LAST YEAR IS LAST YEAR
Lobos remember the loss to the Aggies, but Davie is not talking about it
What happened last year, Lobos coach Bob Davie and two of his players said Tuesday, no longer applies.
That goes for what happened last week, too.
Davie and his players, of course, haven’t forgotten last season’s 32-31 loss to intrastate rival New Mexico State in Las Cruces. They’re aware the Aggies put up some mindboggling offensive numbers Thursday in a 37-31 loss to Arizona State — a 23-point favorite — in Tempe, Ariz.
Davie, though, speaking at his weekly Tuesday news conference, said he hasn’t mentioned last year’s loss to NMSU in talking with team in preparation for the rematch Saturday at Dreamstyle Stadium. He does not plan to. “I don’t think there’s any reason to do that when we’ve won eight of the last nine games we’ve played,” he said. “That seems like a long time ago.
“This isn’t coach speak, this isn’t coach talk. It’s about, can we improve on Saturday night?”
As for the Aggies’ impressive offensive showing at ASU, he said, and regarding an NMSU defense that recorded seven sacks, every play has been watched and watched again — as for any other opponent.
But watching and learning from the film of UNM’s 38-14 victory over Abilene Christian, he said — especially this early in the season — is the higher priority.
“If you look all over our offices, you can see the phrase ‘narrow the focus,’” Davie said. “I think the worst thing I could do is expand the focus and make it about things that will be of no importance when that ball’s kicked off on Saturday night.
“So, narrow the focus. We’ll spend a lot more time looking at ourselves, quite honestly, than we will them.”
Quarterback Lamar Jordan and strong safety Jacob Girgle know all about rivalry games, going back to their high school days.
Jordan’s Frisco (Texas) Centennial Titans hated to lose to the Prosper Eagles; Girgle’s Los Osos Grizzlies passionately wanted to defeat those crosstown bullies, the Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Cougars.
The same applies Saturday, they said. But both quickly added that they hate losing to anyone and passionately want to win every game, regardless the proximity of the opponent.
“It means everything to me, just being able to play in the rivalry game. It’s truly a blessing,” said Jordan. He was in for only two plays in the loss to the Aggies last fall in place of Austin Apodaca, the starter at the time, who came out after taking a big hit.
And of course, Jordan said, the loss to NMSU, the first one he’d experienced in the Lobos-Aggies series, hurt.
Then again, any loss hurts.
“We’ve got to treat every game the same, even though it’s the in-state rivalry game,” Jordan said. “Even though we lost last year, we’ve still got to prepare and treat them like any other opponent.”
Girgle played sparingly last fall against the Aggies, recording one tackle. Now a starter, he had seven tackles and a pass interception against Abilene Christian.
A game against Rancho Cucamonga, he said, “was always the fun one for me. But I think in high school, I treated every game like it was important. And I think it’s the same thing with college.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a rivalry, doesn’t matter if it’s Texas A&M, doesn’t matter if it’s Abilene Christian. You have to go in with the right focus and be able to play against whoever it is, no matter if it’s a rivalry or not.”
ON MEIKO: Meiko Locksley was a Lobos walk-on defensive back when Davie was hired as UNM’s coach in November 2011. The two never met, but Davie on Tuesday said he and Meiko, the son of former Lobos coach Mike Locksley, had correspondence and talked once on the phone before the young man moved on to play at a junior college.
Meiko Locksley, 25, was shot on Saturday night outside his Columbia, Md. home and died early the next morning.
“That’s an absolute parent’s worst nightmare,” Davie said at Tuesday’s news conference before taking questions. “To Mike and his family, our thoughts are with you, our prayers are with you.