New Mexico Football Report

There's still a three way tie at the top of the Mountain West Conference standings. Boise St., Fresno St. & San Diego St. head into the final week  tied at  6-1.   These three schools have all played each other splitting their games in a fashion that forces a team outside the top three to break the log jam.  Boise St. beat Fresno St. but lost to San Diego St., Fresno St. beat San Diego St. but lost to Boise St. and of course San Diego St. beat Boise St. but lost to Fresno St.

Here's the scenario for the final week of action, Boise St. plays at Nevada, San Diego St.. plays at Wyoming and  Fresno St. plays host to Air Force.  Nevada as you will read further down the page struggled with New Mexico, needing a late fumble recovery to secure a victory that snapped a three game losing streak.  Nevada was my pre-season pick to win the conference, but they fell off the pace once league play began.

In 2010, Nevada stunned  No. 11 Boise State 34-31, costing the Broncos a possible shot at the BCS title, and to win another share of the WAC Title.  Nevada is not right and their chances of a repeat upset of Boise St. are slim.   Wyoming on the other hand has won three in a row and are back on track, after struggling most of the season. History (SDSU has lost three of its last four vs. Wyo) and the fact that they'll play in frigid Laramie, makes Wyoming an easy pick as the spoiler.

Air Force has one road win this year and that was a controversial victory at Wyoming. A game best remembered because Air Force probably cheated and Dave Christensen set a new standard for post game rants.  A Fresno St. win would leave both Boise St. and Fresno St. at 7-1, with the tie breaker going to the Broncos. Here's my other scenario, all three front runners lose their games and the season then ends in a four way tie with Boise St, Fresno St., San Diego St. & Air Force all finishing at 6-2.

The only way to break a tie like that is with a steel cage death match.

UNM Lobos   24                    Univ. of Nevada Wolfpack   31

Did you know there's controversy associated with the U. of Nevada's name?  The school once competed as the Univ. of Nevada-Reno, until it was decided that as the state's oldest college it should be designated as the flagship school for Nevada's university system. Just as UC- Berkeley is called California or Cal, and the Univ. of Michigan is known as Michigan...  Nevada-Reno became Nevada. 

When the game is in Reno, they're  known as Nevada... a title that applies only in athletics, otherwise the school is designated as the Univ. of Nevada at Reno.  When they play UNLV in Las Vegas they're known as UNR.  Although, when Nevada & UNLV played earlier this year, the scoreboard simply read Rebels as the home team and Pack as the visiting team.  This matters in Nevada because the schools hate each other.

This being Nevada's first year in the MWC, UNM & UNR don't have much history. They are however very similar,  same mascot (Nevada's wolf looks like a javelina, UNM's looks like a hyena) both have that flagship thing going and both run the crap out of the ball. Nevada is what UNM was under Rocky Long, a scrappy squad capable of beating anyone on any given Saturday. 

The Lobos lost their fifth straight game and for the fourth time dropped a conference game by seven points or fewer.  UNM hung tough, played touch, made some tough mistakes and watched another winnable game slip away. The Lobos had leads of 7-0 and 14-7 before Nevada behind Qb. Cody Fajardo roared back. The Nevada Wolfpack took a 21-17 lead into the break, adding a field goal early in the third quarter to go up 24-17. 

UNM pulled even at  24-24 on Jhurell Pressley's two yard scoring run for what would be the Lobos final trip into the end zone.  UNR retook the lead when Fajardo connected with Brandon Wimberly on a short pass for the Wolfpack's go ahead and ultimately winning touchdown, 31-24. As the clock ticked down, New Mexico's defense stepped up to hand the Lobos an unexpected opportunity to tie the game.  

Dallas Bollema intercepted Fajardo's pass and returned it 37 yards to the UNR 14 yard line with 5:35 left in the game.  With a touchdown within reach, the Lobo offense stalled. On third and  seven, UNM Qb. Cole Gautsche and Rb. Crusoe Gongbay misfired on the hand off and the resulting fumble was recovered by Nevada. "Cole is trying to pull it (back). Crusoe is trying to keep it," said Coach Davie. 

Though the weight fell on Gongbay, other factors contributed to the loss. UNM did not complete a single forward pass and converted  just 2 of 11 third downs. UNM's lack of a passing game in effect telegraphed their every move on offense, “Everybody wants us to throw a little more, probably,” Coach Davie said “That’s not really an option.” Which tells me that UNM has no confidence in So. Luke McCown whatsoever.

UNM finished with 352 yards rushing, while Nevada had 358. Kasey Carrier carried 18 times for 145 yards, but he wasn't the best rusher on this day, Cody Fajardo (who as a Freshman in 2011 passed for 203 yards and ran in two td's as Nevada waltzed past the Lobos, 49-7) ran 20 times for 186 yards.  Stefphon Jefferson added 128 yards on 23 carries for the Pack.  For UNM Cole Gautsche tacked on 72 yds. on 15 carries.

 Lamaar Thomas had 65 on three carries out of the wildcat formation (that's an amazing 31.5 yards per carry) Crusoe Gongbay picked up a respectable 61 yards on 9 carries.  The Lobos rushed for 352 yards, Nevada tallied 358 rushing yards. The Wolf Pack added 133 passing yards and UNM had no yards passing and no completions. Gautsche and UNM were 0-for-2 on the day. Two attempts, zero completions, zero passing yards... nada, zilch, bumpkiss, dick, diddly-squat, fuck all, jack shit, jack squat, nunya, shit, zip, zippo. 

Nevada had 22 first downs to UNM's 14. Nevada totaled 491 yards in offense  to UNM's  352. The time of possession battle was amazingly close, when you consider that UNM couldn't convert thirds downs, 30:20 for UNM and 29:40 for Nevada. UNM fell to 4-8 on the season and 1-6 in conference play. Nevada improved to 7-4 and 4-3, and likely earned an invite to the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 15. The Lobos finish the season next Saturday at Colorado State.

Having accumulated 1,410 yards rushing, Kasey Carrier needs just 41 yards to break DonTrell Moore's single season mark.   How far have the Lobos come this year? As I noted above, last season Nevada rolled the Lobos 49-7. The Wolfpack (the Nevada variety) has had its woes this year, I had them picked as the favorite to challenge Boise St. for the MWC crown. UNM has improved by leaps and bounds, even as the conference record shows otherwise. 17,290 attended the game (a season low) they're the fans that should be commended and the ones that stayed at home.... we'll see you next season when the Lobos start winning.

Raiders- Ravens Week 9

Oakland Raiders   20                    Baltimore Ravens    55


Fok julle naaiers!, I'm not sure what the Raiders did to piss off John Harbaugh and the Ravens. A long streak of dickishness runs through the Harbaugh family, that's nothing new. A heaping helping of humble pie would do them some good, but for now they're riding high, living big and they can have their moment. I won't hate on John Harbaugh or the Ravens beyond that. If the Raider defense did its job, Baltimore wouldn't pile on the points. When it's all said and done, B-more is just a dirty little burgh and the Ravens will always be purple clad interlopers playing second fiddle to the memory of the Baltimore Colts.

We're at the nadir of the 2012 season... that point where as a die hard Raider fan you realize that all hope is rapidly slipping away. This is a situation that calls for Monte Poole, who has been noticeably absent along with his sharp, visceral comments ever since he laid into the Raiders, referring to them as "45 clown suits all of them empty" Right about now the pained collective expressions of Raider Nation resemble that of expressionist artist Edvard Munch's "The Scream" Looking on the bright side  the Oakland Trib reports that Darren McFadden is now walking better... as for running better, not even doctors can help him with that.

Just think, when the history of Oakland Raiders football is finally written down into stone, it will be noted that Justin Fargas was more productive than Darren McFadden, at half the cost and with half the hype. This holy scripture will also remind us that picking Todd Marinovich, JaMarcus Russell and Terrelle Pryor in the draft was stupid as hell. We shall take those stone tablets and bury them in the Mojave desert for future generations of Raider Nation to dig up and build a religion around. Saint LaMonica, the Angel Ben Davidson and the ayatollah rock 'n rolla himself, Al Davis. Damn it Monte Poole!... say something, before I incur the wrath of jihadists around the world.

The beat down by the Ravens is what separates the real Raider fans from the those fashionistas who just like wearing black. No matter what transpires against New Orleans, the hard core will show up for work on Monday decked out in Raider gear. I faced down my hecklers this past Monday by loudly stating "What the fuck did we do to piss off the Ravens?" Everyone left me alone after that. Let's shift gears, when Jay Cutler got his bell rung, Jason Campbell finally got into a game for da' Bears and did what he always did for us.... not a goddamthing! The Chicago offense spun it's wheels as the monsters of the midway took an ass kicking from the Houston Texans.

Who still wants Jason Campbell back? The ridiculous notion that Campbell was a better quarterback than Carson can be put to rest. Our problems aren't on the offensive side of the ball anymore (Greg Knapp lets a huge sigh of relief) It's the defense, stoopid! disregarding their collective ages, this defense plays like old men. With Knapp finally having escaped the frying pan, Jason Tarver now finds himself firmly planted on the hot seat. All along we knew it would come down to the defense gassing out on us. It happened in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Coaches come and go, while the defense kills our dreams for a better tomorrow.  

Well... here's a wake up call for Tarver and his troops, Drew Brees seems to have finally hit his stride and the  'Aints are back to being the Saints. The Bourbon Street Bounty Hunters will see B-more's 55 and double down. If New Orleans scores under 70 points, let's call it a moral victory and lick our wounds. The Cincinnati Bengals, their future well secured with our draft picks, rolled Eli Manning and the Giants.. like it weren't nothin'.  Meanwhile in Denver ol' fetus head is playing like he's been rejuvenated by the thin air of the Rockies. Peyton Manning is slinging passes like a college boy even as he stumbles around like a zombie.

None of this bodes well for the Raiders. At this point all we can hope for is that Kansas City keeps stumbling around, the Cleveland Browns stay down and for the Chargers not to magically get  recharged. Because those are the only games left on the schedule that we have a hope in hell of winning, and I'm being generous at that.......  WHAT!.... what's that?.... GAME RECAP!, you want a GAME RECAP? We lost 55-20, we hit a historic low....  drrrr! drrrr!

Monte Poole has bailed on us, but Jerry McDonald (NFL beat writer for the Oakland Tribune) is always money, "The Raiders went beyond mere defeat with a loss of historical proportions"  The Ravens finished the game with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, otherwise eighty points wasn't out of the question. Combined with the 42 points the Raider defense gave up to Tampa Bay, that's 97 points over two games. That's second only to the 99 points the Raiders gave up in the first two games of the 1961 season. The 55 points scored by Baltimore tied the record for the most points given up by the Raiders in a single game, 1981 against the San Diego Chargers.

"Things came apart in the third quarter" said Carson Palmer "they kept scoring and we couldn't keep up. With all the penalties and mental errors we had there's no way we're going to beat a playoff team on their field" At that rate the Raiders needed to score about 70 points themselves to throttle the Ravens. The Raiders racked up 105 yards in penalties including two personal fouls by LB. Aaron Curry, who was making his 2012 debut after resting his shitty knees. Coach Allen summed up the game, "The outcome like that is unacceptable, we have to do better and we have to look at that and see what we can do to give ourselves a better chance"

That sounds just like something Hue Jackson would have said....  Raider Rules, the more things change, the more they stay the same!   Win ugly, lose ugly... get over it!

Raider Notes: 

Another round of NFL Hall of Fame voting, another snub for Ray Guy. The former Raider punter is credited and recognized for revolutionizing the punting game. Guy, a self taught punter was blessed with god given talent. Nonetheless, his constant experimentation  and hard work turned punting and punters from an afterthought into a valuable weapon. Ray Guy refined the skill of punting into a science, he kicked the ball so high in the air, that a new statistic evolved to record this, hang time.

The Oakland special team players loved it because it allowed them to get down field and cover the kick. During an NFL career that spanned 14 years (all with Oakland) Guy never had a punt returned for a touchdown. He also developed the art of kicking the ball out of bounds. An act that took precision and talent, even as it cut down on his per kick average. Many would say that Guy who averaged 42.4 yds. per punt, tied for 78th. in NFL history, wasn't even the best punter of his generation. 

But, they would be wrong, Ray Guy's contributions can't be measured by mere statistics. He was and will always be the man who made punting an integral part of all football teams (college or pro) game plan. Ray Guy was a first round pick for the Raiders in 1973, Former Raider head coach Tom Flores recalled that his first thought was "We drafted a punter? Then when I saw him kick, it was like 'Holy cow!' I was amazed at how perfect it was when you saw it come off his foot. It just took off."

Travis Goethel, who sat out the entire 2011 season with an injury, suffered a season ending left knee injury against the Baltimore Ravens. The Raiders signed linebacker Omar Gaither to replace Goethel on the 53 man roster. Gaither is a former starter with the Eagles and Panthers. He played his college ball at the Univ. of Tennessee. Darren McFadden is still wearing a walking boot (a sight that's becoming all too familiar for Raider fans) Coach Allen didn't sound too optimistic about his return, calling him questionable for the New Orleans game. 

Running back Mike Goodson (ankle) and defensive tackle Richard Seymour (hamstring) are also questionable for the game. For now Marcel Reece would be the lead back, with Jeremy Stewart (called up from the practice squad) getting work and Taiwan Jones "getting a shot if he continues to show progress in the areas of ball security, general health and ability to execute the playbook" Good luck with that Taiwan! 

Here's the latest round of Raider transactions, signed CB Cory Nelms to the practice squad.

Placed LB Travis Goethel on Injured Reserve; Signed LB Omar Gaither, Activated CB Ron Bartell, Signed RB Jeremy Stewart to active roster, Waived CB Pat Lee and placed CB Shawntae Spencer on Injured Reserve, Added LB Aaron Curry to the active roster, waived LB Vic So'oto, Signed G Jason Foster to practice squad.

Former Raider & Broncos and currently Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan  had money ($3,700) and a passport stolen from the locker room during the road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers last month. Redskins director of security Ed Burke released a statement saying that officers in Pittsburgh insisted on filing a police report and that the investigation is ongoing. 

On Nov. 14th. Deadspin reported that the Redskins sheepishly called Pittsburgh police to report that the money and passport weren't missing at all, it turned out that Coach Shanahan just forgot he moved the money. Growing old and losing your mind really sucks, I won't even ask why Shanahan was carrying that much cash and a passport.... a fast getaway, bribes, pay off his bookie?

Another black eye for Pittsburgh to go with those nasty coleslaw & cheese hoagies, the nausea inducing bumble bee throwbacks and Rapistberger's shenanigans. Here's a sample of the Deadspin comments dealing with the subject of Mike Shanahan's onsetting alzheimers:

It's understandable that he was visibly upset. How else was he going to pay Dan Snyder for a business class ticket on the team plane back to D.C.?

I would have checked Albert Haynesworth's old locker for stolen Redskin money.

'Wasn't me, I was injured during that time, according to Rick Reilly's twitter"  signed Big Ben

New Mexico Football Report

One major difference between DII and Div.1 FBS football is that Div.II players are invariably described as student-athletes in all press releases and news. With all the hoopla this past week surrounding Texas A&M's "Johnny Football" (John Manziel who led the Aggies to an upset over #1 Alabama) not once has any news organization seen fit to designate him as a bonafide student-athlete. I guess the hypocrisy of "big time" college football starts and stops at the top.

The  New Mexico Military Institute Broncos closed out their season with a win over  Pima Community College of Tucson  46-26.   The NMMI Broncos compete in the Western State Football League (WSFL) At this level of college football getting reliable information and scores is hit an miss. For some reason, as of Tuesday, neither  NMMI nor Pima had posted a final score for  the game (played in Tucson on Saturday)

The WSFL's website (which redirects to the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference page) did have the score, but no game recap or box score. I realize this is the lowest rung of competitive college football and that Arizona is backwards as hell... but "C'mon, man!"  The WSFL seems to have a rather haphazard record keeping system.  The final scores for several games were listed as 0-0, those games were recorded as ties. This, even as the actual game scores were posted on the websites of the schools in question.

Ties? who do they think they are the NFL?  Speaking of which,   Arizona Western JC is where former NFL player Ricky Siglar of Albuquerque (Manzano hs.) played before transferring to San Jose St. Univ., he played for four different NFL teams during his career.  The Pima C.C. Aztecs claim membership in the WSFL yet are not listed in the league standings (maybe they're on double secret probation) Scottsdale C.C. played it's entire schedule within the league, including two games against Glendale C.C., that's known as a home & home or two legged tie.

The league champion for 2012 is Snow College, a school described on Wikipedia as  "a rural, two-year state college located in Ephraim, Utah, U.S." Bronco Mendenhall, current BYU head coach and former UNM assistant coach played for the Badger's 1985 national championship team.  Snow College  won the WSFL title outright for the first time since the 2008 season and they will be looking for a bowl invite after deciding earlier this year not to host the Top of the Mountains Bowl game.

The Jucos do not hold playoffs to decide a national champion, the #1 & #2 ranked teams meet at the end of the year to crown a champion. This year that happens to be Iowa Western Community College and Butler College of Kansas. Other NJCAA teams, deemed bowl worthy are then sent packing to some godforsaken places, for anonymous bowl games under miserable weather conditions that make even the New Mexico Bowl seem like the Rose Bowl.

Western States Football League   2012 final standings

Snow College                             8-0 10-1
Arizona Western College              6-2 7-2
Glendale Community College     6-2 7-3
Mesa Community College              5-3 6-4
New Mexico Military Institute     3-4 5-5
Eastern Arizona College              3-5 5-5
Scottsdale Community College     2-4 5-5
Phoenix College                            2-6 2-7

ENMU Greyhounds  13                  Texas A&M- Kingsville  33

ENMU's sports information department closed the game recap of Saturday's season finale against the Javelinas of TAMUK with one sentence.  "The Eastern New Mexico University football team has concluded the 2012 season"  No commentary, or in depth review of the season, just a brief and somewhat terse reminder that there won't be anymore Greyhound football this year. The Hounds, who dropped a 33-13 decision to Texas A&M- Kingsville finish the season at 3-7, 2-6 in the Lone Star Conference. 

From their season opening loss to New Mexico Highlands through the final game against the Javelinas, ENMU struggled to find consistency on either side of the ball. Other than a dreary 7-3 win over TAMU-Commerce and a thrilling 34-24  victory over U. of Incarnate Word, the defense could not keep anyone under thirty points. TAMU-Commerce's offensive miscues kept them out of the end zone in that game as much as Eastern's defense did. That's asking your offense to carry a big load. 

During a five game conference losing streak, ENMU's defense gave up 35, 49, 59, 44 & 51 points in succession. For head coach Josh Lynn, the move up from the Juco ranks at NMMI didn't result in an immediate round of success. Barring an extraordinary recruiting effort during the off season, it doesn't look like 2013 will get much better. Sr. Wesley Wood, who played practically every down for the Hounds at quarterback is done, it's highly unlikely that Lynn has another Wes Wood on the roster.

Wood closed his career as the ENMU record-holder for total offense, with 9,245 yards, no previous player had reached the 8,000-yard mark. His touchdown pass to Charlie Savedra (Socorro hs., Socorro N.M.) was the 69th of his career, also a school record. Wood finished his final game as a Greyhound, 21-of-35 for 210 yards and an interception.  The man who WTAMU's head coach Don Carthel called "tough as a boot" rewrote the Eastern New Mexico record book for quarterbacks and certainly left his mark at Blackwater Draw. 

That touchdown pass to Savedra which gave the Hounds their only lead of the game at 7-6 and  

Christian Long's 20 yard run in the third quarter were all the scoring that ENMU could muster. For ENMU,  Long's touchdown pulled the Hounds to within 19-13, but the Javelinas  scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the game away. In the Lone Star Conference there's a huge gap between ENMU and the front runners, that dink and dunk juco offense has the Greyhounds chasing their tails.

Some last words from Blackwater Draw, remember 'Hounds keep your chins up and "Some trails are happy ones, others are blue. It's the way you ride the trail that counts.... Happy trails to you"

NMHU Cowboys  58        WNMU    0

For the first time since 2008, the Warrior Helmet will see the light of day in Las Vegas, N.M. I finally caught a glimpse of the traveling trophy and it appears to be a bronzed leather football helmet (like the kind George Clooney wore in Leatherheads) propped on a stick attached to a wooden box.  It's hideous and not nearly as cool as ENMU's Wagon Wheel or the annual Musket Game between Fort Lewis and Adams State. Where traditionally, seniors from the winning team get to fire the muzzle loader at the conclusion of the game. 

A rivalry game is no fun when one team fails to show up. Not in a physical sense, mind you... the WNMU Mustangs did take the field, but their effort had all the tell tale signs of a team that just wanted the season to end. Often times this points towards dissension within the team and as the season wraps up team cohesiveness breaks down. I don't have access to the Mustang's locker room, so I can only speculate on the relationship between Coach Clark and his players or between the players themselves. 

It does appear that as the season progressed, team chemistry went south, and in all honesty neither team had much to play for other than that ugly trophy. NMHU was knocked out of the league championship race after losses to the front runners  Chadron St. and CSU-Pueblo. The Cowboys were passed over by the NCAA when playoff seeds were handed out and no D-II table scraps bowl game came-a-knockin' 

Then as if to heap insult upon injury, Cowboy Qb. Emmanuel Lewis, who in my opinion is the most exciting and explosive player in the RMAC, was relegated to a tie for third team All-Conf. Qb.  and his wasn't the only slight, NMHU's Zach Tapia led all kickers in scoring with 96 points, made 48-52 PATs 16-25 field goals and was left off the RMAC team altogether. Tapia outscored, out kicked and was more clutch than the first, second & third team kickers...  his lack of all conference honors is puzzling to say the least. 

WNMU's starting Qb. Mitch Glasmann, was named freshman offensive player of the year in the RMAC. He was passed up for any other league honors, despite some gaudy stats that begged otherwise. I liken Glasmann to Carson Palmer  of the Oakland Raiders, both deliver steady and consistent play while leading a team that can't find ways to win. Both are prone to digging themselves into holes with costly interceptions and other bonehead mistakes. Yet both are blessed with amazing talent, Glasmann is by far the best pure passer in the RMAC. 

With all that said, let's not downplay the fact that Highland's defense put WNMU in a Ted Nugent stranglehold that they never saw coming. NMHU's defense is among the very best in the conference as evidenced by the fact that four Cowboy defenders were named to the RMAC defensive first team, Randy Salmon, Jordan Campbell, Jared Koster & Abdul Kanneh. Devin Howard and DiAmaal Holmes were named to the second team on defense. 

WNMU had won three straight Warrior Helmet games, but NMHU in 2012  played at a much higher level than their rivals. The Cowboys finished the season at 8-3, 6-2 in conference play. It was their best finish since 1998 with their losses coming to #1 CSU-Pueblo, # 20 Chadron St. and Div. I, FCS Southern Utah Univ. (on the road) The Mustangs, 4-7, 3-6 in the RMAC, rode out the season on the crest of a four game losing streak that will now carry over to 2013

NMHU dominated WNMU in every way possible. The Cowboys had 630 yards total offense to the Mustangs 85.... that's not a typo, 85 total yards in offense. Mitch Glasmann finished with 60 passing yards on 8-35 passing. NMHU out rushed Western  256 to 25. Emmanuel Lewis completed 36 of 56 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns with a long pass of 40 yards. Lewis also rushed for 40 yards on 12 carries for a total offensive day of 367 yards. 

NMHU receivers Darius Davis and Kevon Williams both made the first team on offense. They were joined by Western New Mexico's reliable Marquis Sumpter. Bernard Williams of WNMU made the first team on defense, Mustang receiver Donald Byrd was second team on offense. I mentioned Mitch Glasmann as the Freshman of the year on offense. Mitch broke several marks at WNMU in his first season, including 3,139 passing yards and 27 touchdown in a single season. He also completed 249 of 426 passes.

Emmanuel Lewis, despite not being the team's starter at the beginning of the season rewrote the record book at NMHU. He set records for passing yards in a season, 3,667. Total Offense in a season, 3,929. Most passes completed in a season , 286. Most touchdown passes, 28.  He was ranked second in the NCAA in total offense per game at 392.60 yds. per game. He rushed for 262 yards on 92 carries and one rushing touchdown. Yet, he was picked for the third team, tied with Matt Brown of Colorado Mines. 

New Mexico Football Report

Mountain West Conference Standings (11/11/12)

 Fresno State               6-1   8-3 

 San Diego State              6-1 8-3 

 Boise State                5-1 8-2 

 Air Force                        4-2 5-5 

 Nevada                        3-3 6-4 

 Wyoming                        2-4 3-7 

 Colorado State        2-4 3-7 

 UNLV                        2-4 2-9 

 New Mexico               1-5 4-7 

 Hawaii                          0-6 1-8

As a Lobo fan, you have to feel good for Rocky  Long,  former Lobo Qb. and the school's most successful head football coach ever.  Rocky has resurrected his career at San Diego St.   With Saturday's 28-9 win over Air Force, the Aztecs are poised to claim at least a share of the Mountain West Conf. crown. Their first league title since they won the Pacific Division of the Mega-WAC in 1998.

''Today's win matters a whole bunch to me,'' said  Long. ''Our whole existence of this football team is to win a conference championship. That's what we build to, that's what we train for, and guess what, we get a chance.'' San Diego State, which began the day tied for first place (along with Air Force, Fresno St. & Boise St.)  remains in the hunt for its first Mountain West title in its last season in the conference.

The loss drops Air Force out the first place scramble. San Diego St. has a win over Boise St. but a loss to Fresno St., Boise St. has a win over Fresno St. and a loss to San Diego St.  Fresno St. beat San Diego St. but lost to Boise St.  If all three teams win out, and it appears that they will, then The Mountain West Conf. will have a certifiable cluster fuck at the top of the standings.

The Aztecs have one game remaining vs. resurgent Wyoming.  Meanwhile, Boise St. plays CSU and wraps up the season two weeks later against Nevada (Dec. 1st.) Fresno St. has one game left against Air Force. Working under the assumption that Fresno will beat Air Force and San Diego St. beats Wyoming, we'll have to wait until Dec. 1st. to crown the league champion. Then and only then, can the Mountain West close the book on both SDSU and Boise State.

UNM Lobos  23           Wyoming Cowboys  28

As UNM's option attack took hold and they started to win, a joke took root around here,  "Machete don't text and Cole don't pass" Against Wyoming, the Lobos racked up a season high 551 yards in total offense behind the running and passing of Fr. Qb. Cole Gautsche. If anything productive has resulted from the Lobos current four game funk and the loss of starting Qb. B.R. Holbrook, it's that Gautsche has been forced to develop his passing skills.

Gautsche wound up with 149 yds. rushing and 155 yds. passing, 8 completions in 15 attempts and 2 td passes. Not too shabby for a quarterback who had a total of 67 passing yards prior to the game. This development bodes well for the future even as the present results continue to disappoint. I won't totally discount the possibility of UNM beating CSU in the season finale, but it's starting to look like this team is destined for a 4-9 record.

The loss to Wyoming finally puts the "bowl talk" to rest. This team certainly hasn't played well enough to deserve a bowl bid and the measly announced crowd of 17,839 would make most bowl committees nervous as hell. Let's allow Bob Davie to build something, then we'll revisit the possibility of a bowl bid. Let's not let all  this talk of offense and bowl games draw attention away from the play of UNM's defense during this fruitless four game stretch.

In all four losses the defense has had some major breakdowns. In the Air Force game UNM went up 17-14, only to see the Falcons score twice to win the game. The Lobos had Fresno St. down by 21 pts. and yet lost by a 17 point margin. Against UNLV, the Lobo defense was a no-show giving up 530 total yards of offense.  We've been exposed said Coach Davie after the Air Force game and of course he was right.

Wyoming Qb. Brett Smith hung the Lobo secondary out to dry. Smith threw four td. passes, finishing with 374 passing yards. Smith threw three touchdown bombs (81, 64 & 32 yards) during a span of seven minutes in the first half. “We continue to give up the big play,” Coach Davie said. “There’s no secret where people try to expose us.” New Mexico's young and undermanned secondary will continue to be picked on.

You could say that the Lobo's season is dying of exposure.  Coach Davie added, “I’m really proud of this football team. … We gave up some grenades in the first half … but they stuck in there, they played, they fought, and they gave themselves a chance to win at the end of the game.” Down by five, UNM marched down the field working to set up a go-ahead touchdown. A third and 6 turned into a fourth & 17 thanks to a personal foul on LaMar Bratton.

The Lobos were forced to punt, but amazingly got the ball back with 1:40 left on the clock. Four Gautsche incompletions later, the Lobos were out of chances and time. Twice the Lobos whittled Wyoming's lead down to five points in the second half, but getting over the hump proved difficult. The Lobos outscored the Cowboys 16-7 in the second half and 10-0 in the third quarter, to battle back from a 21-7 halftime deficit.

NMSU Aggies   7                   San Jose St. Spartans   47

The Las Cruces Sun-News called Saturday's dreary smackdown by San Jose State  "one of the worst games that could be remembered" Aggie head coach DeWayne Walker, who hasn't hesitated to tell us what he really thinks added this, "It was embarrassing, this was the first time all year that I felt like, from start to finish, I don't want to question our players effort, but from start to finish it was just a terrible, terrible game"

The Spartans were up 17-0 after one quarter and 37-0 at halftime. SJSU Qb. David Fales threw for 276 yds. and 4 td's.  By comparison Aggie Qb., Andrew Manley struggled with interceptions and tipped passes, he was spelled by Travaughn Colwell who led the Aggies to a near score in the first half (he was stopped six inches shy of the end zone) and a touchdown in the game's final minute. 

The Aggies have a bye week coming up, they should put that time to good use and find ways to plug Colwell into the offense.  A big stiff, immobile pocket passer is not going to get it done at NMSU.  Walker seems reluctant to ditch Andrew Manley and retool the offense, even as the Aggies have scored just one touchdown in three of their last four games (they scored two against Louisiana Tech) What they're doing now is not working.

The lack of production by the offense also fall on NMSU's anemic running game.  Germi Morrison, an earnest but limited running back is what passes for a ground game. At the start of the season, the Aggies knew they didn't have the offensive weapons at their disposal that they had in 2011. Above all else, Andrew Manley's failure to launch has crippled the Aggie's offense. So much more was expected from him and he's failed miserably. 

Prior to the UNM game I was almost giddy over the thought of Manley dissecting the Lobo's makeshift secondary, instead UNM's defense had little trouble containing him. Coach Walker is a dedicated and straight forward coach, but he lacks imagination.  Walker needed to open up the Aggie offense and go for broke after the UNM game, yet they plodded on trying to force a square peg into a round hole. 

The Spartans called off the dogs in the second half, sparing the Aggies membership in the 70 point club.  Said Walker, "I just felt like we didn't play today. And that's the most disappointing thing for me. That's the first time this year that it looked that way. They didn't have any energy. They didn't have any fight in them today" "Maybe I didn't have the team prepared, maybe the coaches didn't have the team prepared"

There's plenty of blame to go around, including beyond the football field and locker room.  "When you're going through a year like this, just being honest, but there's no fans. Maybe they don't need to support a team that has a (poor) record. But there were no fans in the stands today, no energy. I just felt like our kids played that way. I just felt like they didn't have anything left to go out there and fight."

BYU is next on the schedule for both teams. NMSU plays the Cougars on  Nov. 24th, while San Jose St. plays them on Nov. 17th.  It will the Aggies second bye week of the season.  The first one didn't do them much good. After a close loss to Idaho, the Aggies came back from a bye week and were stomped by Utah St.  The number of Div. 1 FBS coaches fired is increasing every week, Robb Akey at Idaho, Joker Phillips at Kentucky, Derek Dooley at Tennessee... 

The NMSU football program is at rock bottom, it's hard to see them winning another game this season and when the season ends so does their football association with the WAC.  The Aggies are unwanted castoffs, there's not a lot of reasons left for DeWayne Walker to desire staying at NMSU or for NMSU to desire him as its head coach. 

May We Abandon Ship Now?

Friggin' in the Riggin'

Washington State head coach, Mike Leach is at it again. Leach who was dismissed during a successful run at Texas Tech after his abusive nature was brought to light, now faces similar charges at his new school. Following a dispirited blow out at the hands of Utah (49-6) Leach ripped into his team. During the team's practice on Monday, star wide receiver, Marquess Wilson walked off the field and quit the team.

Washington State announced the same day that he had been suspended.  The Cougars are stinking it up on Palouse Ridge, their losses include an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Univ. of Colorado.  They didn't schedule the Univ. of Idaho this year, thus sparing us from a perfect storm of ineptitude. Leach latched out by comparing some of his seniors to corpses. He also banned his players from using Twitter. Smart move, you don't want the word to get out.

"Our effort today was pitiful," Leach said. "It starts with our coaches. Our coaches, starting with me and starting with the assistants, we have to be able to reach our players and get a good effort. Square one is a good effort and our effort was horrible. "Right now we're a team that doesn't give a good effort, which means that all of the stuff that we do in the weight room and in the meeting rooms and practices is a waste of time if we don't give a good effort."

Oh, but Leach wasn't through. He saved his most biting comments for the offensive line: "Our five couldn't whip their two," Leach said, according to CougFan.com. "Sometimes they only brought two. Our five couldn't whip their two. Which means, if five of our guys went in an alley and got in a fight with two of theirs, we would have gotten massacred. That's just ridiculously inexcusable. It was one of the most heartless efforts up front I've seen; and our defensive line wasn't any better."

"According to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Wilson refused to finish a pushup drill and left the field 20 minutes into a two-hour workout. The Spokesman-Review reported that Wilson was suspended by the team, which at this point could just be a matter of two sides arguing about who broke up with who first" (excerpt courtesy of Deadspin) Should Marquess Wilson return to the team, you can bet Leach will have a cool, dark room equipped with a padlock on the door ready for him.

Wilson's parting shot came in the form of a letter delivered to the Visalia (Ca.) Times-Delta.  He alleges mental and physical abuse from Mike Leach and his coaching staff:

Dear Cougar Nation: It is with a heavy heart that I announce my decision to forgo playing football for Washington State University. I realize the school is saying that I am suspended for violating team policies and may return next week, but this is a lie. This is an attempt by the athletic department to cover up what is really happening in that locker room.

A Steamy Pile of Lubbock B.S.

Mike Leach’s replacement at Texas Tech, Tommy Tuberville, also made the sports headlines for all the wrong reasons on Saturday. Shortly after his team drew a penalty for having 12 men on the field, cameras caught Tuberville in a verbal altercation with graduate assistant Kevin Oliver. After a brief exchange of words, Tubes grabbed Oliver's headset and yanked it off his head. In the process, he also yanked Oliver's hat to the ground. 

 Asked about the incident after the game, Tuberville offered a weak and thoroughly unconvincing excuse. "He was on the field, and I reached to grab him and pull him off. When I pulled, I missed his shirt and I grabbed his (headset) and his microphone ripped off his head. I was trying to get him off the field. "He's out on the field, and we're trying to get him off. I missed his shoulder, and grabbed his … It wasn't anything to it.”

Oliver wasn't on the field, Tuberville, the team's leader lost control and acted like a pissy old grandmother. Worse of all he tried to pass it of as nothing, and Oliver will probably concur with Tuberville and say that it was nothing.  Except that it can't be brushed off like that, Oliver is Tuberville's employee and striking your employees should be frowned upon.  Even at Texas Tech, a school that seems to make it a point of pride to hire prickish assholes (James Dickey, Bobby Knight, Pat Knight, Billy Gillespie, Mike Leach & Tommy Tuberville)   

I started a Joke

Add Joker Phillips of the U. of Kentucky to the list of college head coaches now without a job. Phillips joins former U. of Idaho head coach Robb Akey on the exclusive list. Frank Spaziani (Boston College) isn't on it, but he will be soon, the same for Ellis Johnson at Southern Miss ,  Jon Embree of Colorado and Derek Dooley of Tennessee.  Joker was fired by A.D. Mitch Barnhart shortly after a blow out loss to Vanderbilt Univ.

The Joker, after mulling it over accepted Barnhart's offer to finish out the season. Why not? it's not like he has to be somewhere.  Phillips and the Wildcats will have one last shot at avoiding an SEC shutout in the season finale against the U. of Tennessee, or as Deadspin put it "the Wildcats head to Knoxville in two weeks to take on Derek Dooley's volunteers, which is the football equivalent of a corpse kickboxing a slightly fresher corpse" 

Phillips had conceded after a terrible showing against Vanderbilt, that he wasn't long for the Kentucky job.    “Where I’m at? I get it. I get this business. I get the criticism. Nobody in this program wants this place to have success more than me, but I understand. I understand this is a business that is based on results, and we haven’t gotten the results right now.” Just like in Florida, the results are finally in and  Joker was right.... he wasn't long for this world.

Boise St. Univ. Can Suck It!

"Idaho petitioned the Idaho State Board of Education for the right to leave the WAC, which will likely cease football-related operations next year and continue playing FBS football as an independent, the right was granted"  Huh?... New Mexico St. Univ.  which is in the same exact boat, made that decision months ago, without such formalities. For the Aggies, a letter released (leaked) to the press by A.D. McKinley Boston settled matters without much fanfare. 

The Univ. of Idaho took the first step towards rebuilding for the future by firing Robb Akey, Jason Gesser was then named as interim head coach. It's not likely that he'll be a viable candidate for the job though, Gesser admitted to being a little overwhelmed after he was handed the position. Gesser stated "that he was so preoccupied with everything swirling around him that he wasn't sure what type of offense San Jose State runs" 

After the Vandals were drubbed 42-13, it's safe to assume that the  SJSU offense is of the "run it down your throat"  variety.  As is BYU's who put a  52-13 pasting on Idaho the following week.  Gesser not knowing his opponent's offense, is downright.... offensive. I'm guessing that Gesser  is  just keeping the seat warm until Mike Leach gets fired at WASU and moves  to Moscow.... Idaho, not Russia as some in Pullman may wish. 

The FBS Bottom Feeders

( an inverted top ten poll ranked in the order of a school's chance of winning no more than one game, if any)

10.   Idaho   1-9, (UTSA & Utah St. remain on the schedule, situation: fubar, Interim head coach Jason Gesser is in over his head)

9.     NMSU  1-9, (the Aggies and their fans were a miserable no show against San Jose. Yet to come, BYU and Texas St)

8.     Akron  1-10 (the Zips were the first to ten losses but they won't be the first to eleven. They  don't play again until Nov. 20th. against Toledo)

7.     Southern Miss  0-10, (from a So.Miss message board: "Umass won today, no pressure, EJ. (head coach,Ellis Johnson) you POS"  I'm not the only one that pays attention to these things)

6.     Massachusetts  1-9, (beat Akron for first ever D1 FBS victory, finish against  Buffalo & Central Michigan another win wouldn't be that far fetched )

5.     Eastern Michigan  1-9, (3 point loss to Central Michigan, up next is Western Michigan, the odds are good for the Eagles)

4.     Hawai'i   1-8,  (last three games vs. Air Force, UNLV & South Alabama, the last two are at home, and winnable. The Warriors could finish on a two game winning streak)

3.    Colorado  1-9, (since sole win over WASU, Buffs have been outscored 317-82, Washington & Utah are up next)

2.    Kentucky 1-9,  (Joker Phillips has nothing left to lose, a gimmee game against  Samford and a season finale against underacheiving Tennessee work in the Wildcat's favor)

1.   Kansas 1-9, (It's come to this for Charlie Weiss, Iowa St. next week followed by West Virginia, Jayhawks last hope for two wins will be against the Cyclones)

Raiders- Buccaneers Week 8

We're starting to see just where the Raiders belong in the NFL's pecking order.  Finally we can put aside all the hype of a new G.M. and Head Coach, set aside all the overblown expectations and take a cold hard look at what we actually have.  The Raiders are not a contender, nor are they better than the Dolphins and Bucs. We can however rate them above the Chiefs and Jaguars. The win over the Steelers was an anomaly, the Raiders are good for one of those every now and then.

With this in mind let's look at the second half of the Raiders 2012 schedule

Sun 11/11 Baltimore Ravens (a) (McFadden is back to being McInjured and Goodson isn't up to par, which puts the running game on life support, East Coast game) pick: Ravens
 
Sun 11/18 New Orleans Saints (h) (the Raiders had a chance when the Saints were struggling, now the Saints ain't struggling) pick: Saints

Sun 11/25 Cincinnati Bengals (a) (Carson Palmer's past catches up to him, Bengals are on track to turn their franchise around, thanks to the Raiders)  pick: Bengals

Sun 12/2 Cleveland Browns (h) (If you can't beat the Browns at home who can you beat?)   pick: Raiders

Thu 12/6 Denver Broncos (h)  (I'm an idiot and I hate the Donkeys, but I can't bring myself to pick  Oakland to spring the upset)    pick: Broncos

Sun 12/16 Kansas City Chiefs (h)  (KC isn't getting any better and with Romeo Crennel in charge, there's  a good chance they'll get even worse)  Pick:  Raiders

Sun 12/23 Carolina Panthers (a)  (Cam Newton will have alienated all his team mates and coaches by this time, it's an East Coast game however and that's bad news for Oakland) Pick: Panthers

Sun 12/30 San Diego Chargers (a)  At the rate the Chargers are going, they'll have shut it down and started sulking  by week 16     Pick: Raiders

The Raiders are 3-5 now, I have them winning three more games at the most (only the KC game is a sure bet) Best case scenario; 6-12, worst case; 3-13, most likely scenario; 4-12. You can call it what you want, rebuilding, reloading, restructuring...  when in fact it is what it is, a regression. 

The Associated Press Pro32 NFL Power Rankings, which is an attempt to create some of that BCS poll hype at the pro level, has the Raiders ranked at No.27, down from No. 25 the week before. The No. 25 Carolina Panthers and No. 26 St. Louis Rams moved ahead of the Raiders. 

The Panthers beat the No. 23 Washington Redskins 21-13 on the road, and the Rams had a bye. The teams ranked below the Raiders include  Buffalo (28)  Tennessee (29) Cleveland (30) Jacksonville (31) Kansas City (32)

Oakland Raiders  32         Tampa Bay Buccaneers   42   

Doug Martin, a rookie rushed for 251 yards on 25 carries and 4 td's. Martin abused the Raiders in a manner not seen since former Seahawks running back Shawn Alexander's 266 yds. on 35 carries in 2001.  Martin had racked up 214 total yards, 135 rushing and 2 td's the week prior against Minnesota.  He burned the Raiders on td runs of 45, 67 and 70 yds. and then for good measure added a 1 yd. td run, just because he could do whatever the hell he wanted. 

 So now we're back to where we were last season, the offense scores points while the defense allows more points than the offense can score. Raider Law: the more things change, the more they remain the same. Martin exposed the Raider linebackers for what they are... overrated. Knapp is installing his intricate offensive schemes, while opposing teams just come and bludgeon the defense to death with a sledge hammer. 

Until the Oakland defense gets right, there'll be more days like this.  In 2011 before Jason Campbell went down and after the Carson Palmer trade, the defensive unit was the weakest link. That is still the case this season, missed tackles, missed assignments  boneheaded penalties. To the casual observer there's little difference between Chuck Bresnahan's defense and Jason Tarver's. 

 Worst of all the defense is slow...... slow to close in, slow to react and slow to make adjustments. If the offense is a piece of shit Corvette rescued from some scrap yard and rebuilt with mismatched spare parts, then the defense is like Mater the tow truck, an obsolete rust bucket that only serves one purpose. At the very least they could have thrown themselves in Doug Martin's path to serve as a speed bump.

Darren McFadden left the game in the second quarter for X-rays on his left ankle. It wasn't broken, so he may return before the end of the season. Mike Goodson picked up the load but he left the game after a pass play in the fourth quarter.  The running game hasn't been that productive, so it may not matter much. Taiwan Jones could be our savior, but that's expecting too much from a man named after a country known for producing shoddy goods.

Taiwan Jones carried just one time for 2 yards and he recovered his own fumble after a short pass from Shane Lechler on a fake punt. Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune describes Taiwan as someone who "has gotten nowhere fast" It's a poke at his lack of productivity, Jones ran a  4.3 40-yard dash at his pro day, which led to Oakland drafting him. Taiwan is a running back, who runs his fastest when he's not carrying the ball. 

Fullback Marcel Reece could and should see an expanded role come Sunday. Reece is a running back who according to McDonald "has excelled out of the backfield doing just about everything but running the ball"  Coach Allen says "Whether it's running it 50 times or throwing it 50 times, we've got to do what we feel gives us the best opportunity for success"  I say let's just drop all pretense of a running game go fucking vertical again.

Why not pass 100 times and run once? our chances are the same either way. What would give us a better chance on third and long, handing off to Taiwan or just slinging the ball down field and letting the receivers chase it down? Carson Palmer completed 39 of 61 pass attempts for 414 yards and 4 td's. as he brought them back from being down 35-17. But, a rally killing  int. (he had three in all) kept the Raiders from pulling even or possibly scoring a go-ahead td. 

"Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks Had I from old and young! Instead of the cross, the Albatross About  my neck was hung." Interceptions have bestowed upon Carson Palmer the sullied reputation of a quarterback that can't get it done. (similar to Tony Romo) This opinion runs counter to all statistics and arguments to the contrary. Palmer is the most productive signal caller the Raiders have had since the days of Rich Gannon, yet he's haunted by failure. 

Carson Palmer has a history against Baltimore. He beat them nine times in thirteen starts while playing for the Bengals. "I don't fear any quarterback, but I'm always worried when I play Carson Palmer," said Raven LB, Terrell Suggs.  He's just blowing smoke, of all the things that worry the Ravens, the Raiders ain't one of them. Carson simply doesn't have the offensive weapons that he had at Cincinnati

Raider Notes:

The process of turning the Raiders into a normal NFL franchise is well underway, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News offered this insight into Oakland's progress. "This is what normal teams go through in normal building processes. The Raiders are trying to be a normal, rational team for the first time in decades, and Allen is trying to be their normal, rational leader" Could the Raider way come to mean normal and rational?

Former Raider Stanford Routt, was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. It was part of a defensive shake up that saw Romeo Crennel step down as defensive coordinator. Routt who signed a 3 year deal with K.C. was cut because "the relationship was not progressing", that's exactly what my ex-wife told me when we separated... Ouch!  The Raiders had made a point of going after Routt during their recent game against the Chiefs. 

Oakland is short handed at cornerback, but when Coach Allen was asked if there was any possibility of Routt returning to the Raiders, his answer was an emphatic "No!"  It seems that we'll sign all cast offs except our own and that's a sure sign of progress. Seriously Stanford Routt in less than a year has been cut by both Oakland and Kansas City, that can't bode well for his future or look good on his resume. 

Transactions & Injuries:

Shawntae Spencer is still not practicing and Richard Seymour was also on the sidelines. Neither will play on Sunday. LB Aaron Curry has returned to the active roster, he's yet to see any game action this year. To make room for Curry, Oakland waived LB Vic So'oto. Khalif Barnes also returned to practice after almost two months sidelined with a groin injury that required surgery.

The Raiders are proceeding with plans to go without McFadden or Gooden in the backfield on Sunday. Both Taiwan Jones and Marcel Reece have been prepping all week for their expanded roles. Neither McFadden or Gooden has practiced, both suffered high ankle sprains in the Tampa Bay game. 

New Mexico Football Report

The ENMU Greyhounds snapped a five game losing streak and by the thin margin of 7-3, spared the state of New Mexico from yet another ghastly gridiron shutout.  It shouldn't have come done to the Hounds having to stave off the whitewashing.  I would have bet money that UNM would beat UNLV, Western New Mexico seemed like a shoe-in playing at home and NMHU surely had a chance to pull off the upset at  #1 ranked CSU-Pueblo.

The Lobos inexplicably layed an egg against the Rebels, NMSU played one half of football, when as everyone know there's two halves in a game. WNMU playing a Black Hills State squad mourning the tragic death of a teammate, stymied its own efforts with some key turnovers. Highlands was knotted up with CSU-Pueblo 17-17 in the fourth quarter, but turnovers shot down their hopes as the Thunderwolves ran off  twenty one unanswered points.

Even NMMI, the state's sole football playing Juco was the wrong end of the final score.  The home field advantage wasn't enough for the Broncos to overcome nationally ranked (11th. NJCAA) Arizona Western JC, 59-30.  All six football playing  colleges in the state of New Mexico sport a combined record of  3-15 over the past three weeks, and  24-34 overall for 2012.

ENMU Greyhounds  7     Texas A&M- Commerce Lions  3

Let's head 'em off at Blackwater Draw;  After a first quarter drive by TAMU-C sputtered  out (they had advanced to Eastern's six yard line at one point) Jacob O'Neil kicked a 23 yard field goal to give TAMU-C  their only lead and score of the game 3-0.  In the 2nd. quarter, the Lions appeared on their way to another score as they marched on the Hounds. That's when Jayson Serda did what he does so well, he intercepted TAMU-C  Qb. Kevin Vye's pass at Eastern's one yard line to stop the Lions cold. 

Eastern's offense took over from there and Wesley Wood led the Hounds on their longest drive of the season, 97 yards finishing it off with a three yard touchdown pass to his brother Lane Wood to give ENMU the lead and the win 7-3.   Eastern had a chance to add to their lead, but Dylan Baca missed a chip shot 22 yard field goal. The one field goal allowed by ENMU was the fewest points given up by Eastern's defense since a 52-0 win over the Panhandle State Pancakes in 2007. 

The 97 yard drive was the longest by the Hounds since a 99 yard drive against East Central Mid-Western Southern Oklahoma, also in 2007 (that ENMU team was a scoring juggernaut) Punters proved to be the most valuable assets for both teams in the second half. Lion punter Cameron Frosch came within inches of having two second half punts downed at the Eastern one yard line and he boomed six punts for 286 yards including a 76 yard effort that pinned the Hounds deep in their end of the field.  

ENMU punter Dylan Baca wasn't getting the same kind of hang time  but two his of punts were downed at the one yard line and he got enough distance on his punts to effectively throttle the Lion's offensive efforts.  TAMU-C after failing miserably to get anything going offensively all game, almost pulled out the victory in the game's final minutes. The Lions started from their own 20 at 2:44, they converted a fourth down and drove all the way to the Hounds 18 yard line. Despite a first and ten, they couldn't punch it in as Vye's fourth down pass fell incomplete.

The Greyhounds improve to 3-6 overall,  2-5 in the Lone Star.  TAMU-C fell to 1-8, while losing its seventh consecutive game at Blackwater Draw, dating back to 1995. It was also the Lion's 10th straight road loss going back to 2009. Up next for the Hounds is another TAMU school, this time it's Kingsville. The Javelinas were once known as Texas A&I Univ.  The school is often referred to as a "football factory" due to its past success in football.

That reputation was built  while the school was a member of the NAIA. Since joining the NCAA Div. II ranks, cottage industry would be a more apt description for the program than football factory.  Furthermore since dropping the Texas A&I name (which did not go over well with alumni) TAMU-K has not duplicated the gridiron success of  Texas A&I. As a result the flow of TAMU-K players to the NFL has slowed to a trickle.     

TAMU-Kingsville holds the Div. II record for most players signed  by  NFL teams.  Forty nine Javelina players have been drafted  by the NFL including Hall of Famers, Gene Upshaw & Darrell Green. Former Pro Bowl running  back John Randle also matriculated alongside the Hoggies.  Javelina Stadium is one of the largest in Div. II, with seating for over 18,000 fans. The Javelinas usually rank near the top in attendance at the Div. II level.  

NMHU Cowboys   17          CSU- Pueblo Thunderwolves  31

For a few tantalizing and fleeting moments in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys had the Wolves reeling, momentum was on their side and a share of the conference title was theirs for the taking. That is, until CSU-Pueblo snapped out of a game long funk and changed the course and the outcome of the game.  The T-Wolves offense had sputtered throughout the game and a pair of costly turnovers didn't help the cause.

The Cowboys took advantage, clawing back from a 10-3 deficit to go ahead 17-10 half way through the fourth quarter. CSU-Pueblo is ranked #1 in the national AFCA poll, but they didn't play like it.... until they had to. Highlands scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 10-10, on the Thunderwolves ensuing possession, J.B. Mathews fumbled the ball away, The Cowboys took over only to give the ball right back to CSU-Pueblo on the very first play as Emmanuel Lewis was picked off. 

The Thunderwolves had a quick three and out, putting the ball once again in the hands of the Cowboys, who wasted little time in scoring, to take the lead 17-10 with just eight minutes remaining.  As the old cliche goes, "They're ranked #1 for a reason" With their backs against the wall, the Wolves suddenly turned it on. Qb. Ross Dausin hit J.B. Mathews for a 40 yd. td. pass that pulled them even with the Cowboys. NMHU failed to match that score as they were forced to punt on their next possession.

CSU-Pueblo capped off a game defining, 12 play 85 yd. drive, with the go ahead touchdown delivered by Mathews.  The Thunderwolves had a lead they would not relinquish, 24-7. Highlands tried a bit of trickery on 4th and eight on the subsequent possession, but a Kevon Williams pass to Trent Hicks fell incomplete.  Aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a personal foul penalty, The T-Wolves  tacked on an insurance touchdown on Cameron McDondle's 40 yd. touchdown dash.

Time ran out on the Cowboys hopes for an upset and a share of RMAC crown. Highlands finished the game with 423 yards in total offense. Emmanuel Lewis, completed 29 of 42 passes for 340 yards, 1 td. but he was intercepted four soul crushing times. Lavelle Peterson led the Cowboys in rushing with 33 yards on 10 carries, 1 td.  Darius Davis led the Cowboys in receiving with seven catches for 147 yards. Kevon Williams added nine catches for 113 yards and 1 td. 

CSU-Pueblo can win the RMAC outright with a win over league bottom feeder Western State in the regular season finale. Western State of Gunnison, Co. has won only one game this season. With the loss, NMHU drops to 7-3 overall, 6-2 in RMAC play. The Pokes can still finish in second place if Chadron St. loses to Colorado Mines and they beat Western New Mexico in the annual "Battle for the Warrior Helmet" season finale.

NMHU closes out the 2012 season against arch rival Western New Mexico.  The Mustangs have dominated the series of late, winning three straight "Warrior Helmet" games (4 of the last five)  I'm not sure what a warrior helmet is (sounds like a Trojan knock off prophylactic)  or why they chose that as the traveling trophy. It's the Mustangs vs. the Cowboys, why not a lasso, spurs or a branding iron instead? 

WNMU has dropped three in a row and four of its last five game. The Mustangs somehow have clinched yet another losing season. NMHU is now out of the running for the RMAC title and playing strictly for pride and that ridiculous traveling trophy.  It grows as it goes and this season has turned into a full grown disappointment. Keep your warrior helmets handy fellas, looks like we're in for a rough ride.... yeeeehaaw!!

Here's the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings as we enter the final week of the 2012 season.

 

1.   CSU-Pueblo 10-0   8-0  (#1 AFCA poll)

2.   Chadron State   8-2   7-1   (#21 AFCA poll)

3.   New Mexico Highlands  7-3  6-2

4.   Adams St. Univ.  7-3   5-3

5.  Colorado Mines Univ.  6-4   4-4

6.   Colorado Mesa Univ.  4-6   4-4

7.   Western New Mexico  4-6   3-5

8.    Black Hills St. Univ.   2-7   2-6

9.    Western St. Univ.   1-9   1-7

10.  Ft. Lewis College   0-9    0-8

WNMU Mustangs  24                Black Hills State Univ. Yellow Jackets  36

If you traveled as  a  crow flies, you could probably shave a few miles off the trip. On the ground the distance between Silver City, NM & Spearfish, SD amounts to 1,062 miles, 18 hours... one way.  For the Yellow Jackets and the coaching staff it was time spent trying to come to terms with the sudden passing of redshirt freshman Nick Bazemore.  He was found dead in his dorm room on Oct. 29th., the day after the Jackets had played host to NMHU. 

The circumstances of the young man's death are not for me to speculate on, I'm just a spectator to this tragedy.  A game like this suddenly becomes very trivial and secondary to what takes place outside the athletic arena. One would be tempted to question the need to  put his  coaches and teammates through the process of preparing for the game against WNMU while also mourning the young man.  

Deaths such as these always leave more questions unanswered than answered. For  the sake of the Black Hills community it's vital to expedite the healing process. Playing the game, was the best way to gain closure and honor the memory of  this young man. Though given the duration and length of the journey, one would not have faulted Black Hills State, had they chosen to do otherwise. 

For the Mustangs the game followed an all too familiar script of big offensive plays, key turnovers and defensive breakdowns. The Jackets took an early 7-0 lead following a lengthy  15  play, 90 yard drive that resulted in a score. Mitch Glasmann was sacked on a third and fifteen, he fumbled, Black Hills St's Thadd Stottler scooped up the loose ball and  ran it for for a Yellow Jacket touchdown. 

 Glasmann shook it off and on the ensuing possession hit Marquis Sumpter for a picture perfect 71 yd. touchdown pass, cutting the lead in half, 14-7. At the start of the second quarter, WNMU tacked on a field goal to pull within four points, 14-10.  Then Black Hills St. playing with a gritty determination that belied their won-loss record, roared down the field and scored on a 49 yard pass play to Jerome Krysl from Ward Anderson. 

If Western was waiting for a wake-up call this was it. With the clock winding down, facing a fourth and one, Abraham Macias rumbled for 17 yards. Glasmann took full advantage of the new set of downs with a 19 yard td. strike to Marquis Sumpter.  Down 21-17 at the break, the Mustangs had to be feeling like they had dodged a bullet. That wasn't the case, as the second half got under way, WMNU quickly dug itself into a deeper hole.

Western has successfully pulled the end around play where Donald Byrd throws a pass to another receiver before.  Against the Jackets, the play was disastrous as Austin Hayes picked off the pass at the Mustangs's 12 yard line. Black Hills St. then galloped 81 yds. down the field, with Anderson again connecting with Krysl for a touchdown, the PAT was no good, giving the Yellow Jackets a seemingly comfy 27-17 lead. 

The Mustangs took all the comfort out of it in a hurry as they culminated a drive that started near mid-field with a 1 yd. td. run by Abraham Macias. For the first time in the game, Western was within a field goal. After an exchange of fruitless possessions by both clubs, Black Hills St. extended its lead to 30-24 thanks to a 28 yd. field. The game was decided on Western's next two possessions. A fumble at their own 40 yd. line, gave the ball back to the Yellow Jackets, who were unable to capitalize. 

Then for the second time in the game, Mitch Glasmann was sacked and fumbled the football, with Sterling Boyland recovering and returning the fumble eight yards for a touchdown. The Jackets went for a two point conversion and failed, the score stayed at 36-24.  And that's where it would stay, the Mustangs had two more chances but were unable to get the ball past mid field on either one. 

Mitch Glasmann completed 34 of 54 passes for 330 yds. and 2 td's. he was sacked twice and lost two fumbles that were returned for touchdowns. Western committed four turnovers, while Black Hills St. had none.  Three touchdowns off of turnovers, were the difference in the game. Marquis Sumpter caught 11 passes for 158 yards and 2 td's. Abraham Macias led Western's running game with 74 yards on 21 carries, 1 td. 

The loss dropped the Mustangs to 4-6 overall and  3-5 in RMAC play. Western will finish with a losing record (for the 5th consecutive season) WNMU continues to search for that elusive winning season, which they haven't had since 1993 (6-4, while still a member of the NAIA) The Mustangs close out the season against arch rival NMHU in Las Vegas, NM. The Warrior Helmet is at stake. 

For the Yellow Jackets the long journey home was made easier by the knowledge that  they  were able to beat the odds and triumph over extreme adversity that went far beyond what they would normally deal with on the playing field.   

"I think the biggest thing is our entire team came together, from our coaching staff to our players and kind of rallied around these younger guys that were directly affected," said head coach John Reiners. "Every day we took a new step in what we needed to do, just believing in each other and rallying around each other was huge."

"The way Spearfish is, and the way Black Hills State is, the community, the athletics department, the support we got is immeasurable," said Reiners. "That was probably the biggest thing that I think led our team this week."