Lobos routed by No. 7 Texas A&M
Gonzales frustrated as UNM struggled to be competitive
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Coach Jimbo Fisher certainly wasn’t congratulating his team for a job well done after the seventh-ranked Texas A&M Aggies blanked New Mexico 34-0 Saturday.
“We’re playing very average,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to get better in all aspects and we’ve got to grow up across the board in everything we do and play with much more consistency as a team and learn to play off each other.”
Zach Calzada threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start to power the Aggies in the rout.
The victory extends A&M’s winning streak to 11 games and gives the Aggies a 3-0 start for the first time since opening the 2016 season with six wins.
It also snapped UNM’s modest fourgame winning streak, denying the Lobos a chance at a rare win over a Power 5 program.
“We knew going into this game is we were playing a team that had more talent than us,” UNM coach Danny Gonzales said. “Doesn’t mean we couldn’t beat them, but we had no chance to beat them because we didn’t believe in it early.”
The Lobos managed just 122 yards of total offense, amassing only nine first downs and 33 yards passing.
Calzada was thrust into A&M’s starting job last weekend against Colorado when Haynes King was injured on A&M’s second possession. King had surgery this week to repair a broken right leg, leaving Calzada to run the offense.
Calzada looked more comfortable, and the Aggies moved the ball much better Saturday than they did last week
while scoring just 10 points in a win over the Buffaloes. They eclipsed their total points from that game in the first six minutes of this one and built a 24-point lead by halftime.
Fisher thought that Calzada was aiming to make “home run” throws after his big plays early instead of simply running the offense effectively.
“It ain’t [all] about throwing touchdowns,” Fisher said. “It’s about throwing to the right guy. ... He has ability, but you’ve got to continue to make the right decisions on every play.”
While happy with the fast start, the Aggies were disappointed that they added just 10 points the rest of the game.
“We didn’t finish,” running back Isaiah Spiller said. “We’ve still got a young team ... and we’re just going to keep working, that’s all we can do.”
UNM quarterback Terry Wilson, a transfer from Kentucky who had 559 yards passing in the first two games, had just 10 completed passes and averaged just 1.4 yards per pass attempt. He was constantly pressured from the team’s first possession. He had an interception, was sacked four times and had three passes broken up by A&M’s stingy defense.
“By time we decided we could compete we were down 14-0,” Gonzales said. “Offensively, we struggled enough that we didn’t have a chance today.”
Gonzales lauded his team for making significant strides in rebuilding from the ashes of a run that saw the Lobos lose 33 of 41 games before starting their aforementioned winning streak late last season.
“It’s not going to change overnight,” he said. “It just goes to show you how far we have to go.”
It was the first shutout for the Aggies since beating Prairie View A&M 67-0 in 2016. Fisher did stop complaining about what his team needs to do better long enough to say that the defense was “outstanding” Saturday.
The veteran unit knows it might have to shoulder more of the load early this season while the offense comes together.
“There’s certain things that the offense has to fix and we’ll help and be encouraging as they try to fix it,” said defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal, a preseason All-America selection.
The Lobos were picked apart on special teams, specifically punt coverage. Aggies return specialist Ainias Smith had four returns for 78 yards; a figure that would have been much worse for UNM were it not for a penalty that nullified a big return and a video review that wiped out a 50-yard return after it was ruled that his elbow touched the grass after just one yard.
A&M’s Devon Achane got things going when he grabbed a 26-yard touchdown pass to put the Aggies up early.
The Aggies forced New Mexico to punt before Calzada found Demond Demas wide open for a 70-yard touchdown on the first play of the next drive to make it 14-0. It was the first career catch for Demas, a five-star recruit in his second season with the Aggies.