Lobos games are ‘too long’
Coach Davie cites reasons for drawn-out home contests; UNM hosting Hawaii today
ALBUQUERQUE — In the wake of his team’s most recent home game, University of New Mexico football coach Bob Davie needed a few seconds to find the answer to a question about the painfully long first half his team had just played.
“We were out there a long time, let me tell you,” he said. “How bad was it? Too long.”
To be precise, the Oct. 11 game against Mountain West rival Colorado State took two hours … for the first half alone. The entire game lasted 3 hours, 51 minutes.
In three home dates this season, the average time is an agonizing 3:42, nearly half an hour longer than the typical UNM road game. Their four dates away from home check in at 3:14, with last week’s trip to Wyoming finishing in under three hours.
Davie said replay reviews, video challenges and a spate of injury timeouts have led to home games going longer. Toss in the fact that UNM enters Saturday’s homecoming game against Hawaii riding a four-game losing streak and their postseason hopes barely clinging to life, and it seems almost unfair that home games take longer to finish.
Judging by Hawaii’s pass-happy offense, Saturday’s game doesn’t promise to be kind to those hoping to head home early. Warriors quarterback Cole McDonald likes the ball in his hands and the stats show that Hawaii’s path to success is through the air.
Davie pegged McDonald as a future NFL star and said the 6-foot-4 junior reminds him a little of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. McDonald ranks fourth in the country in both passing yards (2,284) and touchdowns (23) and does most of his work out of the shotgun with multiple receiver sets on either side.
That’s horrible news for the Lobos, who rank dead last in the country in
passing defense. They’ve proven more than vulnerable against bigplay threats, particularly against taller, more physical receivers. Hawaii’s starting receivers average only 5-11 but their top two, Cedric Byrd II and Jared Smart, have combined for 10 touchdowns, 96 catches and 1,148 yards.
New Mexico’s top six receivers have combined for just 1,112 yards, seven touchdowns and 57 catches.
“This kid can throw it and he can get it out there quickly with a very strong arm,” Davie said of McDonald. “A big challenge for us. Obviously our pass defense — I don’t even want to look at the statistics. I know without looking what those statistics are.”
LOBOS NOTES
Saturday’s game will not be televised but streamed live on Facebook, which should help keep the time under control to a degree since the commercial breaks won’t take as long. For reference, the average nine-inning game in Major League Baseball this season was at an all-time high at just under 3:05. … With senior Sheriron Jones out of the picture at quarterback, sophomore Tevaka Tuioti will take over as starter and redshirt freshman Trae Hall will serve as backup. Jones is still listed on UNM’s roster after he was suspended following an indecent exposure incident on campus on Oct. 18. … The Lobos have had three starters at quarterback, but that’s just part of the teamwide trend. Seven positions have had at least three starters, giving UNM more players who’ve started a game than any FBS team in the country.