LOBO GAME PLAN
The UNM football team will make some adjustments but will not change its identity
There will be no surrender. But, yes, there will be adjustments. Three days after a 38-0 loss at Fresno State, in which the New Mexico Lobos rushed for just 109 yards and gave up pass plays of 75 and 70 yards, UNM is still a run-first, triple-option team. The Lobos are still a blitzing defensive team that plays man-to-man coverage in the secondary.
Within that framework, though, a lot of X’s and O’s will be drawn this week in preparation for Friday’s home game against Colorado State.
“You’ve got to be able to adjust,” UNM coach Bob Davie said after Monday’s practice . ... You’ve got to do something (different).
“When you get shut out in a game, you get shut out. There’s no hiding from that, so you’ve got to move forward and adjust some things, and that all started (Monday).”
Those adjustments, he said, aren’t likely or intended to include throwing more passes. In an attempt to get the Lobos’ signature running game going again after a major hiccup in Fresno, Davie said, senior quarterback Lamar Jordan will again start against CSU.
Against Fresno State, Jordan rushed four times for a total of 4 yards. He was 2-of-6 passing for 13 yards and was sacked twice.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Tevaka Tuioti was more successful in relief, completing 13-of-24 passes for 200 yards with completions of 44 yards to Delane Hart-Johnson and 36 yards to Q’ Drennan. But Davie believes Jordan’s experience in running the triple option gives UNM it best chance to win.
“Tevaka did show that he can throw
it,” Davie said. “But ... are we really geared that way to win a game, throwing it that much?
“(Tuioti has) never had a chance to run the whole offense.”
One adjustment UNM will make is to give Jordan better opportunities to throw.
“We’ve got to do some things to help him,” Davie said, “maybe get a little more depth on his drops so he’s off the line of scrimmage a little bit more.
“He hasn’t had a realistic chance, quite honestly, because of pressure or because of situations, to do much in the passing game.”
On defense, despite Fresno State’s aerial assault, Davie said UNM will continue to bring pressure and play man coverage behind it.
“It has to be,” he said. “That’s who we are — size-wise, all of it. Philosophy-wise.”
Clearly, the Lobos need better coverage in the secondary and more pressure up front; Fresno State quarterback Marcus McMaryion was sacked only once. But Davie said the best defense against the Bulldogs would have been a more effective offense.
“They threw a lot of deep balls,” Davie said. “There were some great plays made (defensively) on deep balls, too. But they hit a couple, and that’s going to happen.
“If we could have moved the ball better on offense and got back in the game, we could have recovered from those.”
Have the Lobos (3-3 overall, 1-2 in Mountain West Conference play) recovered from the unexpected shellacking they took in Fresno?
“There’s still some tension. There’s some anger,” junior cornerback Jalin Burrell said. “Guys are still frustrated because we know we’re a lot better than that.
“(The Fresno State game) was a shocker. We just have to come back and be aggressive, be physical ... because we know Colorado State’s bringing it and we can’t just dwell on last week.”
COLE VISITS: Former UNM star and Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowler Robin Cole was a visitor to the practice field on Monday.
Cole, who lives in the Pittsburgh area, said he was in town for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. But he took the opportunity to introduce himself to new UNM athletic director Eddie Nuñez and speak briefly with Davie after practice.