By KYLE ROBERTS

Associate Sports Editor

Tech's Homecoming hopes were shattered Saturday by the University of Texas-El Paso Miners in Joe Aillet Stadium by a final score of 44-27.

The loss left the Bulldogs with a record of 4-4 and 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference play.

"It was a tough loss, obviously," head coach Jack Bicknell III said. "We played extremely hard, but we didn't make plays we needed to. It's a situation where we need to put that loss behind us and get excited about our next game in two weeks."

After a pregame rainfall, the teams took the field, where the Miners were able to take an early lead off a seven-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jordan Palmer to senior tight end Jonas Crafts with 11:00 on the clock.

Palmer completed 17-of-29 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns in the game.

Tech answered near the six-minute mark with a 66-yard pass from junior quarterback Matt Kubik to senior wide receiver Erick Franklin to set up a two-yard touchdown run from junior running back Ryan Moats. Freshman kicker Danny Horwedel's point-after was good to tie the game.

Kubik completed 9-of-28 passes for 151 yards and three interceptions. Moats finished with 99 yards and one touchdown.

The Bulldogs took the lead with 0:28 in the first quarter when senior wide receiver Tramissian Davis blocked a UTEP punt at the two-yard line to be recovered by sophomore wide receiver Chris Maddox in the end zone for a touchdown.

The second quarter featured a 13-point swing in favor of the Miners, beginning with a 48-yard field goal from UTEP's sophomore kicker Reagan Schneider with 12:55 on the clock. Palmer threw his second touchdown pass with 2:43 left in the half to junior wide receiver Daniel Robinson from 28 yards out. The half ended with a 44-yard field goal from Schneider to give the Miners a 20-14 halftime edge.

"UTEP has some really good football players," Bicknell said. "They're one of the top teams in the WAC this year, and they made plays when they had to. It was a hard fought game on both sides of the ball."

The Bulldogs ended their scoring drought after Horwedel's 43-yard field goal to cut the lead to three points. Palmer answered on the ensuing drive with a 65-yard hookup to wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins to extend the lead to 27-17.

Tech cut the score to 27-20 with Horwedel's second field goal -- this time from 37 yards out.

With 11:43 left in the game, Schneider connected on a 21-yard field goal to put the Miners up 30-20.

Tech responded on the next drive with a double reverse to sophomore Johnathan Holland for a 51-yard touchdown run. Horwedel's point-after was good to make the score 30-27 with 10:17 left in the game.

The Miners were finally able to pull away with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to junior wide receiver Chris Francies with 5:24 on the clock.

UTEP was able to tack on one final score with an eight-yard run by senior running back Jimmy Smith for a final score of 44-27.

The Bulldogs will rest this weekend and prepare to play the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Nov. 6.

"The (bye week) rest is going to be good for us," Bicknell said. "We've played eight-straight games that consisted of a lot of road games. We have the opportunity to heal a little bit and get excited to play Hawaii."