HOUSTON (AP) - Charles Sims rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns as Houston defeated UTEP 45-35 Saturday.
Sims scored on runs of 43, 6 and 1 yards as the Cougars (4-4, 3-1 Conference USA) built a 45-7 lead before UTEP (2-7, 1-4) scored the final 28 points of the game.
David Piland added 174 yards passing and two TDs while completing 16 of 30 passes for Houston.
UTEP (2-7, 1-4) got 137 yards rushing and two TDs from Nathan Jeffery. The Miners used four quarterbacks after starter Nick Lamaison went 8 for 18 with four interceptions - one a 97-yard return by Houston's D.J. Hayden for a score. UTEP also lost two fumbles and was sacked five times.
As a team, the Miners threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns while piling up 494 yards of offense - most of it coming after the game had already been decided.
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| Scoring Summary |
| HOU | Charles Sims 43 yd run (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | Deontay Greenberry 9 yd pass from David Piland (Matt Hogan kick) |
| UTEP | Nathan Jeffery 9 yd run (Steven Valadez kick) |
| HOU | Larry McDuffey 24 yd pass from David Piland (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | D.J. Hayden 97 yd interception return (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | Charles Sims 6 yd run (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | Charles Sims 1 yd run (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | Matt Hogan 24 yd FG |
| UTEP | Jordan Leslie 42 yd pass from Jim Jones (Steven Valadez kick) |
| UTEP | Nathan Jeffery 2 yd run (Steven Valadez kick) |
| UTEP | Michael Edwards 16 yd pass from Blaire Sullivan (failed 2pt pass) |
| UTEP | Michael Edwards 6 yd pass from Blaire Sullivan (Michael Edwards 2pt pass from Blaire Sullivan) |
| Team Stats | ||
| UTEP | HOU | |
| First Downs | 26 | 19 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 13-20 | 4-12 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 91-494 | 66-339 |
| Rushes-Yds | 53-193 | 36-165 |
| Passing Yds | 301 | 174 |
| Kick Return Yds | 169 | 4 |
| Punt Return Yds | 0 | 1 |
| Passes | 21-38-4 | 16-30-0 |
| Punts | 3-136 | 5-195 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 5-2 | 2-2 |
| Penalties-Yds | 6-59 | 3-40 |
| Time of Poss. | 39:27 | 20:33 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| UTEP: Nathan Jeffery 33-137, Blaire Sullivan 10-53, Laquintus Dowell 4-12, Michael Edwards 1-9, Nick Lamaison 1--8, Carson Meger 4--10 |
| HOU: Charles Sims 12-119, Kenneth Farrow 8-28, David Piland 4-23, Ryan Jackson 9-22, Team 3--27 |
| PASSING |
| UTEP: Nick Lamaison 8-18-76-4, Blaire Sullivan 6-10-105-0, Carson Meger 5-8-42-0, Jim Jones 2-2-78-0 |
| HOU: David Piland 16-30-174-0 |
| RECEIVING |
| UTEP: Michael Edwards 6-55, Jordan Leslie 4-95, Nathan Jeffery 3-27, Ishmael Harrison 2-47, Craig Wenrick 2-15, Kevin Perry 1-34, Devin Patterson 1-18, Autrey Golden 1-7, Jim Jones 1-3 |
| HOU: Larry McDuffey 3-61, Shane Ros 3-24, Deontay Greenberry 3-17, Daniel Spencer 2-32, Charles Sims 2-11, Mark Roberts 1-12, Ronnie Williams 1-10, Kenneth Farrow 1-7 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| Texas-El Paso | 5th Conference USA West | 2-6 | 3-9 |
| Houston | 3rd Conference USA West | 4-4 | 5-7 |
