Nevada extends UNM’s losing streak to 12
‘I honestly believe the Lobos are their own worst enemy right now’
When you’ve lost 11 in a row and 20 of the previous 22, anticipating the knockout blow is just part of the deal.
For the University of New Mexico football team, that haymaker came in the third quarter Saturday night (Nov. 14).
For the third straight game the Lobos (0-3) had a close contest slip away in the second half in a 27-20 loss to Nevada on the neutral field of UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. It extends New Mexico’s losing streak to 12 and keeps the team winless away from its home state since October 2018.
“Close ain’t OK,” UNM coach Danny Gonzales said. “It’s the same old thing, same broken record. We give up three big plays, two of them assignment errors.”
The Wolf Pack (4-0) scored 17 unanswered points in the second half, exposing the Achilles’ heel that is UNM’s defensive secondary. The unit has been abused, giving up 1,241 yards and a dozen touchdowns in just three games.
Nevada quarterback Carson Strong passed for 336 yards and three scores, ripping the heart out the defense with touchdown passes of 61 and 59 yards in the second half and a pinpoint 33-yard toss late in the second quarter after the Pack intercepted a UNM pass.
“I feel like if the coaches had the formula, we would have implemented it in the game a long time ago,” UNM running back Bobby Cole said. “It just takes time and it takes times like this, you know? You should have seen the atmosphere in the locker room. Everybody is sick to their stomach because of it.”
Down 27-13 in the fourth quarter after scoring the first 10 points of the game, the Lobos fought back to make it a one-possession contest in the waning moments. Taking over at Nevada’s 43 in the final three minutes, the Lobos’ drive for a potential tie or go-ahead score stalled at the Wolf Pack 24 when receiver Emmanuel Logan-Green had the ball knocked out of his hands on a fourth down pass that was ruled incomplete.
Gonzales said he planned to go for a 2-point conversion to win the game in regulation had his team made it to the end zone.
“Then I can answer that question in the newspapers of, ‘Why did you go for two if we don’t make it?’ “he said. “I don’t care, I thought they [Nevada] were the better team going into the game, and when you’re playing a better team, that’s going to have an advantage the longer the game goes on, you take your chance. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but that’s the mentality we’re setting for our program; we’re here to win, we’re not here to play for second. Second’s just the first loser.”
Gonzales said little plays like Logan-Greene’s drop, a botched kickoff return that pinned the Lobos inside their own 5 and a forced Wolf Pack fumble on a punt that Nevada managed to get back, are the difference between UNM winning and the Lobos extending their losing ways.
“I honestly believe the Lobos are their own worst enemy right now,” Gonzales said, adding, “I don’t want them to be content with being close, because why play if you want to be close?”
Statistically, the game was virtually even. Playing behind backup quarterback Trae Hall, UNM’s 352 yards of offense was just 40 fewer than Nevada’s. Hall passed for 195 yards and engineered four scoring drives, spotting the Lobos a 13-10 lead at halftime.
He also had the unusual distinction of being his team’s leading passer and receiver in the first quarter. He caught a 16-yard touchdown pass on a gimmick play in which running back Bryson Carroll found him open for the score.
Cole had a game-high 90 yards rushing with one touchdown, and UNM defensive lineman Joey Nobel registered 10 tackles and two sacks, forcing Strong into a rare interception that snapped a 299-attempt string in which he hadn’t been picked off.
As close as they came, however, the Lobos simply couldn’t avoid the big blow they’ve taken all too often lately.
“You see it. We’re keeping up with these teams but we just got to learn how to win games,” Nobel said.