New Mexico Football Report

UNM 13  Texas Tech  59

As the sun set on a long day, it also set on Mike Locksley. The Lobo head coach stood in the fading sunlight, shaking his head and staring towards the horizon. The answer is somewhere out there... an assistant coaching job... peace of mind. But, in reality there is only the unrelenting pressure brought on by failure. The UNM football squad failed miserably on both sides of the line. 

During the Lobo's plunge into the deep pit of college football despair, Mike Locksley has not come off as a sympathetic figure. Yet, during this game I felt sorry for him. It was an agonizing contest, made even more painful by two prolonged game delays due to lighting strikes within the six mile safety zone mandated by UNM for outdoor events.

Although this was the Lobo's third game of the season, it was the first nail in Locksley's coffin.  There is no coming back from this, a 59-13 shellacking at the hands of a youthful and inexperienced Texas Tech squad. The time for Mike to leave has come and gone and now has come again. After a close loss to Colorado St. to open the season, the Lobos have regressed. Mind you, in Arkansas they played a ranked team, but a better showing was expected against Tech.

It was as if the UNM defensive unit wasn't even out on the field. Tech quarterback Seth Doege set an NCAA record for completion percentage for those with 40 or more completions. Doege finished 40-for-44 for 404 yards and five touchdowns. For Doege and Red Raider wide receiver Darrin Moore it was a Saturday in the park. They could've been playing Frisbee football, Doege was untouched the entire game. Moore caught nine passes for 118 yards and three tds. for the Red Raiders

Lobo fans had to wait out interruptions of 51 minutes in the first half  and 44 minutes coming out of the half time break. Although by halftime the stadium had emptied out and only the diehards and foolhardy remained. The game was essentially over after the first delay, the Lobo defense which had ample time to rest and re-group instead was plagued by a multitude of missed tackles.  “Obviously, very disappointed in how we performed today,” coach Mike Locksley said about the defense.  

WR Deon Long had three catches for 139 yards, he's the only Lobo receiver with the skills to make things happen for the passing game.  RB Crusoe Gongbay led the Lobos with career highs of 14 carries for 61 yards and 1 td. He also had a 21-yard reception. It would be wise to hand the ball off to Crusoe, since James Wright (who rushed 7 times for 19 yds.) just can't produce much more than 2 yds. per carry.

Up next for the Lobos is Sam Houston St. an FCS school. And it goes without saying, if they don't beat the Bearkats, they're looking at a winless season. A season that started with the hope of maybe three or possibly four wins is reduced to a must win game against a D-2 school.

NMSU 10  UTEP 16

This game was "paper bag with eye holes" ugly. The Aggies coming off an inspiring victory over Minnesota of The Big  10, were primed to pound the Miners. That didn't happen, instead the two slugged it out in a schoolboy alley fight that neither seemed capable of winning. Ultimately it would take a trick play and some key Aggie miscues to settle the contest.

UTEP got three field goals from Dakota Warren to stay in it and then scored the game winner on a fake punt that saw Joe Banyard race 60 yds. into the end zone, game over, thank you for coming.

Aggie Qb. Andrew Manley was 20-37 passing for 242 yds and 1 td. The "Go-Deep" Aggie offense stalled when UTEP unleashed the hounds. With no NMSU running game to speak off, Manley found himself on the receiving end of six brutal sacks. 

NMSU was inside the UTEP five yd. line, three times and came away with just one field goal. New Mexico State couldn’t establish a running game, rushing for just 16 yards on 29 attempts. Robert Clay led Aggie rushers with 10 carries for 11 yds. That's an average of 1.1 yd. per carry, if they had handed off to him 100 times, he would've picked up 100 yds., shame on them.

This is Aggie football in a nutshell. Coming off a huge win (albeit over a weak Golden Gopher squad) facing their arch-rivals, with everything going their way and every reason in the world to win, they laid a big fat egg. It's an enigma, what does it take to turn this around? The Aggie defense which was suspect after the season opener has come around, but now the offense is starting to sputter.

It was NMSU's game to win, the Miners as always, are off to a slow start. UTEP's passing game is anemic, hardly "The Flying Miners" of lore.  Back to back wins going into a game with WAC weakling San Jose St. equals: three game winning streak. The big "mo" was there with its thumb out, waiting to hitch a ride with the Aggies. The Aggies let one get away on their home turf, they can't do that against San Jose St on the road. It's a must win game for NMSU, a loss here and they're looking at yet another two win season. Taveon Rogers still has the hot hands, he had  5recs. for  69yds. 1td.

Breaking News!

Aggie starting Qb. Andrew Manley, who was injured on the Aggies' final offensive play of the UTEP game Has been diagnosed with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and will miss the remainder of the campaign. Manley had taken the reins of the Aggies' offense, and was well on his way to a highly productive season. Matt Christian will replace him as starter. NMSU head coach DeWayne Walker, announced that Manley, may qualify for a medical redshirt, which would allow him to return next season as a sophomore.

Thus, the sun sets on Mike Locksley & Andrew Manley.... adios amigos