‘Beaten-down football team’
in a fair position to compete week after week. You know, I think that’s the million-dollar topic at the roundtable. You know, are we being fair to everybody?”
Davie has repeatedly hinted that the cause of UNM’s struggles coincides with steep budget cuts within the athletic department in the last year. The football team is no longer allowed to stay in a hotel the night before home games, among other cuts that prevent a postseason awards banquet and offering support to the players behind the scenes.
“Certainly there’s a scoreboard on the team on Saturdays,” Davie said. “There probably needs to be a scoreboard put on some other things prior to the team going out there on Saturday.”
Asked if the Lobos were in a position to compete on the same level as other teams in the Mountain West Conference, Davie laid waste to any notion of a positive outlook.
“Right now, I say no. I say there’s no chance to do that,” he said. “But again, right now’s not the time. You know, I’m talking too much right now. I’m clouded right now because everything seems so negative.”
GAME NOTES
Empty feeling: Saturday’s announced crowd was 14,269, the smallest of the season. In six games, the Lobos drew 99,523 for an average of 16,587 — the lowest since 1991.
For some perspective, Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game drew 106,588.
Big returns: Lobo freshman Marcus Hayes was one of the lone bright spots this season. He entered Saturday’s finale leading the country in punt returns and, with a 39-yard return on his only try against Wyoming, finished the season with 15 returns and a 21.2-yard average.
The next-best figure was from Sean Riley of Syracuse at 16.8 yards on 14 returns.
Closed off: Saturday’s crowd was so small that UNM didn’t bother to open half of its concession stands on the west side of the stadium. The game was part of a rare tripleheader that ran concurrently with the Lobo women’s basketball team’s home game at the same time across the street in the Pit, followed by the men’s home game a few hours later.