miners’ defense held Texas quarterback Arch Manning to under a 50% completion percentage and just 114 yards passing, allowing one touchdown and one interception. Rushing wise, Texas put up 245 yards on 56 carries with two rushing touchdowns. ULM outperformed Texas on the offensive side of the ball. In a game where UTEP did most of the damage near the end, ULM was able to not only stay in the game for four quarters but slam the door on UTEP to pull out the challenging road victory.
πππ₯π©ππ π¨π£.@ULM_FBβs @BAM3x_ canβt be stopped. βοΈπpic.twitter.com/zrb7NhFoMZ
β Sun Belt Football (@SunBeltFB) September 21, 2025
To open the game, ULM forced a turnover on down as UTEP QB Malachi Nelson threw an incompletion to wide receiver Toric Goins Jr. This gave ULM the ball on their own 4-yard line for their opening drive. Before they could run their first offensive play, a false start call put them on their own 2-yard line. With early pressure on the offense, on the first play, running back Dorian Lewis takes it up the gut for 72 yards (career high) to the UTEP 26-yard line. Following a 14-yard reception by star running back Braylon McReynolds, quarterback Aidan Armenta found Jake Godfrey for the 12-yard touchdown pass. This capped off a three-play, 98-yard touchdown drive. UTEP immediately answered back when Malachi Nelson found Trevon Tate for a 73-yard touchdown pass. All signs were pointing to a shootout, but ULM made adjustments and had different plans.
Following a punt for ULM and a missed field goal for UTEP, ULM struck quickly and running back Braylan McReynolds scored on a 40-yard rush giving the Warhawks a 14-7 lead. Following a punt by UTEP, ULM gets another big drive as quarterback Aidan Armenta finds Jonathan Bibbs for a 35-yard touchdown pass. Following a field goal, ULM took a 24-7 lead to half time.
After a ULM punt to start the second half, defensive back D’Arco Perkins-McAllister made a great play and forced the second turnover on downs by the UTEP offense. The offense and defense were feeding off of each other’s energy at this point. On the following drive quarterback Hunter Herring scores on a 1-yard rush, extending the lead to 31-7. At this point ULM got comfortable and UTEP began their attempt at a comeback.
After a field goal by UTEP, ULM took a 31-10 lead to the 4th quarter. ULM punted to open the 4th quarter and UTEP answered with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Malachi Nelson to Wondame Davis Jr., with the 2-point conversion being successful. ULM ate some clock with a five-minute drive and looked to put the game away. On the following UTEP drive, an unfortunate 15-yard penalty by Kamrin Canterbury gave the Miners fresh life and they were able to capitalize on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Malachi Nelson to Wondame Davis Jr. for the second time.
Following a three-and-a-half-minute drive by ULM, UTEP had the hot hand and looked to complete the comeback. What transpired over the next two minutes are moments that really showed the heart of this ULM team. Following two incompletions by Malachi Nelson, ULM defensive back Lynard Harris intercepted the pass on third down. ULM was attempting to eat some clock and instead of kicking the field goal and taking an easy three points and essentially closing out the game, they took a turnover on downs giving UTEP the ball back on their own 24-yard line with 1:33 left in the game.
After securing a first down on a fourth down conversion on their own 43-yard line, ULM defensive back David Godsey Jr. secures the interception to seal the game for the Warhawks. On the evening quarterback Aidan Armenta finished the evening 8-for-14 passing with 136 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Braylon McReynolds had 18 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown. D’Arco Perkins-McAllister had four pass breakups and three tackles.
Made it happenπͺ pic.twitter.com/GdoE9chR0h
β ULM Football (@ULM_FB) September 21, 2025
Saturday, September 27th, 2025 ULM takes on Arkansas State (1-3) for their homecoming game at Malone Stadium at 3:00 PM/ET for their opening game of Sun Belt play.
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