New Mexico Football Report

This was a yardstick game for UNM. An opportunity to see how the Lobos measure up against a team that has figured out how to compete at college football's top level. In that sense Boise St. replaces BYU, a program with many of the same characteristics (and flaws) The improvement in the UNM football programs is starting to show, the Idaho Statesmen reported, "The Boise St. Broncos squandered nearly all of a 25-point halftime lead on their way to a 32-29 defeat of New Mexico, a rebuilding program that appears on its way out of the Mountain West cellar"

Coming from Boise, that's a high compliment. For three years it appeared to all of us, that the Lobos would never escape the MWC cellar or win more than one game per season. If we come away from this match-up with Boise St. having learned anything, it's the simple fact that there's not a single game left on UNM's schedule that is not winnable (barring any major injuries) The Lobo's big comeback against Boise St. was a telltale sign that Bob Davie has UNM on the right track. However, it was still a loss... a conference loss at that.

These are not the blue turf marauders of old, Chris Petersen is in the process of rebuilding, just as the Broncos are dropping the MWC in favor of the Big East (a mistake by my estimation) Then again Boise St. has never done things with patient moderation. As recently as 1968 the school was a two year junior college. They gained four year university status and competed in the NAIA for two years, before joining the Big Sky Conference (then Div. II) In 1978 The Big Sky stepped up to Div. 1-AA (now FCS) and two years later Boise St. won the national championship.

A move to the Big West Conf. and Div. 1 (now FBS) then the Western Athletic Conf. in 2001 and the Mountain West Conf. in 2011 set the stage for the Broncos' entrance into the BCS affiliated, Big East Conf. (along with San Diego St.) in 2013. Because the NCAA won't allow schools to drop all their other athletic programs and just play football, all of Boise St.'s athletic clubs will return to the Big West in 2013 (same with San Diego St. & Hawai'i) Ambition can be a good attribute and it can also steer you down the wrong path.

Boise St's single minded determination to compete at the very pinnacle of college football is paying off, all they have to do now is keep on winning. Their football success at all cost approach is now becoming the norm in the college game. The gimmicky blue turf at their home stadium, once thought to be gauche, has ushered in a wave of tacky uniforms and colored artificial turf (including one high school that plays on black turf) Any number of college football programs are now trying to emulate the Broncos' success, amongst them our own UNM Lobos.

That doesn't mean that UNM will soon be playing on cherry & silver turf, at least I hope not. What this round of college football musical chairs has done for UNM is level the playing field. For the first time in years, the Lobos are in a conference where everyone is working with similar athletic budgets and striving for the same goal..... to get better. The bully boys with deep pockets are gone, the Utes, BYU, TCU and now Boise St. (San Diego St. is simply a wannabe) With Bob Davie at the helm and given a couple of seasons to rebuild, UNM will compete for a MWC title, let's just hope the Mountain doesn't go the way of the WAC.

UNM Lobos  29          Boise State Broncos   32

Never look a gift horse in the mouth, or say the saying goes. Against the Boise St. Broncos, the Lobos took advantage of two key Bronco fumbles to stage an improbable comeback. Ultimately the hole UNM had dug itself into, due to three gift wrapped fumbles of its own in the first half was too much to overcome. The Lobos had 44 yds. passing, not on one play or one quarter but for the entire game, in the second half the Lobos threw one pass. 

In the first half, turnovers kept the Lobos from running their offense with any consistency. Fumbles by Cole Gautsche, Kasey Carrier and Lamar Thomas led to 17 points by Boise St. which put the Lobos at a huge disadvantage. Once fortune did turn their way, UNM was faced with the monumental task of overcoming the Broncos' big lead. It wasn't going to happen, but it's doubtful that anyone thought that the Lobos would come as close as they did.  

In the second half UNM's triple option offense was in full effect, and Boise St. had trouble adjusting to the Lobo triple option, ''That's what's so difficult about their offense,'' Bronco nose guard, Mike Atkinson said. ''They have so many options. They run the triple-option offense and a lot of teams don't do that anymore so it's really hard to pick up their schemes.'' Bob DeBesse's offense reminds me of the old Wishbone offense and tear-away jerseys era of the Southwest Conference. 

That's no surprise, Bob Davie rose to fame as defensive coordinator at Texas A&M. In many ways it's a throwback, a run happy offense dependent on the quarterback's ability to read the defense with split second timing. It's a good fit for Cole Cautsche, not so much for B.R. Holbrook, who could find himself reduced to being "the passing Qb." Gautsche said, “It felt great, going out there and making all the right reads for the most part and doing a great job with that"

"Coach DeBesse was really stressing that this week.” Cole Gautsche added.  For the foreseeable future he will be the quarterback. Gautsche, a true freshman from Cleveland Hs. in Rio Rancho, played the entire second half except for one play. He would finish with 71 yds. on 11 carries, without throwing a single pass. It's not a gimmick offense, it worked for DeBesse at Sam Houston St. and it could darn well work for UNM at this level.  

Let's take a look at the nuts and bolts of Saturday's game. With Boise St. leading 3-0,  Joe Southwick hit Chris Potter for a 10yd. td pass. New Mexico's subsequent possession ended when Kasey Carrier fumbled on the Boise 19 yd. line. Jay Ajayi carried the ball three times, covering 81 yards for a Bronco score, 17-0. That audible groan heard 'round the state of New Mexico, was 28,000 Lobo fans fearing that the worst was coming.

It did get worse, Boise St. scored again before the half and at the break the Lobos found themselves at the bottom of a deep, deep hole 25-0.  As the second half kicked off, UNM finally got their first break of the game. UNM's Jeric Magnant forced a fumble by Dallas Burroughs of the second half kick off.  It was recovered by Lobo DB, Dallas Bollema. That's two players named Dallas  involved in the same play, what are the odds?

Six plays later, Lobo Rb. Jhurell Pressley scored from three yards out to put UNM on the board. The Lobos tacked on another score on Kasey Carrier's 5 yd. td. run. Up by eleven going into the fourth quarter, Boise St. scored what would be the winning touchdown, as Southwick connected with Shane Williams-Rhodes for an electrifying eight yard touchdown. The Boise contingent had that look that said "now we put the boot to these desert mutts"

Cole Gautsche however, wasn't done yet. He left a trail of Boise St. defenders grasping for thin air, culminating the drive with a punishing 7 yd. td. run.... can you say Timmy Tebow? On the ensuing drive Boise St. appeared headed for another score, when Williams-Rhodes lost his grip on the ball and Lobo defender Joe Stoner picked it up and ran like Forrest Gump all the way to the Boise St. one yard line. Gautsche took it in from there and just like that we have a three point ballgame. 

On their next possession, the Broncos got within field goal range at the UNM 27 yd. line but the attempt was no good. The Lobos regained possession with 3:24 left on the clock and could do nothing to advance the ball. On 4th & 4, Davie sent in B.R. Holbrook (who had not played in the second half) for an obvious pass play. Holbrook dropped back and fired off a pass that Boise St. defender Tommy Smith read perfectly, batting it down to kill the Lobos' hopes of an upset.

Why didn't UNM stick with Gautsche, or hand off to Carrier or Pressley? Coach Davie didn't back away from answering that tough question “It’s fourth-and-4,” he said. “We just felt like (the pass play) gave us the best opportunity. We kind of had what we wanted (on the play). We just didn’t get the ball out of there fast enough.” Boise St. will go on to win a few more games (though not the MWC, at least not outright) and play in yet another bowl game.

Moral victories don't count in the conference standings, although coming off an era of Lobo football where even moral victories were hard to come by, I guess we should bask in the moment. A win over the Broncos and the whole college football world takes notice.  As is  often the case in the state of New Mexico, the good eludes us. Not just in athletics but in all things considered, in New Mexico we always seem to miss out by a little.  

NMSU Aggies  14    UTSA  Roadrunners   35

"Hold this thread as I walk away" A season during which NMSU is probably auditioning for a spot in the lowly Sun Belt Conf., is coming undone like a cheap empty suit. It feels like all the good has gone bad in Aggieland. Head Coach Dewayne Walker is starting to sound like a man who would rather have his foot in the door (on his way out)  “We’re not a very good team right now,” Aggies head coach DeWayne Walker said. “And that’s everybody — players and coaches.”

Five games into the season, three listless losses, two of them to their biggest rivals (UTEP & UNM) and one to an upstart program that's only been competing in D1 for two years, has the Aggies  reeling (UTSA under Larry Coker is now 5-0 and headed for Conference USA in 2013) . "There will be no other train, Hear the porter's glad refrain" The FBS express has left the station and the NMSU Aggies are getting left behind. "Oh no, it go.... It gone, bye-bye...bye"

NMSU Qb. Andrew Manley hit 21 of 40 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns. he was also picked off twice and sacked five times.  The Aggies took the lead 7-0, thanks to a fake punt and a well timed play action fake by Manley, who found Trevor Walls wide open in the end zone.  UTSA responded with 21 unanswered points, The Roadrunner's cause was also aided by a pair of Aggie fumbles. One by Austin Franklin who turned it over trying to field a punt off the turf.

NMSU cut the deficit to 28-14 in the fourth quarter on a 41-yard td pass from Manley to Austin Franklin. The Roadrunners then added a touchdown late in the fourth to make the final score 35-14.

"They got (two) touchdowns off of our turnovers. It's a bad formula right now. It's frustrating and embarrassing." Walker said "It starts with me, down to the coordinators to the assistant coaches, to the players. This is a team malfunction."

There also seems to be some fingers pointing in Andrew Manley's direction, from the Las Cruces Sun News "Offensively NMSU looks to have the same game plan that took the field Week 1 of the season against Sacramento State, Ever since, though, they've taken steps backwards - in some cases substantial ones. Quarterback Andrew Manley doesn't run well - he isn't a scrambler - looks deep frequently and struggles throwing short to intermediate"

NMSU Head Coach DeWayne Walker weighed in, "He's struggling, I just think it's a confidence thing. This is the way I see it on offense: we try to take shots down the field, we can't protect. We throw quick game, they sit on our routes. We throw a quick game, they put their hands up and they bat balls down. We can't run the ball. Two or three times, we had third and one, fourth and one, we can't get a yard."

"Watch me unravel I'll soon be naked" Walker laments the Aggies' plight, "We're not a good football team right now. We got a bad football team going on right now, I just told the team, it's all us. It's coaches, players. Nobody point fingers at anyone .... You look at it across the board, it's bad football. And we've played bad football for three weeks. We're fractured and it's my job and our job to get this team back. We're not a good football team right now."