It’s showtime for McQuarley, UNM
Lobos huge favorites in season-opener tonight vs. visiting Abilene Christian
It has been a long time, said Richard McQuarley, between touchdowns. Too long. Last Dec. 17, McQuarley plowed through the UTSA defense for a TD from a yard out — providing the New Mexico Lobos with their winning margin in a 23-20 Gildan New Mexico Bowl victory. It was the Meridian, Miss. native’s 18th touchdown of the 2016 season.
The bruising senior running back is eager to find more paydirt this fall, starting tonight in UNM’s season opener against Abilene Christian.
As of the close of business, some 18,500 tickets had been sold for the Lobos’ first game in their 57-yearold football home under its new name: Dreamstyle Stadium.
McQuarley is sold on the idea of hitting and being hit by someone other than a teammate. It has been, he said, an interminably long preseason.
“(Today) can’t come fast enough,” he said. “It’s been a grind.”
Abilene Christian, a member of the Southland Conference, plays in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision. That’s a notch below the Football Bowl Subdivision, in which UNM competes. Pair that information with ACU’s 2-9 record last year and UNM’s 9-4 mark, and it’s easy to see why the Lobos are rated a four-touchdown favorite.
If there’s a concern, UNM coach Bob Davie said, it’s that Abilene Christian is a program in transition.
New coach Adam Dorrel, who won three NCAA Division II titles in his six years at Northwest Missouri State, has brought in a new staff. The Wildcats also have several FBS transfers who are new to the program.
Whether the opponent is Abilene Christian or Alabama, Davie said, a season opener is invariably about the unknown and how to cope with it.
In last year’s opener against FCS opponent South Dakota, the Lobos gave up two long touchdown runs and trailed early, 14-7. The leak was promptly plugged, and UNM won 49-21.
This year’s Lobos are far less experienced than last season’s on defense, and — not that he’d like to see ACU score a couple of quick TDs — Davie needs to find out how his nine new defensive starters will react when things don’t go according to plan.
“A lot of times in opening games,” he said, “there’s so much energy early because you’ve invested so much in it that one little needle to the balloon can pop the balloon.
“Everybody’s put so much into it, and then all of a sudden a couple of things go bad and it’s like, oh, no, and the air just comes out.”
The antidote, Davie said, is “being evenkeeled. I think it’s important to just talk about being the best team in the stadium Saturday night. That’s all we have to do.”
The experience factor on offense is a different matter. Eight full- or part-time starters return from a unit that led the nation in rushing (350 yards per game) last fall. The Lobos averaged 36.7 points per game last season, 23rd-best in the FBS ranks and No. 1 in the Mountain West Conference.
As a complement to the ground game, fifth-year senior quarterback Lamar Jordan has thrown the ball in the preseason better than ever before. Davie calls his receiving corps the deepest and most talented he’s had at UNM.
Jordan, an inconsistent passer in the past, is eager to show his accuracy in practice can translate to a game.
“All that hard work really doesn’t mean anything if I can’t execute in a game,” he said. “I’ve just got to bear down, be mentally focused and be ready for (tonight).”
After a recent practice, McQuarley ticked off all the assets the Lobos possess on offense.
And, he said in conclusion, don’t forget the guy who scores the touchdowns.
“I’m coming downhill,” he said. “If you don’t like it, don’t get in front of me, because it’s gonna be a show.”