Lobos to look at everything
Utah State breaks into top-25 after win
Before New Mexico’s football team played at Utah State, the Lobos wanted to have fun and be loose on offense, wide receiver Elijah Lilly said.
Lilly, UNM’s speedy playmaker, said the Lobos were extremenly intense against Fresno State after losing on a field goal as time expired to Colorado State the week before.
But there’s nothing fun about losing 61-19 in a Mountain West Conference game at Utah State on Saturday.
The Aggies (7-1, 4-0 in conference) instead were having fun, rolling up 704 yards of offense on 91 plays. They broke into the Assocated Press Top 25 for the first time this season, at No. 18, after they won their seventh straight game.
After losing in a rout, UNM coach Bob Davie said he and his coaching staff would reevaluate everything, including the offense, which is in its first year in the spread.
Entering the season, the Lobos wanted to get the ball to the perimeter more, to the receivers. But after four interceptions, Davie
said he wasn’t so sure if the offense was the right one for his team. The Lobos (3-5, 1-3) had been in the triple-option for six seasons before switching to the spread.
Before taking on the Aggies, Davie expressed that even though he is in his seventh season with the Lobos, he felt the team was in transition because of the spread offense.
“I’m not willing to turn the ball over four times on interceptions,” Davie said Saturday. “Maybe we should go back and run the ball. Everything is on the table ... You have to re-evaluate everything, and that’s starting with me and all the decisions.”
WHAT WENT RIGHT: The Lobos had the look of a quality team at the very beginning of the game. They boldly deferred for the Aggies to receive and to play defense after winning the coin toss before the game. They then forced USU’s high-powered offense into a three-and-out and proceeded to move the ball on offense with Jones hitting wide receiver Jay Grifin IV for positive yards.
In the second half, Gerhart made some plays and gave the Lobos some energy.
Also, the UNM defense caused two turnovers in the second half, including Evahelotu Tohi’s fumble recovery for a touchdown.
WHAT WENT WRONG: That UNM defense just could not stop quarterback Jordan Love and the Aggies once they got going. Things turned ugly in the first quarter, when Utah State overcame a 3-0 deficit and scored 28 points.
The Lobos were driving to take a 10-7 lead when Shaq Bond intercepted quarterback Sheriron Jones pass and took it back 100 yards for a touchdown. Jones was trying to get the ball to Lilly, but the pass was a bit behind him. It was a huge swing that gave the Aggies great momentum.
Utah State kept piling it on and built a 52-5 lead before the half.
Love threw for 448 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, connecting on 23 of his 34 passes.
NOTABLE: San Diego State fell to 6-2, 3-1 after Nevada (5-4, 3-2) upset the Aztecs 28-24 on Saturday. SDSU, with head coach Rocky Long, formerly of UNM, will play at Dreamstyle Stadium Saturday at 8:15 p.m.
Fresno State (7-1, 4-0), which beat UNM 38-7 on Oct. 20, moved into the AP Top 25 on Sunday, with a No. 20 ranking. HE SAID IT: “There’s no question that in the middle of these type of losses your character will be exposed. That starts with me. No one wants to be in this position, leaving Utah State. This is the time right now, your character will be exposed, from me all the way down to everyone and everything else.” — UNM coach Bob Davie, responding if the past two losses to Fresno State and Utah State have been demoralizing.