''This is by far the earliest in the season that I've ever gotten drenched,'' he said after Howard Jackson rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns in the Miners' 32-0 win over Weber State Saturday night.

UTEP (1-1) bounced back from a 41-9 loss to Arizona State last week. The Miners racked up 490 yards of offense and held Division I-AA Weber State (0-2) to 112 yards. It was UTEP's first shutout since 1991.

Jackson scored on runs of 32 and 15 yards, the final one capping a 98-yard, 10-play drive for a 25-0 third-quarter lead.

''When our running backs get into the open field, they're pretty shifty,'' Price said. ''Jackson can break it all the way anytime.''

Jordan Palmer, the brother of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, was 18-of-28 yards for 223 yards without an interception or a touchdown. Palmer, who won the starting job just before the season began, was picked off four times last week.

''You think it's been 13 years since we recorded a shutout, it feels like it's been 13 years since I've played a game without throwing an interception,'' Palmer said. ''It feels good not to make any mistakes, but I'm still missing some reads.''

The Miners didn't turn the ball over, a week after losing it five times. Palmer fumbled when he was sacked, but he recovered it. The Miners also racked up 30 first downs.

Price said his quarterback is getting better, but added, ''He still needs to improve.''

Chris Marrow caught seven passes for 116 yards for UTEP.

''I knew going into this game if the opportunity presented itself, I had to have a breakthrough performance,'' Marrow said.

Price credited the defense for the dominating performance and said he gave the game ball to his defensive coordinator.

''It feels tremendous,'' linebacker Robert Rodriguez, who led the team with 10 tackles, said of the shutout. ''This is not the best we can play but we played hard and we're getting better every day.''

Weber State, meanwhile, could never get going.

''I don't think there is any doubt we battled hard and did some good things in the first half. They've got good enough athletes that if we make any mistakes they'll make us pay,'' said Wildcats coach Jerry Graybeal. ''In the second half, they just wore us down.''

The Wildcats had just eight first downs and two turnovers.

Nick Chournos led the Wildcats in rushing with 45 yards on 13 carries.

Kyle Bauer completed 6 of 18 passes for 41 yards and an interception.