Little love for Lobos in poll
UNM picked to finish second to last in Mountain Division
Apparently a nine-win season, a bowl victory and a share of a division title weren’t enough to garner the kind of respect The University of New Mexico football team was probably hoping for at this week’s Mountain West Conference Media Summit in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Lobos were picked to finish second to last in the Mountain Division by a panel of media members, falling well short of top pick Boise State. The Broncos earned 21 of the 28 first-place votes and received 161 points.
Colorado State was second, followed by Wyoming and Air Force. The Lobos, with 68 points, were followed only by Utah State last season. UNM finished in a tie with Wyoming and Boise State for the division title, losing out on a tiebreaker that sent Wyoming to the MWC championship game.
Defending league champion San Diego State was the unanimous pick for a second straight year to win the West, followed by Hawaii, UNLV, Nevada, San Jose State and Fresno State. SDSU had four players voted all-conference, the most of any team. New Mexico, San Jose State, Boise State, Hawaii and Wyoming each had three.
The Lobos named all-MWC were running back Tyrone Owens, offensive lineman Aaron Jenkins and defensive lineman Garrett Hughes. It’s the first time in a decade that three nonspecial teams Lobos were honored in the preseason.
Hughes was one of the two UNM players invited to take part in the Media Summit, which began Monday at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nev., with the presentation of the six teams from the West Division. The half-dozen teams from the Mountain took their turn Tuesday, taking part in something called the Social
Media Room for what amounted to a bizarre 25-minute play date posted to Facebook Live through the MWC’s page.
The team reps sat at a table and played games with a woman just off screen, coming nowhere close to orchestrating an actual question-and-answer session. Activities ranged from playing Hungry Hungry Hippo to wearing headbands with cards as one player gave clues while the other tried to figure things out. It continued with blindfolds and trying to guess random objects in a box, then ended with a bout of thumb war.
It was hardly the challenging presser usually associated with events like this. Rather than fielding questions about X’s and O’s or expectations for the season, blindfolded Lobos quarter-
back Lamar Jordan was trying not to panic when putting his hands on a plastic spider with Hughes giggling at his side.
The co-leader of an offense that averaged a school-record 36.7 points a game last season, Jordan emerges as an undisputed leader for a team that will commence with preseason practice Thursday night on UNM’s south campus. The season opener is set for Sept. 2 at home against Abilene Christian, the first of 12 regular season games that includes home dates with New Mexico State, Air Force and Colorado State and road trips to Wyoming, Boise State, Texas A&M and San Diego State.
Coming off a 9-4 season in which they went 6-2 in the MWC after being picked fifth in last year’s preseason poll, the Lobos return a host of key players from a team that beat UT-San Antonio in the New Mexico Bowl.
Hughes led the team in sacks and anchors a defensive line that will be as strong as it ever has in head coach Bob Davie’s tenure at UNM.
Owens rushed for over 1,000 yards last season and is the top rusher returning among the entire MWC.
Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen was named the league’s preseason offensive player of the year while Cowboys teammate Andrew Wingard was named the top defensive player. Allen edged out Boise State’s Brett Rypien for the top QB spot but both are considered top prospects for next year’s NFL Draft.