Gonzales is ‘disappointed’ but not discouraged
Coach says corrections are easier after a win
There is concern after the University of New Mexico football team needed all four quarters to hold off Houston Baptist, a Football Championship Subdivision team, in the Lobos’ season opener on Thursday night.
After struggling on special teams in the first half, and then on offense, mainly the ground game, in the second half, UNM needed its defense to secure the win. Senior linebacker Devin Sanders recovered a fumble on a failed option pitch with just under three minutes left. That stopped the Huskies’ rally when they began a drive to potentially catch the Lobos at 24. Instead, the Lobos won 27-17.
Sophomore safety Tavian Combs, who had 12 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble, led a defense that held Houston Baptist to just 187 total yards and 10 points. The
Huskies’ other score was on Tyson Thompson’s 44-yard punt return.
It should be noted that Houston Baptist had sophomore Blaise Bentsen making his first start at quarterback under the direction of new offensive coordinator Cedric Cormier.
The Huskies’ former starting quarterback, Bailey Zappe, along with wide receivers Jerreth and Josh Sterns and Ben Ratzlaff transferred to Western Kentucky, following their offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, who landed a job with the Hilltoppers as their OC.
Zappe threw for 424 yards and
seven touchdowns, and Jerreth Sterns had 107 yards and two TDs on seven catches in Western Kentucky’s 59-21 win over UT-Martin on Thursday.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t play better,” UNM coach Danny Gonzales said. “But that’s a positive. It’s a lot easier to correct things when you win than when you lose.”
Gonzales believes the biggest improvement comes from the first game to the second game because of all the “jitters and rust” in openers. The Lobos take on rival New Mexico State on Sept. 11 at
University Stadium.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Freshman wide receivers Luke Wysong and Keyonta Lanier made big plays, carrying over the promise they showed during preseason camp.
Wysong, out of Cleveland, led the Lobos with six catches for 48 yards. Lanier, from Long Beach Poly in California, led UNM in receiving yards with 72 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown.
“Luke has been making incredible plays throughout the summer and fall camp,” UNM quarterback Terry Wilson said. “I’ve got a good chemistry with Luke. Tay (Lanier) has been making some big plays as well. Those are two young guys that can do a lot of big things for this program.”
Wilson had a strong game, displaying his dual-threat skills. He threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-26 passing with no interceptions. He also had a 56-yard run.
Wilson said he tweaked his left ankle during the team walkthrough on Thursday morning, but that didn’t affect his play. He said he will receive treatment and be fully ready next week.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Senior running back Bobby Cole, the Lobos’ top returning rusher, was dealing with a right ankle issue, Gonzales said. Cole tweaked that ankle about a week and a half ago and wasn’t 100%, Gonzales said. Cole ran for 37 yards on 10 carries in the first half and did not play in the second half.
Aaron Dumas, a freshman out of Americas High in El Paso, led UNM with 57 yards on 15 carries in his debut. Cole and Dumas were “dancing around too much instead of running downhill,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales felt the offensive line did not get the same push later in the game as it had during the first quarter. “We’re better than we played (Thursday night). We have to demonstrate that next week.”
Gonzales was also disappointed with the special teams.
NOTABLE: The Lobos had an announced attendance of 15,908 for their opener. It was a believable 15,908, as opposed to their previous home game on Nov. 30, 2019, when it was announced that 11,611 were in attendance. There appeared to be about 1,200 for that game, a 38-25 loss to Utah State that ended the Bob Davie era.
HE SAID IT: “It felt awesome. We pulled up from our hotel and to the tailgate area, and it was just amazing walking through the fans and the crowd. It was amazing getting on the field and hearing the fans.” UNM sophomore safety Tavian Combs.