Liberty Defeats UTEP 19-8 Behind Strong First-Half Offense
Liberty defeated UTEP 19-8 in Week 7 play, with the Flames building an early lead that proved insurmountable despite a fourth-quarter UTEP rally. Liberty dominated the first half, scoring 13 points through two quarters while holding UTEP scoreless. The Flames added six more in the third quarter before both teams went silent in the fourth, when UTEP finally scored eight points.
Liberty's offense generated explosive plays early, with quarterback Ethan Vasko connecting on several key passes. Vasko completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Julian Gray and a 31-yard completion to Jaylon Coleman in the first quarter, establishing field position. Running back Vaughn Blue led the ground attack with 75 rushing yards. Wide receiver Jacob Jenkins led all receivers with nine catches.
UTEP's Skyler Locklear completed 90 passing yards but struggled with turnovers, including an interception returned for 70 yards by Jiquavious Marshall in the second quarter. Liberty covered the 2-point spread, while the game finished under the 46.5-point over-under.
AI-generated recap · Aug 10, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Liberty | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
 UTEP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Liberty | UTEP |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 19-33 | 13-27 |
| Pass Yards | 243 | 111 |
| Rush Yards | 165 | 56 |
| Total Yards | 408 | 167 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| 3rd Down | 3-18 | 3-15 |
| Penalties | 6-57 | 3-40 |
| Possession | 39:57 | 20:03 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Hahsaun Wilson run for 3 yds to the UTEP 28
Skyler Locklear pass complete to Kenny Odom for 5 yds to the UTEP 33
Skyler Locklear pass complete to Judah Ezinwa for 10 yds to the UTEP 43 for a 1ST down
Skyler Locklear pass incomplete to Kenny Odom
Skyler Locklear pass incomplete to Jaylan Brown
Skyler Locklear pass complete to Hahsaun Wilson for 2 yds to the UTEP 45
Noah Botsford punt for 49 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the LIB 6
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Julian Gray for 29 yds to the LIB 35 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jaylon Coleman for 31 yds to the UTEP 34 for a 1ST down
(11:46) No Huddle-Shotgun Blue,Vaughn rush left for 14 yards gain to the UTEP20 (Content,Justin), out of bounds PENALTY LIB Holding (Ryan,Caleb) 10 yards from UTEP34 to UTEP44. NO PLAY.
Eric Smith run for 6 yds to the UTEP 38
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 13 yds to the UTEP 25
Vaughn Blue run for a loss of 1 yard to the UTEP 26
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Julian Gray for 11 yds to the UTEP 15 for a 1ST down
Vaughn Blue run for 3 yds to the UTEP 12
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Tyson Mobley
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Donte Lee Jr. for 6 yds to the UTEP 6
Ethan Vasko run for 2 yds to the UTEP 4 for a 1ST down
Vaughn Blue run for 2 yds to the UTEP 2
Ethan Vasko run for 2 yds for a TD (Jay Billingsley KICK)
Hahsaun Wilson run for 1 yd to the UTEP 26
Hahsaun Wilson run for a loss of 4 yards to the UTEP 22
Skyler Locklear run for 11 yds to the UTEP 33
Noah Botsford punt for 35 yds , Reese Smith returns for no gain to the LIB 29
Caden Williams run for 5 yds to the LIB 34
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Julian Gray for 23 yds to the UTEP 43 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 1 yd to the UTEP 42
Caden Williams run for 7 yds to the UTEP 35
Ethan Vasko run for 5 yds to the UTEP 30 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Tyson Mobley
Ethan Vasko run for 14 yds to the UTEP 16 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for a loss of 2 yards to the UTEP 18
Caden Williams run for 9 yds to the UTEP 9
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Vaughn Blue
Jay Billingsley 27 yd FG GOOD
Max Morgan kickoff for 55 yds , Nik Henry return for 2 yds to the UTEP 12
Elijah McCoy run for 5 yds to the UTEP 17
Elijah McCoy run for a loss of 1 yard to the UTEP 16
Skyler Locklear pass incomplete to Toric Goins Jr.
Noah Botsford punt for 46 yds , Reese Smith returns for 6 yds to the LIB 44
Eric Smith run for 7 yds to the UTEP 49
Vaughn Blue run for 5 yds to the UTEP 44 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Donte Lee Jr.
Ethan Vasko run for no gain to the UTEP 44
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 9 yds to the UTEP 35
Ethan Vasko run for 1 yd to the UTEP 34 for a 1ST down
Vaughn Blue run for 16 yds to the UTEP 18 for a 1ST down
Vaughn Blue run for 5 yds to the UTEP 13
Ethan Vasko run for 3 yds to the UTEP 10
Ethan Vasko run for a loss of 1 yard to the UTEP 11
Jay Billingsley 29 yd FG GOOD
Elijah McCoy run for 6 yds to the UTEP 31
Elijah McCoy run for no gain to the UTEP 31
Malachi Nelson pass incomplete to Trevon Tate
Noah Botsford punt for 42 yds , Reese Smith returns for no gain to the LIB 24
PENALTY UTEP UNS: Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Lowe,Kode) 15 yards from LIB24 to LIB39, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Tyson Mobley
Darius Copeland run for 6 yds to the LIB 45
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Reese Smith for 1 yd to the LIB 46
Max Morgan punt for 54 yds for a touchback
Hahsaun Wilson run for 3 yds to the UTEP 23
Malachi Nelson pass complete to Hahsaun Wilson for 5 yds to the UTEP 28
Malachi Nelson pass incomplete to Alex Szczesniak
Noah Botsford punt for 53 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the LIB 19
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Julian Gray
Vaughn Blue run for 3 yds to the LIB 22
Liberty Penalty, Personal Foul (Yards) declined
Max Morgan punt for 53 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the UTEP 25 , Eric Willis III returns for no gain to the UTEP 25
Malachi Nelson pass complete to Jaylan Brown for 5 yds to the UTEP 30
Malachi Nelson pass incomplete to Jaylan Brown
Hahsaun Wilson run for no gain to the UTEP 30
Noah Botsford punt for 57 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the LIB 17 , Reese Smith returns for 4 yds to the LIB 17
Vaughn Blue run for 4 yds to the LIB 21
Eric Smith run for 4 yds to the LIB 25
PENALTY LIB UNS: Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Smith,Eric) 12 yards from LIB25 to LIB12. NO PLAY.
Vaughn Blue run for 5 yds to the LIB 17
Max Morgan punt for 45 yds , Eric Willis III returns for no gain to the UTEP 18
PENALTY LIB UNS: Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Ricks, Jr.,Dexter) 15 yards from UTEP28 to UTEP43, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Skyler Locklear pass complete to Kenny Odom for 4 yds to the UTEP 47
Skyler Locklear pass complete to Wondame Davis Jr. for 10 yds to the LIB 43 for a 1ST down
Skyler Locklear sacked by Joe Strickland for a loss of 5 yards to the LIB 48
Skyler Locklear run for 7 yds to the LIB 41
Skyler Locklear pass intercepted Jiquavious Marshall return for 70 yds to the UTEP 23
End of 2nd Quarter
Vaughn Blue run for 7 yds to the LIB 32
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Tyson Mobley for 15 yds to the LIB 47 for a 1ST down
Vaughn Blue run for 3 yds to the 50 yard line
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 12 yds to the UTEP 38 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 11 yds to the UTEP 27 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Eric Smith
Vaughn Blue run for 2 yds to the UTEP 25
Liberty Penalty, Intentional Grounding (Ethan Vasko) to the UTEP 32
Jay Billingsley 50 yd FG GOOD
Malachi Nelson pass complete to Judah Ezinwa for 2 yds to the UTEP 27
Malachi Nelson pass incomplete to Kenny Odom
Malachi Nelson sacked by Bryce Dixon for a loss of 6 yards to the UTEP 21
Noah Botsford punt for 40 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the LIB 39
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Donte Lee Jr. for 22 yds to the UTEP 39 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 12 yds to the UTEP 27 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 1 yd to the UTEP 26
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Caleb Ryan
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the UTEP 23
Jay Billingsley 41 yd FG GOOD
Max Morgan kickoff for 65 yds , Eric Willis III return for 23 yds to the UTEP 23
Malachi Nelson pass incomplete to Kenny Odom
Hahsaun Wilson run for 2 yds to the UTEP 25
Malachi Nelson pass complete to Josh Schuchts for 9 yds to the UTEP 34 for a 1ST down
Malachi Nelson pass incomplete to Wondame Davis Jr.
Malachi Nelson sacked by A'Khori Jones for a loss of 8 yards to the UTEP 26
Malachi Nelson run for no gain to the UTEP 26
Noah Botsford punt for 44 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the LIB 30
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 7 yds to the LIB 37
Vaughn Blue run for 1 yd to the LIB 38
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jacob Jenkins for 9 yds to the LIB 47 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Jacob Jenkins
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Julian Gray
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Austin Henderson for 9 yds to the UTEP 44
Ethan Vasko run for 2 yds to the UTEP 42 for a 1ST down
Vaughn Blue run for 2 yds to the UTEP 40
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Donte Lee Jr.
PENALTY LIB Delay Of Game (Vasko,Ethan) 5 yards from UTEP40 to UTEP45. NO PLAY.
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Caleb Ryan for 10 yds to the UTEP 35
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Elijah Canion
Ethan Vasko run for 2 yds to the LIB 27
Caden Williams run for no gain to the LIB 27
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Casey Cain for 14 yds to the LIB 41 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for a loss of 1 yard to the LIB 40
UTEP Penalty, Personal Foul (Micah Davey) to the UTEP 45 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for a loss of 2 yards to the UTEP 47
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the UTEP 44
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Casey Cain
Max Morgan punt for 44 yds for a touchback
Skyler Locklear run for 15 yds to the UTEP 35 for a 1ST down
Skyler Locklear pass complete to Josh Schuchts for 4 yds to the UTEP 39
Skyler Locklear pass complete to Josh Schuchts for 5 yds to the UTEP 44
Hahsaun Wilson run for no gain to the UTEP 44
Ashten Emory run for no gain to the UTEP 44
Vaughn Blue run for 2 yds to the UTEP 42
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Austin Henderson for 11 yds to the UTEP 31 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko run for 4 yds to the UTEP 27
Vaughn Blue run for 2 yds to the UTEP 25
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Donte Lee Jr.
Jay Billingsley 43 yd FG MISSED
Skyler Locklear run for 12 yds to the UTEP 37 for a 1ST down
Skyler Locklear pass incomplete to Trevon Tate
Skyler Locklear pass incomplete to Wondame Davis Jr.
Skyler Locklear pass intercepted Eldric Griffin return for no gain to the LIB 41
Liberty Penalty, Personal Foul (15 Yards) to the LIB 26
Ethan Vasko run for 4 yds to the LIB 30
Vaughn Blue run for 14 yds to the LIB 44 for a 1ST down
E. Vasko takes a knee
E. Vasko takes a knee
E. Vasko takes a knee