The SMU Mustangs had no problem taking advantage of UTEP's poor-offensive performance in the first half, as they jumped out to a 17-0 lead by the half, including 14 points in the second quarter alone.

It began and ended with the quarterbacks, which became a game of roulette midway through the second quarter. With 7:50 left in the second quarter, junior Carson Meger took over for senior Nick Lamaison following a three-and-out, shortly after SMU went up 10-0. Lamaison had thrown an interception on the first play of the second quarter to set up that scoring drive.

Neither quarterback saw much success in the second quarter, as Lamaison went 0-for-6 with two interceptions and Meger went 3-for-7 for 26 yards and one interception. Lamaison played the entire first quarter and went 3-for-6 for 49 yards. His longest pass came on a broken play when he under threw sophomore wide receiver Jordan Leslie and was nearly intercepted. It hit Shakiel Randolph in his hands but as he was trying to bring it in, he let it go and Leslie caught it for a 35-yard gain.

The lack of offense showed in the team's offensive statistics, also.

The Miners had five first downs all half to SMU's 13 and went 1-of-7 on third down, while SMU converted on five of their 12 third down opportunities.

The Mustangs had 212 net yards, compared to UTEP's 128.