EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Ja'Gared Davis stepped in front of a Nick Lamaison pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to help lead SMU to a 17-0 victory Saturday over UTEP.
Davis' touchdown came with 1:52 remaining in the first half. It was the last score of the night for SMU (2-3, 1-0 Conference USA) and was one of three forced turnovers by the Mustangs defense.
Zach Line barely missed his chance at a 17th career 100-yard rushing game as a Mustang, but was still a workhorse for SMU with 84 yards on 25 carries.
Garrett Gilbert completed 22 of 44 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown, finding Darius Johnson on a 40-yard strike at the 9:42 mark in the second quarter. Johnson had five catches for 82 yards including the score.
Jordan Leslie had seven catches for 80 yards in the loss for UTEP (1-5, 0-2).
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| Scoring Summary |
| SMU | Chase Hover 19 yd FG |
| SMU | Darius Johnson 40 yd pass from Garrett Gilbert (Chase Hover kick) |
| SMU | Ja'Gared Davis 30 yd interception return (Chase Hover kick) |
| Team Stats | ||
| SMU | UTEP | |
| First Downs | 22 | 13 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 8-19 | 5-15 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 1-1 | 0-3 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 80-372 | 69-285 |
| Rushes-Yds | 36-138 | 30-107 |
| Passing Yds | 234 | 178 |
| Kick Return Yds | 0 | 71 |
| Punt Return Yds | 4 | 18 |
| Passes | 22-44-1 | 16-39-3 |
| Punts | 6-290 | 6-227 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yds | 3-25 | 2-25 |
| Time of Poss. | 37:5 | 22:55 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| SMU: Zach Line 25-84, Luke Seeker 4-28, Rishaad Wimbley 3-15, Billy Dugal 1-6, Garrett Gilbert 3-5 |
| UTEP: Nathan Jeffery 20-67, Nick Lamaison 6-28, Michael Edwards 1-9, Carson Meger 1-5, Laquintus Dowell 1-0, Autrey Golden 1--2 |
| PASSING |
| SMU: Garrett Gilbert 22-44-234-1 |
| UTEP: Nick Lamaison 9-23-131-2, Carson Meger 7-16-47-1 |
| RECEIVING |
| SMU: Jeremy Johnson 8-76, Darius Johnson 5-82, Keenan Holman 5-47, Der'rikk Thompson 2-17, Zach Line 2-12 |
| UTEP: Jordan Leslie 7-80, Devin Patterson 2-45, Craig Wenrick 2-21, Malcolm Trail 2-7, Eric Tomlinson 1-11, Michael Edwards 1-9, Felix Neboh 1-5 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| Southern Methodist | 2nd Conference USA West | 5-3 | 7-6 |
| Texas-El Paso | 5th Conference USA West | 2-6 | 3-9 |
