New Mexico Football Report

“What you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you are saying.” 

 Wyoming played Air Force last week, a game that ended with the Falcons hanging on for a gripping 28-27 victory. It was a tough loss for the Cowboys (who haven't exactly lived up to pre-season expectations) After the game as Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun approached for the post game handshake, Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen unleashed an expletive  filled rant on Calhoun.  Christensen, still in the heat of the battle, was upset about the suspicious timing of an Air Force injury.

Christensen was under the impression that Air Force faked the injury to buy some extra time. This was highly unlikely as the Falcons still had  3 time outs left and there eight minutes still left on the game clock. If Calhoun did indeed order one of his players to fake an injury at that  instant, then he may well be an evil genius.  Christensen, building up a head of steam,  starts  out by yelling "Fuck You" at an Air Force player or coach, who greets him on the field.

"You fuckin' fake the fuckin' injury.... Nice ethics, man!" Christensen continues to paddle the canoe over the falls, screaming obscenities all the way down.   "What do you mean?" Calhoun responds wearing a shit eating grin. Christensen is  in his face "He lay on the ground and then walked 20 yards, I'd be fuckin scared to death if I had a fucker like you to face"  The grin is now gone from Calhoun's face and he has the look of a man who wants to trade punches. “Yea right! look at me Mr. fuckin Howdy Doody, go get in your fuckin you locker room” says Christensen.

 Calhoun sensing that this is going nowhere but bad, mumbles “All right” and sprints off. "You have no fuckin' ethics, Troy.... No fuckin' integrity!.... Woooo!!!"  Dave Christensen has reached the pinnacle of space mountain., "Go give your fuckin' press conference, fly boy!"  His daughter now joins him on the field and starts pulling him towards the exit as she pleads “Dad, please, Dad stop!” Did I mention that this also happened to be Military Appreciation Night? 

 As coaching meltdowns go, this one was epic! surpassing even that of Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy and his infamous rant of  “Are you kidding me?  Where are we at in society?  COME AFTER ME!  I'M A MAN!  I'M FORTY!  I'M NOT A KID” Gundy unleashed his acid tongued tirade because he felt that an article written about Qb. Bobby Reid  was inaccurate. “That's why I don't read the newspaper.  BECAUSE IT'S GARBAGE.  And the editor that let it come out IS GARBAGE”  this took place at a post game press conference.

Gundy had the good sense to filter out profanities “If your child goes down the street, and someone makes fun of him because he dropped a pass in a pickup game, or SAYS HE'S FAT!”Bobby Reid, who was chubby and a bit of a momma’s boy felt the sting of Gundy’s well intentioned but misguided remarks, problem was, no one realized he'd offended  the  kid. Gundy fueled on the Red Bull he had guzzled shortly before the presser strutted around the room, “They're suppose to be mature adults but they really aren't.  Who's the kid.  Who's the kid here.  Are you kidding me?  That's all I got to say.  Makes me wanna puke!”

William Shakespeare wrote that, “Talking isn't doing. It is a kind of good deed to say well; and yet words are not deeds” Gundy had been pushing Bobby Reid towards the door since he had taken over the job and  by the next season Reid was gone, out of college football altogether and bitter. He would later remark to ESPN that Gundy’s rant “basically ended my life” “Our  acts  make or mar us, we are the children of our own deeds”

 College coaches can be quite  childish, so they must learn to choose their words wisely, lest they undo the good that they have done. Dave Christensen then issued an apology to the school's fans, the Mountain West and college football for his actions. Troy Calhoun said that Christensen was exercising his "First Amendment rights."  and let it go at that. Mike Gundy never apologized for his actions, least all to Bobby Reid. 

“What makes one heroic? -- Going out to meet at the same time one's highest suffering and one's highest hope.”

UNM Lobos  23         Air Force Academy Falcons  23

 "There are heroes in evil as well as in good" Don't get me wrong, the Air Force Academy is not evil and I won't vilify them in the manner of Wyoming’s Dave Christensen.  UNM head coach Bob Davie is cut from a different cloth, Davie praised the effort of both teams “There are going to be some good New Mexico - Air Force games coming up”  Both sides had their heroes, it was a game for the ages between two rivals who always seem to bring out the best in each other. 

"The scheduled miracle cannot take place", UNM's Kasey Carrier rewrote the record book for MWC running backs, with 338 yds., but in the end it was three 1 yd. td runs by Air Force running back Wes Cobb that made the difference. An untimely (for the Lobos) interception return for a touchdown by Air Force linebacker Alex Means helped to seal the deal. ''It's definitely frustrating,'' Carrier said. ''We don't work hard to come out and lose games”

Carrier, fits the role of team leader “But it shows that we are going to come out and fight to the end and we can come out and play with the best teams” The Lobos can and will compete with the best in the MWC, that is becoming abundantly clear.  The transformation of the Lobos from a national laughing stock to a gutsy team with more heart than talent, capable of competing against all comers... is heroic and awe inspiring. 

 With Cole Gautsche not cleared for action, due to a concussion suffered against Hawai’i, the Lobos were already thin at quarterback. The worst case scenario would have starting Qb. B.R. Holbrook going down with an injury, which he did right before the half. Following a hit, Holbrook went to the sidelines and complained of dizziness and nausea. He was diagnosed as having suffered a concussion and removed from the game. 

Rarely used So. Qb. Quinton McCown took over as the Lobos stuck to their  running attack, behind McCown or with Lamaar Thomas taking direct snaps from center. Carrier ran the ball 39 times, breaking loose for two long runs, though he stopped short of the goal line both times. UNM had to settle for a Justus Adams field goal on a 68 yd. effort, while Kasey punched it  in from 10 yd. td. on following a 59 yard break away.  

 By half time Carrier had already surpassed his previous career high of 191 set two weeks ago against Texas State Univ. Carrier demolished New Mexico’s single game rushing mark of 265 yds. set by Quincy Wright against Weber St. Univ. in  2002. He also ran past the league mark formerly held by Gartrell Johnson of Colorado St., a mark set at the 2008 New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque against Fresno St.

 After nursing a 10-7 lead, the Lobos went into the locker rooms down 14-10. Thanks to a heady play by Alex Means who reached up and tipped  B.R. Holbrook's pass to Chase Clayton. Means caught the ball in midair then dashed 65 yards for a touchdown.  The aborted  Lobo drive was the result of Destry Berry’s interception off a fake field goal attempt by the Falcons. 

Carrier then scored on UNM’s first drive of the second half, as the Lobos reclaimed the lead 17-14. The Falcons wasted little time in responding, as Wes Cobb took it in from 1 yd. out to put Air Force up by four points. Following the Lobo’s only three and out of the game, the Falcons, scored again to stretch their lead to  28-17. 

Kasey Carrier and the Lobos were not done, Carrier shook off several tacklers on his way to a 37 yd. touchdown run to slash the Falcon’s lead down to five points 28-23. A two point conversion attempt failed. The Lobos then had a perfect opportunity for victory handed to them as Lobo CB Tim Foley forced and recovered an Air Force fumble at the Falcon 46 yard line. 

That last chance went for naught when Lamaar Thomas was dropped behind the line of scrimmage on fourth and four by Alex Means.  Having lost their leading rusher (and #2 in the nation) Cody Getz on its first snap due to an aggravated sprained ankle, Air Force needed someone to step up and do big things. Alex Means played big at two crucial moments.   

“We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they  go  by. “  Will Rogers

This loathsome streak of futility that hounds the NMSU Aggies, is wearing on Head Coach DeWayne Walker, who has expressed his frustration with the lack of vision and effort put forth by the university towards maintaining the football program at the Div. 1 FBS. level. Walker’s frustration is justified, he’s watched as every single school in the WAC has upgraded and moved on (with the exception of Univ. of Idaho) 

The climate in Div. I FBS football is such that if you don’t upgrade immediately, you’re going to get left behind.  Up north, UNM understood this and quickly brought in a prominent coach, (Bob Davie) to not only rebuild, but to increase fundraising and remove the lingering stench  of failure brought on by Mike Locksley. The Aggies are playing catch-up, with the WAC in ruins, the time to start the process of rebuilding was two years ago, not now.

The main problem  is the disparity in the salaries of NMSU’s coaching staff and that of the schools they’re trying to compete against.  Utah St. pays their offensive coordinator more than NMSU pays both their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator combined. DeWayne Walker makes half of what Utah St. head coach Gary Anderson makes. It’s the unwillingness or inability to match salaries that that will ultimately ground NMSU’s football program. 

NMSU  Aggies    7           Utah St.  Aggies  41

A bye week did little to heal the wounds or soothe the spirit of the NMSU Aggies.  The Utags made sure of that by stomping their New Mexico namesakes beyond recognition.  41-7.  Statistically, the Utag defense ranks as one of the best in the country.  They did nothing on Saturday that would make you think otherwise, as they put a choke hold on NMSU’s offense. 

The Aggie passing game (their bread and butter... as it is) is predictable to the point of being telegraphic. Opposing defenses  know the Aggies are going to pass and they know where the ball is going (Austin Franklin) This became obvious as the Utags zeroed in on Andrew Manley and his collapsible offense line early and often. 

As a result, for the first time this year, the Aggies actually got something going on the ground. Germi Morrison, had a career as he carried 19 times for 96 yards. It was the type of rushing production not seen since Kenny Turner packed his bags and went off to undrafted oblivion.  Backup Qb. Travaughn Colwell was the second leading rusher with 31 yards. 

Manley connected with Austin Franklin for an apparent touchdown on NMSU’s first possession of the game, only to see the play called back on a chop-block penalty. A field goal attempt by Tyler Stampler was blocked by Utah St. and with the Aggies at the Utag 5 yard line, Manley threw an interception in the end zone. 

"You've got to take advantage of those opportunities when playing a championship-caliber football team," Coach Walker said. "We left some points out there and that puts the team in harms way."  Let’s be honest, the Aggies left plenty of “points out there” not so much because of their mistakes, but due to the fact, that they’re just not capable of scoring many points. 

Utah St. behind the one-two punch of Qb. Chuckie Keeton and Rb. Kerwynn Williams ran over, under, sideways and down the field.  "Excellent players," NMSU head coach DeWayne Walker said of Keeton and Williams in particular. "It starts with their quarterback. He can move and he's got an arm. They'll continue getting better and better."

Andrew Manley finished with 19-37 passing for 177 yds. Austin Franklin had 8 receptions for 84 yds. , 1 td. The NMSU Aggies were a 31 pt. underdog, so they couldn't even beat the spread.  The loss (their sixth straight) dropped them to 1-6 on the season, 0-3 in the Western Athletic Conf. They have the defending WAC champions, Louisiana Tech coming to town, for their homecoming game next week.