UW’S NEXT OPPONENT: NEW MEXICO

MADISON – Wisconsin hosts unranked New Mexico at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Lobos, coached by Bob Davie, opened the season with a 62-30 victory over Incarnate Word, a Football Championship Subdivision program located in San Antonio.

Following is a breakdown of the Lobos as they prepare to face UW:

OFFENSE

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tevaka Tuioti is the catalyst of the Lobos’ spread-option attack.

The 6-foot-1, 199-pounder started one game and played in eight last season. He completed only 48.3% of his passes but was sharper in the ’18 opener. Tuioti completed 13 of 21 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 54 yards and a touchdown. Tuioti can throw effectively from the pocket or on the move and spreads the ball around. Ten players caught at least one pass in the opener.

“He has plenty of talent,” Davie said after the victory over Incarnate Word. “There is no question about that. Tevaka made a lot of plays, a lot of great plays.”

The Lobos won’t rely exclusively on Tuioti, however.

Four backs had at least five carries in the opener. Zahneer Shuler, 6-1 and 232, led the way with 90 yards on just five carries.

DEFENSE

Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove, a UW assistant from 1990-2003, probably wasn’t happy to see his unit surrender 566 total yards.

Davie wasn’t, because the Lobos gave up runs of 90 and 58 yards and 328 passing yards.

Perhaps the results weren’t surprising. Middle linebacker Alex Hart is the only player back among the top five tacklers from 2017.

“It wasn’t near good enough on defense,” Davie said. “We’ve got to take this personal. We’ve got to bounce back.

“We need to clean all this out and move forward, because I know we can play better.

“The runs were disappointing. Those two big runs should never happen.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Lobos had to replace their kicker, punter and punt-return specialist from last season.

Australian punter Tyson Dyer had an impressive debut with three punts for a 48.7-yard average.

Dylan Kelly-Romero recorded touchbacks on three of eight kickoffs. Andrew Shelley did not attempt a field goal. Both are redshirt freshmen.