Lobos, Wyoming both desperate to win again
A lot of buzz surrounded Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen back in September, a time where college football experts claimed he was a potential No. 1 pick in next spring’s NFL Draft.
While his numbers through seven games don’t exactly scream franchise status — he ranks 78th in the country in passing yards (1,216) and has thrown six interceptions while completing just 55.7 percent of his passes — he does have a believer in University of New Mexico head coach Bob Davie.
During his weekly media luncheon Tuesday, Davie compared the 6-foot-5, 240-pound junior to Ben Roethlisberger.
“When the game is on the line, when they need it, he will run the football,” Davie said. “There’s no backing down, there’s no worrying about next May at the NFL Draft. He’s going to line up and carry that ball. We counted 21 times he was on the ground at Boise, and he’s taking shots and he keeps coming and keeps coming. He’s a guy that actually looks for contact. I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
UNM (3-4 overall, 1-3 in the Mountain West) visits Allen and the Wyoming Cowboys (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday night. Both teams are in desperate need of a win in the pursuit of a bowl bid. Teams need at least six wins to gain bowl eligibility and with his Lobos in last place in the Mountain Division, Davie’s sole focus is winning three more games.
“Even though we’re 3-4, I think there’s a very good attitude and a hungry kind of thing to get to another bowl game,” Davie said. “I mean, let’s call it what it is. It’s trying to win six games now and that’s no easy task when it’s at Wyoming, at Texas A&M and at San Diego State.”
The Lobos are trying to do with a mounting injuries at several key positions, namely along the offensive line and defensive backfield. Davie said starting tackles Teton Saltes and Izrael Castellanos will miss yet another game due to injury.
It goes along with season-ending incidents that have already claimed nose tackle Johnny Williams and receiver Emmanuel Harris (both seniors) and safety Bijon Parker, not to mention a laundry list of ailments that have drained the safety position and tested the depth of the offensive line.
Davie said the team’s seasonlong lack of offensive rhythm can be blamed not on the platooning quarterback situation, but on the constant turnover on the line.
“You just look out there on that practice field and it’s pretty thin,” he said. “Where it really affects you is when it gets down to those scout squads.”
The fact that the secondary has been decimated so badly puts the onus on a number of younger players, like safety Michael Sewell Jr. He had a poor game three weeks ago against Air Force and was tested time and again by strongarmed quarterbacks in losses to Fresno State and Colorado State.
When it comes to MWC quarterbacks, none is stronger than Allen. Davie said he was reminded of the year he was an assistant at Pittsburgh when the Panthers were playing Southern Methodist in the Cotton Bowl. Pitt’s QB was Dan Marino, a larger-than-life figure in his own right.
What Davie remembers from that game is what he saw in the other team.
“You look out at that in that huddle of SMU and Eric Dickerson was like the biggest guy in the huddle, but he’s the tailback,” Davie said. “It’s kind of the same thing with Wyoming. You look out there and No. 17’s like the biggest guy on the field but he’s the quarterback.”
GAME NOTES
Refs’ blown calls: Davie said he heard from the MWC office this week about a pair of critical calls late in UNM’s 27-24 loss to Colorado State last Friday night. Both went against the Lobos and the conference admitted each one was called incorrectly.
UNM running back Richard McQuarley was flagged for tripping as the team was driving for its final touchdown. The conference said a flag should not have been thrown.
A missed holding call in the Colorado State end zone should have given UNM a safety, cutting the Rams’ lead to 24-19 in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t called and CSU punted the ball away, then got the ball right back on a McQuarley fumble.
Similarly, a catch made out of bounds helped CSU keep a late drive alive. Davie said the officials in the replay booth tried to buzz down to the lead referee to review the play, but the signal was not sent before CSU got off its next play.