Battle 100 belongs to the Aggies.
 
NM State came to El Paso and handled business – beating the Miners 28-7 to earn their largest road victory in the Battle of I-10 since 1961.

Offensively, the Aggies were led by Diego Pavia who threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to senior tight end Thomaz Whitford. On the ground, Monte Watkins paced the Aggies as he produced the first 100-yard rushing game of his career.
 
Defensively, NM State's defensive line continued its strong play as they came up with four sacks on the night, including two from Buddha Peleti. On the back end, Jordan Vincent's eight tackles led all Aggie defenders.
 
FIRST HALF
The Miners took the first drive and after finding brief success, NM State's pass rush got home on third down as Nikhil Webb-Walker and Izaiah Reed combined to sack the young UTEP quarterback and force the game's first punt. Jonathan Brady worked his way onto the stat sheet with his first touch of the game – returning the punt for a season-high 25 yards.
 
Not only did NM State's pass rush record a sack on each of the Miners' first two possessions, but the entire unit was humming early on as the UTEP offense was only able to accumulate 3 yards in the opening quarter of action.
 
On the other side, the NM State offensive line got things going the second time the Aggies touched the ball as they helped lead an eight-play 74-yard drive to the end zone. The efficient drive consisted of 69 rushing yards, including a 10-yard rushing touchdown by Diego Pavia which resulted in the first touchdown of the night.
 
The Miners quickly responded as they used seven plays on the ensuing drive to even the score. UTEP's scoring drive was highlighted by a 54-yard rush from Deion Hankins who was hawked down at the two-yard line by a screaming Myles Rowser, however, UTEP would score two plays later.
 
On the final drive of the first half, NM State worked the ball down to the UTEP eight-yard line with four seconds remaining on the clock. A half that looked as though it would end on a high note as Ethan Albertson lined up for a chip shot from the 25-yard line. However, a UTEP defender burst through the middle to block the attempt to send the two teams into locker room all tied on the scoreboard.
 
SECOND HALF
The Aggies wasted no time in the second half as Pavia drove the Aggies 69 yards down the field and finished the drive off with a six-yard touchdown pass to Thomaz Whitford to put the Aggies ahead 14-7. A stalled drive at the Miner 31 yard-line gave the ball back to the Crimson & White offense, who scored their second straight touchdown in the second half as Diego Pavia scampered down the sideline to reach the end zone for the second time in the game.
 
The Aggies' scoring ways continued on the third drive of the half as Pavia and Whitford connected for a second time to put a stamp on the seven-play, 53-yard drive that spanned just three minutes and 53 seconds. Most of the drive's yardage came via the air as Pavia's arm accounted for 30 of the 53 yards.
 
Meanwhile, NM State's defense shined in the second as it held the UTEP offense to just 24 yards in the third quarter and a total of four rush yards during the third period. Ultimately, the stiff Aggie defense made a comeback impossible as it allowed zero second-half points and limited UTEP to a 1-of-8 conversion rate on third downs across the final two quarters.