This is the Depth Dossier: the UTEP Miners, Week 7.

UTEP put up 462 yards and held the ball for over 35 minutes against San José State, but it lost 24 to 11 because the offensive line allowed 11 sacks. That's the whole story of this game right there, two numbers that don't seem to belong to the same team.

Quarterback E.J. Colson Junior started red hot, going six for six for 87 yards, including a 64-yard strike, before he left the game with an injury. Raymond Moore the Third came on and threw for 195 yards without finding the end zone through the air. UTEP missed two field goals, converted just five of 16 third downs, and scored on only one of three red zone trips. Running back Nik Henry's eight-yard touchdown run was the only offensive score. The Miners are now 1 and 6 overall, 0 and 3 in Mountain West play.

Here's the number that explains everything. Eleven sacks allowed is the most by any team in college football this season, and it pushes UTEP's season total to 36 through seven games, also the most in the country. Those sacks alone wiped out 74 yards off the rushing total, so the ground game was actually better than it looked. But it means nearly every good drive had a landmine built into it.

The opening drive told the story perfectly. Wide receiver Kam Thomas hauled in a 64-yard catch to set up an easy scoring chance, and UTEP missed the field goal. Big play, no points. That happened over and over. Five of 16 on third down, one of three in the red zone, two missed field goals. For a team moving the ball as well as any UTEP team in years, not cashing those chances in was the real story.

A couple of other things worth knowing. UTEP didn't turn the ball over for the second straight week, so ball security isn't the problem. And the Miners converted three of four fourth down attempts, which shows some fight even with earlier downs stalling behind that line. Wide receiver Jaden Smith caught a career-high 12 passes for 90 yards, tying for third-most in program history, though a lot of that work came on shorter, underneath throws.

Now, the depth chart. The biggest question is Colson's health. He was six for six with the long completion of the game before leaving, and with reports he's been banged up in recent weeks, his status is one to watch heading into the bye. Moore filled in and threw for 195 yards on 19 of 28 passing, his third straight game running the offense in some capacity, and he's building a real case to be the guy even once Colson's healthy again.

The bigger structural issue is the offensive line. Allowing 11 sacks in one game, the worst outing by any line in the country this season, on top of 36 for the year, makes pass protection the most urgent fix on this roster. No specific personnel changes have come out yet, but with a bye week now on the schedule, don't be surprised if the rotation up front gets a look.

On the skill side, Smith's 12-catch day makes him the clear top target in the passing game, and Thomas, with 96 receiving yards built around that 64-yard bomb, is the explosive-play threat. Henry's touchdown and two-point conversion give him a small foothold as a short-yardage option worth tracking. On defense, linebacker Esteban Guillory had a career-high six tackles, though the unit as a whole couldn't slow San José State down.

With the bye week before North Dakota State, the priorities are obvious. Check on Colson's health, fix the protection up front, and finally find a way to turn all this yardage into points the Miners have kept leaving on the field.

This was the depth dossier. For everything college football, be it depth charts, data or dossiers, head over to C F B Depth dot com. We will be back next week. This was an AI-generated podcast from content developed by real human beings passionate about college football.