Davie goes all in with Jordan over the kid
Senior quarterback signals push for bowl game over developing Tuioti
ALBUQUERQUE — It’s a straightforward question. Does Bob Davie toss the 2017 football season onto the scrap pile and start planning or the future? Or does he try to salvage what he can and get his limping University of New Mexico program to a third straight bowl game?
The former dictates that he start freshman Tevaka Tuioti at quarterback and give the kid more time to develop. Doing so sends a message that this season is lost and it’s time to prepare for 2018.
The latter means throwing senior Lamar Jordan under center and have him give what seems to be the most realistic shot at winning three more games to get into the six-win strata of bowl eligibility.
For now, Davie is going with Jordan.
“My gut tells me Lamar,” the Lobos head coach said earlier this week when asked who would get the start Saturday night at home against Utah State. Essentially it’s an elimination game for both teams, each of which is struggling to get to that six-win plateau.
Davie said he found his answer in last week’s blowout loss at Wyoming. With Jordan getting kicked around like a rag doll, Davie said he knew which direction to go this weekend.
“You look up in the second half and there’s Lamar on third downs a couple times, scrambling, running his butt off, trying to make a first down, competing,” Davie said. “That shows me he is … doesn’t show me, reinforces again, just how much heart he has, and how much competitiveness he has. That means something to me.”
Davie said he as been around enough quarterbacks to know there are more than a few who would pout and hide after getting taken out of a game like that. Not Jordan. Ever the cheerleader, ever the supportive type, he’s always in the right frame of mind to keep the coach’s confidence.
“I look at all those things,” Davie said. “Just to come out of that locker room and play in the second half and not give up 80 points and beat [Wyoming] 3-0 in the second half, that means something to me. People can be cynical about that and I appreciate that. I probably would be, too, if I was sitting out there and heard you say well we won the second half 3-0. That resonates
with me.”
That said, both Jordan and Tuioti will play Saturday. It’s an absolute certainty.
“But there is a reality that we have to develop this young quarterback that all see is pretty talented,” Davie said.
So, plan for the future but try to win now. Until one fails, both quarterbacks are in the mix for UNM.
Honor board: Lobos linebacker Jake Rothschiller has been named to the Burlsworth Trophy watch list. The award is given to the country’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.
Rothschiller has become the team’s leading tackler and was voted a team captain this season.
MWC watch: Three conference teams (San Diego State, Boise State and Colorado State) have earned bowl eligibility while two more (Fresno State and Wyoming) can get there with wins this weekend.
Fresno State (5-3, 4-1) leads the West Division standings and will host BYU in a nonconference game Saturday night on ESPN2. Wyoming (5-3, 3-1) is in third place in the Mountain Division and will host Colorado State on Saturday night on CBS Sports Network.
Nevada and San Jose State are the only league teams to have been officially eliminated from bowl contention.
A total of 78 bowl bids will be handed out in the next five weeks. The first of those was secured last weekend when Army earned an automatic bid to the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Entering this week, 38 teams across the country have won at least six games to become bowl eligible.
Early projections tend to favor San Diego State against either North Texas or Florida Atlantic in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
Attendance: UNM is averaging 23,281 fans through four home games, ranking seventh of the 12 teams in the MWC. San Diego State is the league leader at 43,437 through five games while San Jose State (13,738) is last.
Lobo boost: Last week’s 42-3 loss at Wyoming helped the Cowboys land two of the league’s three player of the week awards. Quarterback Josh Allen was named the MWC’s top offensive player after passing for 234 yards and four touchdowns against the Lobos’ defense.
Cowboys safety Andrew Wingard was the league’s top defensive player after picking off a pair of UNM passes and registering five tackles. Both picks led directly to Wyoming touchdowns.