Lobos routed
Lobos embarrassed 42-3 at Wyoming
Seven turnovers prove to be New Mexico’s undoing in 42-3 defeat
LARAMIE, Wyo. — It was a tragedy of errors on the High Plains.
Saturday, the New Mexico Lobos stepped onto the field at War Memorial Stadium a 1-point favorite against the Wyoming Cowboys.
The Lobos trudged into the visitors’ locker room at halftime trailing 42-0, contributing five
turnovers — four interceptions and a muffed punt — to the carnage. The Cowboys converted all five into touchdowns.
Wyoming’s 35-point second quarter effectively settled the issue. The final score, Wyoming 42, New Mexico 3, was a mere footnote.
The Lobos had two more turnovers in the second half, but the Cowboys — their foot off the pedal to an extent — did not convert them into points.
“It was a rough night,” UNM coach Bob Davie said. “That was a different one there. … Tough night, from start to finish.”
The Lobos (3-5 overall, 1-4 in Mountain West Conference) now must win three of their remaining four games to reach bowl eligibility for the third straight year.
Junior linebacker Alex Hart, a team captain, said the Lobos must come to practice this week
believing that goal still can be achieved.
“As bad as (Saturday night) was, we learn from it. You just keep moving forward and stay together as a team. … Just try to lock in on the next week and learn from what happened the previous week.”
New Mexico has been outscored 80-3 in its past two games on the road after taking a 38-0 shellacking at Fresno State on Oct. 14. Two of their remaining games, at Texas A&M on Nov. 11 and at San Diego State on Nov. 24, are on the road.
The Lobos have had 37 offensive possessions on the road without scoring a touchdown, dating to the second half of a 16-13 victory at Tulsa on Sept. 23.
A 42-yard field goal by Jason Sanders, coming on the third play of the fourth quarter, allowed the Lobos to avoid a shutout.
The game didn’t begin as if a rout was in the offing. Neither team crossed midfield on its first three possessions as the defenses dominated.
But on UNM’s third possession, senior quarterback Lamar Jordan’s screen pass was picked off by Wyoming defensive end Carl Granderson, who returned the interception 37 yards to the New Mexico 2-yard line.
Two plays later, Cowboys quarterback Josh Allen scored from the 1-yard line. The first quarter ended with Wyoming leading 7-0, with still no indication of what was to come.
Yet, afterward, Davie felt Granderson’s interception set the stage.
“That was a dagger,” he said. More daggers were to follow. On the second play of the second quarter, UNM redshirt freshman quarterback Tevaka Tuioti attempted to throw while being tackled. His errant pass was intercepted by Cowboys safety Marcus Epps. Wyoming scored six plays later on a 4-yard Allen-to-Austin Fort pass.
A 14–0 Cowboys lead mushroomed to 42-0 in a hurry, fed by a Chris Davis muffed punt and two more Tuioti interceptions.
Meanwhile, a UNM ground game that rolled up 568 yards in beating Wyoming 56-35 last year in Albuquerque could gain no traction. The Lobos had just 26 yards on the ground (a 1.5-yard average) in the first half and 115 for the game.
Wyoming (5-3, 3-1) didn’t fare well on the ground, either, and Allen was inconsistent through the air. But gift-wrapped field position and some coverage breakdowns in the UNM secondary made the Cowboys’ life easy.
New Mexico started Tuioti, considered the better passer of its two “starting” quarterbacks, and threw the ball 20 times in the first half — but for only 69 yards and those four interceptions.
That, Davie said, isn’t likely to happen again.
Because of Wyoming’s defensive alignment, he said, “We thought we were gonna have to throw it around to win. But I think we’re past the point now of trying to be something we’re not.
“We’ve tried that a couple of times now and it hasn’t been our best formula to win. … We’re done with that, now. We’re not gonna let this happen again.”
The loss snapped UNM’s three-game winning streak against the Cowboys. It was fourth-year Wyoming coach Craig Bohl’s first win in the series.