Overall, Nelson turned in a mostly steady start in his college starting debut. He completed 22-for-34 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception (112.5 QB RTG). At times, he flashed the five-star caliber talent. And at other points, he looked like, well, a first-year quarterback—evident by two delay of game penalties in the third quarter. 

One wouldn't question the arm talent of Nelson. He can sling the rock, showing his fangs early with the 34-yard touchdown strike to Kenny Odom on an inside fade route. The offense needs to get more than 16 points on the board, however. The Miners ran 72 plays—12 more than Utah State—and averaged 3.9 yards per play. UTEP tried to make a second half rally, but punted three straight times to close out the game, while the Miners' defense forced the Aggies to punt on their final five drives of the game.

Let's be clear: the sky is far from falling after game one of year two under Scotty Walden. A lot of this is fixable. And this team has the squad to be frisky in a frankly bad Conference USA.

Here's the distribution of passes for Nelson after Saturday's game:

UTEP Quarterback Route Location Charts

Nelson, Malachi

Nelson was an impressive 15-for-15 on short passes (1-5 yards) and 8-for-20 on passes 5 yards plus. The lone deep pass Nelson connected on (1-for-7) was the crisp 34-yard strike to Odom to give UTEP the early 7-3 lead. He's mobile in the pocket, but mostly comfortable throwing in the pocket. Nelson was sacked twice and had seven rush attempts for two yards total, including his longest rush being five yards.

Eight different receivers caught passes for 23 total and 181 receiving yards, including two drops. Odom was the leading receiver with nine catches on 15 targets for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Shay Smith entered the game for a series in the third quarter after the Aggies took the 28-10 lead with over eight minutes left in the third quarter. Smith went 1-for-2 for three passing yards in a change-of-pace role for the Miners.

In all, Nelson has an opportunity to secure his first collegiate win against UT-Martin, an FCS squad, when they visit the Sun Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 6. The Miners still have plenty of time to prepare for the 2025 season, and things are just getting started for Nelson, Walden, and the Miners.

Defensive line shines in the loss

UTEP's defensive line was mostly disruptive during the loss, leading the charge as they finished with six total sacks as a team. USU quarterback Bryson Barnes finished with 63 yards of rushing, while losing 34 yards (29 yards net).

Two of the top pass rushers who started on Saturday were Udoka Ezeani (four tackles for loss, one sack) and Ashaad Hall (two sacks). Standout captain defensive lineman KD Johnson finished with 1.5 tackles for loss and four tackles. The surprise came in a productive outing from redshirt freshman Elijah Baldwin, who totaled 1.5 sacks and one pass breakup.

More explosive plays are necessary for the offense

UTEP's offense ended with just six total big plays, which are recorded by plays of 10-plus yards. They had only two pass plays of 15 yards or more. In comparison, USU had 12 total big plays, double what the Miners had.

Head coach Scotty Walden discussed the team's lack of big plays and the need to generate more.