Raiders- Chiefs Game 15

 Why are we talking playoffs, if I wrote the Silver and Black off last week?  Because, The Raiders play in AFC West, and right now it's up for grabs.... again. Oakland was once in command and then came that bothersome three game losing streak. Denver took the reins behind the man who could do no wrong (Tim Tebow) but now they've suffered back to back blow outs. Both the Chargers and Chiefs are mathematically eliminated.

Here's the scenario for Sunday's action, The Raiders win, Denver loses and Oakland is in. The Raiders win and Denver wins, then the Broncos are in. If both lose, Denver still holds the tie breaker and they make the playoffs.  Even if Denver wins the divisional title, The Raiders could get a wild card if they win and The Bengals lose. If the Raiders, Broncos and Bengals lose, then the universe will implode and it won't fucking matter anyway. Just two weeks ago John Elway was a high fiving motherfucker in the owner's box, I wonder how he feels now?

New Orleans ran up the score on Atlanta (thus allowing Drew Brees to break Dan Marino's all time record for most passing yards in a season. There was a bit of controversy surrounding the blow out, with some calling Sean Peyton & Brees classless for making every effort to break the mark. It's all bullshit, if Atlanta had played better defense then Brees wouldn't have gone all Marino on them.

It was a weird Sunday, The Colts beat The Texans, New England needed a big rally to edge out Miami, Minnesota ran past Washington and lost Adrian Petersen in the process (serious knee injury) Buffalo romped over Denver (fourth quarter melt down by Tim Tebow) Green Bay got back on track against Chicago and The Raiders inexplicably found a way to win, 16-13 in overtime against a Kansas City squad that had just beat down previously undefeated Green Bay the week before.

I had The Raiders dead and buried, so of course the defense picked that moment to step up and keep an opponent under twenty points for the first time since their 24-17 win over San Diego on Nov. 10th. After the game Hue Jackson reminisced “The man told me, `Hue, we’ll win it in the end.’ I believe that,” said Jackson, referring to Al Davis,  “I don’t know how it’s going to happen. I don’t care how it’s going to happen.” 

This game had all tell tale signs of another lost opportunity for Oakland, leading 13-6 late in the fourth quarter, Kyle Orton took The Chiefs down the field for a score to tie the game with 1:02 left to play. The Raiders then failed, in typical Raider fashion to run out the clock or score, thus allowing Kansas City to attempt a field goal as the clock ran out. From 49 yards out, Ryan Succop had his try blocked by Richard Seymour (the second blocked field goal of the game for Oakland)

Fucking ironic! The Raiders who were crushed by a last second blocked field goal against Detroit now had life thanks to a blocked field goal. Oakland wasted little time in overtime, taking just over two minutes to score. Carson Palmer connected with Darrius Heyward-Bey down the left side for a 53 yard gain. Sebastian Janokowski then came out to attempt a 36 yard field goal, his kick was on the money. With Denver getting horse whipped at Buffalo, the Raiders found themselves back in the playoff picture. 

Raider Notes: 

Oakland committed 15 penalties for 92 yds., one wiped out a touchdown off a fake field goal that saw Shane Lechler feed a shovel pass to Brandon Myers, who ran untouched into the end zone. The Raider offense was only 3-11 on third down, which led Carson Palmer to say, “An ugly win is better than a pretty loss” You bet it is!, hell a K.C. forfeit would have been just fine considering how poorly Oakland had played coming into this game.

The first half featured a comedy of errors as they both clubs struggled to a 3-3 draw at the half. The Chiefs who had racked up 438 yds. on offense vs. Green Bay, had nothing going for them in front of a raucous home crowd. Kyle Orton threw  two interceptions, one into the end zone in the first half and the other as Kansas City was moving the ball down the field in the fourth quarter.

Carson Palmer was 16-26 passing for 237 yds. including a 61 yd. td. strike to Denarius Moore in the third quarter. Michael Bush ran for 70 yds. on 23 carries. The Raiders were outgained 435 yds. to 308 by Kansas City, Kyle Orton completed 21 passes for 300 yds. The Chiefs had twice as many first downs as Oakland  26 to 13.  

Highlights: Darrius Heyward-Bey's catch to set up the field goal and Richard Seymour blocking the field goal

Lowlights: Penalties and failure to convert third downs

The Otherside: Kyle Orton is a good fit for Kansas City

The Mouth That Roared:

"We had three penalties at halftime last week, then in crucial times at the end, we get penalties and lose the game," Jackson said. "This time, we went the other way. It's like Jekyll and Hyde."

"Sometimes it's not about the yards, it's about the attempts," Jackson said. "Sometimes you've just got to keep slamming it up there."

"Hell of a call from Hue," Heyward-Bey said. "He has a lot of guts. Carson threw a great ball, and I sold it perfectly. When we put it in last week, I knew we were going to call it, but I didn't think we were going to call it on the first play of overtime."

"Sometimes you keep a play in your pocket," Raiders coach Hue Jackson said. "We'd been running, running, running. We had a little motion, a little ghost fake, and Darrius kind of came up under control and then hit on a corner route. It was a great throw by Carson."

Raiders- Lions Game 14

Lip service is all we ever get from Hue Jackson. The Raiders are sitting at 7-7 with two games to go. "Right now I'm a .500 football coach and that's not who I am" said Jackson. If The Raiders can't win one of their last two games (and it's looking like they can't) Hue will be a losing coach and that might be closer to who he really is.  It's not from lack of effort that The Raiders keep losing. I think the operative word to describe their woes is focus, or better yet the lack of focus. 

Up 27-14 with 7:30 left to play in the game, Oakland had this one in the bag. The Broncos and Jets were both getting rolled and suddenly a chance at a playoff spot was right there before their eyes. Tommy Kelly had just stripped Matthew Stafford of the ball and Aaron Curry returned it six yards for a touchdown. At that point it seemed highly unlikely that Detroit would rally. Alas, the defense giveth and the defense taketh away, The Raider defensive unit simply couldn't make a stop. 

Matthew Stafford directed Detroit scoring drives of 71 & 98 yards (a drive that took less than two minutes) to take a 28-27 lead. To their credit The Raiders still had a chance at the end. Following a dropped pass by Darius Heyward-Bey at the 37 yd. line with 8 seconds left on the clock. Oakland lined up to attempt a 65 yard field goal, (had Heyward-Bey caught that pass it would have been a 54 yard try) 

It's a given that for most teams in the league it would be preposterous to even imagine such a thing. Except, the Raiders have Sebastian Janikowski, who bad hamstring and all is fully capable of scoring from that distance. He might have made it, but we'll never know because Ndamukong Suh got a thumb on the ball and knocked it off course.  For Suh, coming off a suspension for stomping on a Green Bay lineman's arm, it was a moment of sweet redemption.

Calvin Johnson's 214 receiving yards were the most against The Raiders since Don Maynard's 228 during the infamous Heidi Game vs. The Jets in 1968.  Oakland had no answer for "Megatron" At times the Raider pass coverage seemed frozen in their tracks, either with awe or fear as he took them to school. 

Carson Palmer completed 32 of 40 passes for 367 yds. and a td pass. Darrius Heyward-Bey had a career day with eight catches for 155 yards and one touchdown. Yet, when the Raiders needed a big play from Darrius (as has been the case his entire career) he couldn't get it done. Two dropped  passes and Suh's thumb made all the difference in the world.

Raider Notes:
For the Raiders it was a crushing and demoralizing blow, although the game never should have come down to that last field goal attempt. “Very demoralizing,” Carson Palmer said “We had chances to close them out and a chance to put them away there and just didn’t make enough plays when it came down to it.” The Raider's season has turned on an unexpected three game losing streak.

This was billed as a playoff push game, a win at all cost match-up with a Detroit squad that's barely playing .500 ball after starting the season 5-0. Playoff teams find a way to hold a two touchdown lead with seven minutes to go. To quote outspoken former NFL coach, Jim Mora "You guys shouldn't write about us being a playoff team and all that bullstuff, that's malarkey."

Allow me to quote Jim Mora again regarding the postseason, "What's that?.. Playoffs? you kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game." An 8-8 record would go a long way towards keeping the team on track and moving ahead. A .500 season could be seen as a success when you factor in the plague of injuries that derailed Oakland just as they were picking up steam.

The Raiders travel to Kansas City next week. The Chiefs shut out Oakland earlier in the season (Carson's first game) Since then they've picked up Kyle Orton from Denver and last week ended Green Bay's nineteen game winning streak. Both the Chiefs and Orton are playing with renewed vigor under interim coach Romeo Crennel.

On top of that, there's a revenge factor involved, seeing how Oakland romped over The Chiefs in last year's season finale. Chief's fans don't forget those things, Arrowhead will be hostile come Sunday. Oakland still has a mathematical chance at a playoff spot. If The Raiders win out and Denver loses both of its remaining games, they would edge out the Broncos for the AFC West title.


Highlights: Carson Palmer played well enough for Oakland to win, Darrius Heyward-Bey had a big day

Lowlights:  The defense collapsed, yet again. It's time to re-think our defensive schemes

The Other Side: Matthew Stafford is a stone cold killer and as much as I hate that stupid "Megatron" nickname, Calvin Johnson is a pass catching machine.

Talk To Me:
"As the pass fluttered down, there was linebacker Rolando McClain in pass coverage, trailing as one would expect. He failed to make the play. Safety Jerome Boyd, also in the area, watched as if in a trance. Two plays and 21 seconds later, Detroit had its victory." Oakland Tribune

"I thought we were going to make a play on it," Wimbley said, presuming McClain and Boyd would contain Johnson because, well, they were in position to do exactly that.

"You gotta make that play," coach Hue Jackson said. "The ball is laying up there in the air. You gotta make that play."

"We just knew we had to go out there and get the stop, and we didn't do it, As far as I'm concerned, we just didn't get the job done. If that's the best we've got, we have to get better.''  Aaron Curry

"I've got nothing to say," Chaz Schilens replied, when he was approached for comment on his third-down, off-the-fingers non-catch.

"You saw it," said Heyward-Bey, when asked about his dropped pass with 8 seconds left.

"Everybody is going through the motions.  Are you really only going through the motions? Lip service is all you'll ever get from me."       Elvis Costello

New Mexico Football Report

"This was a season that began with a glimmer of hope, and that ended with a glimmer of hope for all the wrong reasons"  

Mike Locksley did not have the best interest of UNM or the state of New Mexico in mind. He accepted the head coaching job because UNM was foolish enough to offer it to him. Two wins (George Barlow, the interim had one) in three seasons won't win you respect and admiration. Not from the fan base and certainly not from sports writers. Mike Locksley was hired at UNM due to his name association with The Big Ten, Illinois, Ron Zook, Maryland etc. Left to his own merits and accomplishments he was an unattractive candidate, but when tied in to those "Big Time" brand names he suddenly became a hot commodity.

Bob Davie was hired to replace Locksley for the same reasons (Notre Dame, Texas A & M, ESPN) Only the passing of time will tell if we're being played for an all day sucker again. In college athletics name recognition means everything.  Which is why college football coaches are in such a quandary, they need the media to build them up, yet they despise the intrusive presence of reporters. Build me up buttercup, but if you tear me down, I'll rip you a new asshole. To head coaches (football in particular) sports writers are the unruly and disobedient step children that they're forced to tolerate. 

The worst thing a football player can do is think for himself, Tim Tebow be damned that's not how things are done. This is football!, nobody gets to think for themselves other than the head coach. It was that thinking that led Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) to go against all conventional wisdom and continue with an outdoor practice during high winds. That obstinate decision directly resulted in the death of a young man videotaping from an elevated platform. In many ways that's also the mindset that allowed Jerry Sandusky to keep company with young boys and for Joe Paterno to sidestep the vile allegations made against his longtime assistant coach.  

There is something wrong with football coaches in this country. Mike Locksley is indicative of the thought process that affects (or infects) the football coaching process at every level. Coaches like Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Mike Gundy, Chip Miller etc. labor under the assumption that they are mandated or anointed by a higher power. These are men who imagine themselves at the head of an army, and conduct themselves like three star generals. Though, it's a given that not one of them has ever served in the military.

American football is a sport unlike any other in the entire world. One that was pushed and promoted as a rite of passage for young boys entering manhood. It is now ruled by men who's primary motivation is to quench their thirst for power, control or worse.

Something tells me that Bob Davie holds UNM, New Mexico and his players in higher regard than Mike Locksley did. For that reason alone, he's a good hire for UNM. Davie has already brought two coaches onboard, Jason Lenzmeier an offensive line coach from NMSU (a position he held at UNM under Rocky Long) and Coleman Hutzler a former Florida & Stanford assistant hired to coach linebackers. George Barlow will not be retained in any capacity by Bob Davie. Mike Locksley meanwhile has landed on his feet, having been named offensive coordinator at Maryland.

It also appears that Locksley's recruits were on their way out the door as soon as he was fired. Seven players left the program before Davie was hired. Qb. Ricardo Young, safety Carmeiris Stewart (a Rocky Long holdover) and WR Emmanuel McPhearson, quit the squad immediately after Locksley was fired. Four other players left the team after George Barlow took over, including former starting Qb. Tarean Austin (who played in at least one game after Locksley left) free safety Deshon Marman (he of the sagging pants incident) O-lineman Earl Johnson and WR/Qb. Detchauz Wray. KRQE later reported that that three Lobo freshmen, Rb. Crusoe Gongbay, WR Daniel Adams and safety Zach Dancel had requested releases from their scholarships.

Had The Lobos found a way to pull out a victory against Colorado St. in the season opener, this post would have taken a much different tone. The entire season truly turned on that, the very first game. 

That loss was the start of an avalanche of doubt, dissent and disgust that buried Mike Locksley. We now move forward with caution. UNM and the state of New Mexico can't afford to get sucked into the mad scramble that's consuming college football. For UNM to pour millions into football in hopes of earning a bid to a lower tier bowl game is absurd. The BSC by a process of exclusion, has already determined who we are and where we belong. 

Raiders- Packers Game 13

Another blowout, this time 46-16 at the hands of the defending Super Bowl champs and still undefeated Packers. There is no joy in Mudville, mighty Carson has struck out. Carson Palmer's four interceptions were key, not that Green Bay needed any help to dismantle a team that's suddenly not competitive. "I'm not going to let this team keep going backward." intoned Hue Jackson in that voice that no longer conveys confidence "The last two weeks we haven't come close to playing or looking like the football team we've been." 

During the pre-season I questioned Hue Jackson's competence. His ready answers for whatever ailed the Raiders struck me as spin doctoring... Huespeak, so to speak.  The Raider's defense was suspect then and it's beyond suspect now.  Hue's bully boy defense is just a pack of undisciplined gridiron thugs, totally incapable of stopping anyone running with a football. When the glaring deficiencies on defense were brought up during the exhibition season, Hue responded "We'll fix it as we go" 

Thirteen games into the season, we are going... going... gone, and the defense is not repaired. In fact it seems to be beyond repair. Now we have Denver, a team that was rotting in the grave, in first place and looking like they can run the table.  The Raiders are broken and there's nothing Hue can do to fix them. Jackson it turns out was pulling levers and puffing out smoke just like the Wizard of Oz, with the curtains pulled back the bully is exposed as a spaghetti armed weakling.  

Oakland must win at least one of its last three games to match last years record, and right now they can't compete much less win. The Raider faithful may ask themselves, "What went wrong" except, it didn't just go wrong, it's been wrong all along. The same factors and bad habits that reared their ugly heads in the pre-season are still killing drives on offense and extending drives (for opponents) on defense. In other words, under Hue Jackson the Raiders are no better now than they were when training camp opened. 

"Today we regressed" stated Jackson in a classic example of Huespeak. "That team (Green Bay) is a very good football team, that's what we aspire to be someday. But we're not there yet." No, The Raiders are not the Packers, nor are they The Chiefs, Chargers or Lions (the three remaining games on their schedule) It will take more than fucking lip service to light a fire under the wastrels of God given gridiron talent that form the Raider defensive unit. The players as much as the fans seem ready to turn off the volume on The Jackson Hype Machine, that same old song and dance is getting old.   

By now you may be asking "Hey Nut! what about the fucking game?" Aw! the Silver & Black.... gluttons for punishment and pain. What divides Raiders fans from all other fans, is that we know everyone hates us. We're not like Cowboys fans, who have deluded themselves into thinking that America loves them. No, we give our legion of haters the double deuce and go about our merry way. When we suck the shit gets piled on us and when we win.... the shit gets piled on us.  

Cue the manure truck... that's good right there. As I've already mentioned The Raiders were not competitive. They turned the ball over five times, four of which came on Carson Palmer interceptions, including one on The Raiders' first possession. Aaron Rodgers went all Aaron Rodgers on our asses and Jordy Nelson continues to be the greatest Jordy since that little French kid that sang "Dur dur d'être bébé !" ("It's Tough to Be a Baby") back in 1992.

Don't let the sixteen points Oakland scored fool you, just like last week at Miami, the points came after the opposing team had stopped trying. Michael Bush finished with 117 yds. on 29 carries, none when they counted. Carson Palmer was 24-42 for 245 yds. passing, making this the second game where he barely completed half of his attempts.  "The good part of this" said Palmer "Is that we're now forced to win the next three games." The repeated blows to the head have made Carson giddy and prone to say silly things.

The Raiders trailed 31-0 at the half and  probably ate, slept and shit during the break, because the coaching staff sure as hell didn't make any adjustments. And ultimately that's who this falls on, this two game streak of utter failure falls at Hue Jackson's feet. Right now offensive coordinator Al Saunders and defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan can't be feeling good about their job security.  These are the kind of results that get coaches fired.

Raider Notes: 

This team is not going to make the playoffs. In order to do that they would probably have to win out. And unlike Carson Palmer, I'm not feeling it.  Regardless, Denver would still have to lose twice and Timmy Tebow ain't having that. 

Kansas City fired head coach Todd Haley and promoted Romeo Crennel to interim head coach. The Raiders have a payback game coming up with The Chiefs on the road, it's too early to tell if this works against them or in their favor. The Detroit Lions are in town next week, they're coming off a close win over Minnesota and since Jim Schwartz's post game hissy fit after they lost to the 49'ers they've gone 3-5

Supposedly every single Raider that's out with an injury will be back next week, except Jason Campbell. Carson Palmer and Darren McFadden have yet to play together, in fact they've never even been on the practice field at the same time. It's easy to point the finger at Carson and say that Jason Campbell would have done any better. The Raider's offensive woes go beyond just Palmer, although his lack of familiarity with Oakland's system compounds the problem.

Highlights: The maid service at the hotel was outstanding!

Lowlights: Name your poison: play selection, poor tackling, penalties, lack of leadership from veterans, Carson's interceptions, inept coaching staff... etc.

The Otherside: Aaron Rodgers is so fucking good!

Cheap Talk:

"We've got to get better and smarter, bottom line" Lito Sheppard

"When we won three in a row, guys were making plays and stuff" Darius Heyward-Bey

"Talk is getting cheap for fast fading Oakland Raiders" Mark Purdy, Oakland Tribune

"I don't know what the problem is, I wish I did, we're just playing different than we did during the three game winning streak" Michael Huff

"It's hard to envision the postseason, for the Raiders have had back to back losses that rival anything from the Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin and Tom Cable regimes in terms of poor football over eight consecutive quarters" Jerry McDonald, Oakland Tribune

"What a tremendous challenge for me, what a tremendous challenge for those men in the room, what a tremendous challenge for the coaches, but we're going to get this thing fixed." Hue Jackson 

Raiders- Dolphins Game 12

This is not the stuff dreams are made of. Given the Raiders recent history playing on the East Coast, and worse their spotty record against the Miami Dolphins. I wasn't picking them to win, but Damn! what the hell was that?  Carson Palmer took a lot of flak for this loss, but it really is difficult to throw a football when you're being dragged down or flat on your back.  

Simply put, The Raider offensive line failed him, they were manhandled and it set the tone for the entire game.  I won't dump on the o-line, they've done an admirable job all season. No, this was just one of those Raider moments, they didn't just lay an egg, they laid the great speckled fucking egg.  They left their hearts in the Bay Area, but their pride was lost in Miami.

Inconsistency has long been a flaw in The Raider's quest for a return to the playoffs. They need to dump that chump and fast, because the way it looks  Denver may not lose another game this year.  Tim Tebow is now America's golden boy, his name probably gets mentioned as much as (John Lennon moment coming up) Jesus Christ on any given Sunday. 

Tebow's popularity doesn't come as a surprise.  His success on the field is also not surprising, when you consider that he's playing against many of the same guys he played against in college.  They rarely stopped him then, and the same holds true in the NFL.  That's what the Raiders are up against, a fucking locomotive with nothing but momentum behind it.

The Raiders have a way of making mediocre Quarterbacks and Running Backs look good. This Sunday it was Reggie Bush's turn, 22 carries for 100 yds. (only his third hundred yard NFL game) Miami out gained Oakland on the ground 209 yds. to 46, Michael Bush The Raider's primary runner had nothing on this day. 

Miami scored two touchdowns before the Raiders even picked up a first down. With The Raider running game shut down, Carson Palmer was a sitting duck. He was sacked twice and tossed to the ground on almost every play. Palmer and the entire offensive line were physically outplayed and beat up. 

Raider Notes:

Rolando McClain was arrested and charged with four misdemeanors  after a gun-related incident in his hometown of Decatur, Ala. He bonded out of jail and played in Sunday's game. Hue Jackson said he would address the situation, but that he was satisfied with Rolando's explanation.  Shit do happen, but what the hell was he doing hanging out with his homeboys in the first place?

On a sad note, defensive back Chris Johnson's sister was shot and killed and his mother wounded by the sister's former boyfriend. Johnson left the team to be with family in Ft. Worth, Tx. 

The Raiders and NFL Properties have filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against a San Francisco hamburger chain. Nation's Giant Hamburgers, which has 26 locations in the Bay Area is accused of infringing on the "Raider Nation" trademark. Nation's Giant Hamburgers introduced an ad campaign built around the slogan "When Hunger Hits, Raid a Nation's" 

Nation's slogan is "phonetically indistinguishable" from the Raider's trademarked slogan declared team lawyers. They also accused Nation's of altering their logo (a giant hamburger) by adding an eye patch similar to the one worn by The Raiders mascot. Silly Nation's what the hell were they thinking, you don't mess with an NFL team's logo. 

Highlights: breakfast was the only highlight in an otherwise dismal day

Lowlights: I hate to say the offensive line, but yeah it was the offensive line.  Oh! and the defense sucked every minute they were out on the field.

The Other Side: Reggie Bush, he was feeling it, after getting nailed by Aaron Curry he rolled over and started doing push-ups. That was cute, it reminded me of when he was with New Orleans and he crawled on all fours, puking on the field after getting hit on a kick return.

Lip Service:

"I wouldn't say it was shocking," linebacker Aaron Curry said. "It's embarrassing."

"They could point fingers, I suppose, but they would need to grow a few more digits" The Oakland Tribune

"There's no excuses," Jackson said. "It would be easy for me to say a lot of things. I'm not going to. This is the National Football League. We have good players ... and our good players have to play good every week. And we didn't do that today.

"After a loss like this there's really not much to say other than we got outplayed in every phase of the game," Palmer said. "We just got physically beat today, which is discouraging."

“We couldn’t run. We couldn’t stop the run. We didn’t pass very well,” Jackson said. “Just a bad day at the office.”

New Mexico Football Report

The outcome of the Boise St.- UNM football match-up was a foregone conclusion long before the game was played. Boise St. throttled The Lobos 45-0, and it wasn't even as close as the score would indicate. The Lobos did beat the spread (48) but that can't be attributed to Boise St.'s inability to pile it on. The Broncos were already screwed out of a BCS bid and running up the score was pointless.  The 2011 football season is over and we are finally free of Mike Locksley and his associated malfeasance. Let's just press reset and pretend that the last three seasons didn't happen... thank you! 

The Bob Davie era has already begun. Here'a a delightful quote from Yahoo Sports: "Bob Davie spent nearly a decade away from coaching, which is ironic because his predecessor at New Mexico, Mike Lockley, set the Lobos back about 10 years as well."  Bob Davie must introduce mental and physical toughness to the team and re-focus on recruiting in the Southwest & West Coast. Locksley's preferred recruiting areas were Washington D.C. and Illinois and to be certain, some key players like, RB. Crusoe Gongbay & WR Deon Long both hail from the D.C. area. However, overall Locksley's Cap City recruits have been less than outstanding.

Bob Davie can't be happy with what he saw from potential returning players as the season ran its course. George Barlow, the Lobo's interim coach and most of the assistants will also be shown the door. The Lobos need hard chargers, like Qb. recruit, Cole Gautsche of Cleveland Hs. in Rio Rancho. Gautsche had committed to The Aggies during the early signing period which led Yahoo Sports to trumpet: "Despite living in UNM's backyard, he chose NMSU over the Lobos showing that the recruiting tide in the state has shifted" Unbeknownst to Yahoo Sports, as soon as Locksley was fired the tide turned back in UNM's favor. Gautsche changed his mind, and declared he would play for The Lobos.

 And if that's a cold shot... babe, Davie further drove the dagger deeper into the Aggies' backs by luring NMSU offensive line coach Jason Lenzmeier back to UNM. Lenzmeier, a former Lobo (1st. team MWC offensive tackle) was UNM's offensive line coach under Rocky Long but joined DeWayne Walker's staff at NMSU when Mike Locksley was hired. Lenz is known for recruiting the Albuquerque area, which may have been a factor in Gautsche's decision. Expect to see an exodus of Locksley recruits from UNM (including former starting Qb. Tarean Austin) It's also rumored that freshman running back, Crusoe Gongbay will make a hasty exit. 

"The opponent was irrelevant Saturday afternoon at Bronco Stadium. And it probably would have been that way even if someone other than the woeful New Mexico Lobos had been on the other sideline."  The Idaho Statesman

UNM 0  Boise St. 45

As I previously mentioned, the outcome of this game was never in doubt. The Lobos had no intention of shocking the world or playing like there was something at stake. The trash talking Idaho Statesman observed that "The Lobos seemed more interested in holding the ball than scoring" I guess you could say that UNM went into the football equivalent of the four corner stall. Thus the season ended for The Lobos the same way it began, sans glory and victory. 

Kellen Moore was so precise and efficient in slicing up the Lobo's secondary that Chris Petersen was beside himself with orgasmic delight. “He was dead-on, and again I think the leader of the whole senior class sets the standard and sets the tone." He primed the pump some more “That’s about as clean as you can play, you talk about standards... he set the standard for quarterback play throughout the country for four years.”

Whatever! I'm not going to sit here and glorify Boise St., fuck them!  Today (Dec. 7th) The Big East Conference announced that both Boise St. and San Diego St. would join the Big East Conference (in football only) Boise St. will dump it's other programs (men's & women's) on the WAC, while San Diego St. will do the same to The Big West Conf. The Mountain West Conf. will now carry on with nine teams (for now Air Force is staying)

The MWC and Conf. USA (which is losing 3 schools to the Big East) are in the process of putting together a football "super" conference, which at the present time will be made up of nine teams from each league. It may be the only way for both to survive as independent entities. As for the MWC replacing Boise St. & San Diego St., the pickings are getting mighty slim. San Jose St. & Utah St. from the WAC and UTEP from Conf. USA are the only options left.  

Karma can be a bitch and football programs like BYU, Boise St. and TCU are running up an Obama sized deficit in their quest to run with the big dogs. BYU screwed the MWC, the WAC and dumb 'ol Utah St.  Boise St. screwed the WAC, the MWC & apparently bad mouthed Air Force out a Big East berth. TCU screwed the old WAC, C-USA, the MWC & The Big East before landing in the Big 12. Sooner or later what goes around will come around. Hasty, shortsighted decisions made while swooning at the sight and smell of big money are bad for business. 

NMSU 21  Utah St. 24

The Utags 24-21 victory over an Aggie team that had been run through a meat grinder was unimpressive. The win meant that Utah St. finished at 7-5  guaranting them a bowl invite. Pray tell it's not the New Mexico Bowl. If you think the NMSU Aggies are lame, then you haven't seen the Utah version. You don't want them in Albuquerque for a bowl game, not if you want to make money. They don't tip, smoke or drink and they'll sleep in their trucks before they'll rent a room. 

While they're not known for being generous, Utah St. did give up the ball twice inside the NMSU 10 yd. line. This kept NMSU in the game, until Kenny Turner ran in from 3 yds. out to give The Aggies a 21-17 lead. Alas, there was almost nine minutes left in the game and although the Aggies got the ball back, they could not sustain a drive and run out the clock. 

The Aggies were forced to punt (for the 8th time) The Utags took over at their own 17 yd. line with 5:04 left in the game. 10 consecutive rushing plays later, the drive appeared to stall out at the NMSU 14 yd. line. Facing a fourth and two, Utah St. ran the ball again. A keeper by Qb. Andy Kennedy to the right side picked up the first down. Matt Austin then pulled in an eight yard td. pass from Kennedy with :35 left on the clock to secure the win for Utah St. 

Oh! so close for NMSU, but no cigar. Matt Christian returned to action finishing with 17-40 passing, good for 252 yds. and 1 td. Kenny Turner rushed 13 times for 65 yds. in what could have been his final game as an Aggie. Taveon Rogers went out with 6 receptions for 73 yds. Both Christian & Rogers are Seniors, while Turner a Junior is 24 years old and may decide to try out for an NFL team.  

NMSU finishes the season at 4-9, except for UTEP & Utah St. all their losses were blow outs to one degree or another. There was a marked improvement from last year's team, but they're a long way from competing with the upper echelon of even a diminished WAC. The defense needs a desperate upgrade, they couldn't stop anyone late in the season. 

While a 4-9 record isn't a cause for celebration, it does offer hope for the future. DeWayne Walker is currently negotiating with NMSU for a contract extension, he'll be back for at least one more season. After that, The Aggies will have to cough up a few dollars more to keep him around. If 4-9 makes them so happy, just imagine how giddy they'll be when they're 6-6.