EL PASO, Texas – After falling behind by 21 points in the first quarter, NM State (4-7, 2-5 CUSA) came storming back before
TK King eventually scored the game-winning touchdown with just 21 seconds on the clock to defeat UTEP (2-9, 1-6 CUSA), 34-31, in the 102nd installment of the Battle of I-10. This marks the Aggies' first road win of the 2025 campaign and serves as the Aggies' second straight win over the Miners in El Paso.
Offensively, the Aggies produced their second-highest scoring total of the season as
Adam Damante finished the game 29-41 for 253 yards and three touchdowns in his first start as an Aggie. Damante hooked up with
Donovan Faupel for two touchdowns as Faupel concluded the night with nine catches for 78 yards. NM State also recorded its best rushing effort of the season, finishing with 194 total rushing yards. This effort was led by an 11-carry, 106-yard night for
Dijon Stanley, who became the first 100-yard rusher for the Aggies this season.
Defensively,
Stilton McKelvey came away with his first career interception to extend the Aggies' streak of games with a turnover to 11, recording one in every game this season. After allowing 21 points in the first nine minutes and four seconds of the game, the NM State defense would allow just 10 points across the following 50 minutes and 56 seconds.
Following an empty first drive for the Aggies, UTEP used a 56-yard run from Ashten Emory to set up for a rushing touchdown from Skyler Locklear, giving the home side an early advantage. Just two plays later, NM State would turn the ball over as a Damante pass deflected off his receiver's hands and into the hands of a UTEP defender. UTEP would add points on the ensuing play as Emory rushed 30 yards up the middle and into the end zone to give the Miners a 14-0 lead with 8:13 left on the clock.
Moments later, another Aggie miscue would give the Miners the ball on the NM State 41-yard line. Again, the Miners would drive down and tally their third touchdown of the quarter to take a 21-0 lead.
Eventually, the Aggie offense got things going, and on a drive that included a third-down conversion to
Brodie Malone-Bradford, the Aggies used 12 plays to move the ball 75 yards and into the end zone for their first score of the game. The lengthy drive was capped off by an 8-yard touchdown pass from
Adam Damante to
Donovan Faupel, notching Damante's first touchdown throw as an Aggie.
The NM State defense would then force a punt to give Damante and the Aggie offense the ball back. Highlighted by back-to-back plays of 20-plus yards, the Aggies would drive down the field for another touchdown. Once again, Damante leaned on Faupel as he lobbed a jump ball that Faupel muscled away from the UTEP defender to pull the Aggies within seven points.
After a forced three-and-out by the NM State defense, all it took was one play for
Dijon Stanley to scamper in for a 57-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game with 5:15 left on the clock in the first half. After UTEP scored 21 unanswered points in the first quarter, the Aggies followed suit with 21 of their own in the second to tie the game up at halftime.
The third quarter started with two rushing attacks by UTEP, followed by an interception for
Stilton McKelvey, who tapped his toes in bounds to intercept a pass that Locklear appeared to be throwing away. While the Aggies were not able to turn the interception into points, this set the tone for a quarter in which UTEP threw for just four yards on five attempts.
After a defensive stop and 12-play drive on offense, Aggie kicker
David Barker gave the Aggies their first lead of the game by nailing a 46-yard field goal to make it 24-21 with 5:09 on the clock in the third quarter. The Miners followed this up with an 11-play drive, finishing with a 22-yard field goal to knot the game up at 24 heading into the fourth quarter.
Once again, NM State would cap off a second 12-play drive to start the fourth quarter with another kick from Barker, who knocked it in from 24 yards to give the Aggies a 27-24 lead. This lead would hold until the 56-second mark on the clock, when UTEP scored a go-ahead touchdown to finish off a drive that included two fourth-down conversions.
Unphased, redshirt sophomore
Adam Damante began the following drive with a 21-yard completion to
TK King, before finding
PJ Johnson III for 10 yards to move the ball into Miner territory. With just 33 seconds on the clock, Offensive Coordinator
David Yost caught the UTEP defense off guard with a rush up the middle that saw
Dijon Stanley take the ball 25 yards down to the UTEP 10-yard line with 29 seconds remaining. One play later, Damante would find King along the back line of the end zone for what would ultimately be the game-winning score.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- With the win, the Aggies move to 40-61-2 all-time against the Miners, including a 20-40-1 mark in El Paso.
- With their fourth victory, the Aggies accomplished something only four other teams were able to achieve in the last 14 years.
- NM State totaled its highest rushing total of the season, finishing the night with 194 yards on 38 carries.
- The ground game was paced by Dijon Stanley, who recorded career-highs in carries (11) and yards (106), while becoming the first Aggie back to eclipse the century mark since Mike Washington did so against these same UTEP Miners last year. Stanley also logged his second rushing touchdown of the season and the longest rush of his career (57).
- In his first start as an Aggie, Adam Damante set new career highs in completions (29), passing yards (253), touchdown passes (3) and total pass attempts (41).
- Brodie Malone-Bradford turned in career-best marks in both catches (5) and receiving yards (55).
- To go along with the first interception of his career, Stilton McKelvey also recorded a career-high six total tackles.
- Isaiah Rudison managed a career high in rushing yards with 41, including a career-long run of 36 yards.
- Cole Schnettgoecke posted a new career high in total tackles with six.
- TK King logged the first receiving touchdown of his collegiate career.
- Ta'Avili Tuitama finished the night with a career best four tackles, while posting a new career high in tackles for loss with two.
- David Barker made a career-best two field goals, including a career-long 46-yarder.
- NM State has now forced a turnover in every game this season and has recorded 15 interceptions on the year.
UP NEXT
Following a trip to El Paso, the Aggies will compete in their final contest of the 2025 campaign as they take on Middle Tennessee in the seventh meeting between the two teams. The battle between the Aggies and Blue Raiders will take place in Aggie Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
This will also mark the third contest between the two programs that will serve as a conference matchup. NM State has won the previous two matchups. The game will stream live on ESPN+, with additional coverage available via 99.5 FM KXPZ, along with live statistics that can be found at NMStateSports.com/stats.
For complete coverage of the NM State football program, visit
NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (
NM State Football), Twitter (
@NMStateFootball) and Instagram (
@NMStateFB).
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