UNM hopes to find silver lining in loss
Lobos head west to Nevada next week; losing streak is 5 in a row
As the final minutes of the fourth quarter dwindled for University of New Mexico’s football team, the Lobos’ effort never wavered in a 45-31 loss to Hawaii on Saturday.
A comeback win seemed impossible with UNM trailing 45-10 with under nine minutes remaining in the game. But the Lobos fought anyway, and in the process, perhaps grabbed some momentum for their road game against Nevada on Saturday.
Quarterback Tevaka Tuioti, who started slow against the Rainbow Warriors, directed three touchdown drives within 3½ minutes, including a 59-yard TD pass to wide receiver Jordan Kress. Tuioti had been off target on a couple of deep balls to Kress earlier in the game.
But the Tuioti-to-Kress connection ended up being the Lobos’ final touchdown. With just under two minutes remaining, Tuioti threw his second interception.
His first interception went for a pick-six. His pass deflected off wide receiver Cedric
Patterson III on a quick slant and Hawaii defensive back Solomon Matautia took it back 14 yards for a touchdown part of the Rainbow Warriors’ 21-3 run to open the game.
Hawaii’s 35-3 halftime lead proved to be insurmountable.
“In my opinion, it always starts with the quarterback,” said Tuioti, who threw for 293 yards and two touchowns on 23-of-40 passing. “I put a lot of it on my shoulders. As the coaches wanted me to lead, I felt like I kind of did an OK job. For me, honestly I just have to do better. We just have to come out faster.”
After the game, it was UNM coach Bob Davie who wanted to take full responsibility for the Lobos’ fifth-straight loss that dropped them to 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the Mountain West Conference.
Davie, however, also pointed out throws that Tuioti missed on throws that could have gone for big gains, even touchdowns.
Earlier in the week, Davie suspended quarterback Sheriron Jones for what was later revealed to be an indecent exposure accusation. Davie said he had already decided to start Tuioti before that suspension.
When the game got away from the Lobos, hardly anyone could blame Davie for inserting redshirt freshman Trae Hall at quarterback. But Davie wanted to give Tuioti more opportunities and perhaps regain the rhythm and confidence he showed in UNM’s 55-52 win over rival New Mexico State last month.
“Tevaka does some good things, really good things,” Davie said. “But he leaves some things out there, too, even some reads in the run game. But gah-dang he gives us our best chance to win. I know
that for sure.”
WHAT WENT RIGHT?: Running back Ahmari Davis delivered a big day with 200 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 16 carries (12.5 yards per carry). It was the 14th time that UNM has had a 200yard rusher, and Davis became the 10th individual overall.
He has run for at least 100 yards in all three home games that he has played this season.
Running back Bryson Carroll actually struggled in the run game, but shined as a kickoff returner. Carroll, who ran for 10 yards on eight carries, finished with 128 yards on three kickoff returns, his longest coming on a 58-yard return that he nearly broke for a touchdown.
Defensive end Erin Austin recorded UNM’s second interception of the season in the third quarter to give the Lobos some life. Two plays after Austin’s interception, Davis scored on a
career-long 67-yard TD run.
WHAT WENT WRONG?: Too often, the Lobos’ defense expected pass when the Rainbow Warriors went run. The madness began on Hawaii’s first offensive drive when quarterback Cole McDonald fooled the defense for a 76-yard touchdown run coming off the zone-read. McDonald ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns, part of the Rainbow Warriors’ 255 yards rushing on the day.
With just under four minutes left in the game, and New Mexico trailing 45-31, UNM safety Letayveon Beaton dropped a would-be interception that was in his hands on Hawaii’s 28-yard line. Davie pointed out that play as an example of the Lobos’ inability to make big plays consistently, as Beaton had a great chance to run it back for a touchdown.
NOTABLE: Nevada dropped to 4-4, 1-3 after suffering a 31-3 loss to Wyoming in Laramie on
Saturday.
The Wolf Pack have experienced their own quarterback woes this season. Nevada coach Jay Norvell removed quarterback Malik Henry, who was featured on Netflix’s “Last Chance U,” from active participation for academic and non-football issues last week.
HE SAID IT: “As a player, I kind of want to take a lot off of (Davie). As a head coach, I understand that’s a lot of pressure on him. For him to take that blame that just allows me to respect him. To see him having to take the responsibility kind of humbles me, humbles the whole team. Our coach is out there taking all the shots for us. We have to match the way he puts himself out there for us.”
— UNM linebacker Alexander “Mo” Vainikolo on hearing Davie accepting full responsibility for the Lobos’ losses