Blackman started seven games for the Vandals and was instrumental in Idaho's only win this season against the NMSU Aggies. Robb Akey was dismissed on Oct. 21st. following a dismal 70-28 loss to Louisiana Tech. I think it's safe to say that Idaho won't be winning anymore games this year, if ever.
Black Holes of Ineptitude
Pullman, Wa./Moscow, Id. WASU and U. of I. are working to make Palouse Ridge the home of shitty football. They're a combined 3-13. We know the Vandals suck but what's up with Mike Leach and the Cougars? (I am so glad UNM passed on him) The two schools are just eight miles apart, maybe the taint of failure at U. of I. is rubbing off on WASU?
Albuquerque/ Las Cruces NM/ El Paso, Tx. The Bermuda triangle of college football failure. (7-19 combined, UNM has 4 of the wins) UTEP truly is one of the worst teams in the country, but they somehow managed to beat NMSU & Tulane. The UNM Lobos have put some distance between themselves and the bottom dwellers, while NMSU is still who we thought they were.
Boulder Co./Ft. Collins Co./Laramie Wy. A gruesome three way of ugly football, Wyoming can always claim that their season was torpedoed by injuries. CSU and Colorado have no such excuses. I offer this solution to the Univ. of Colorado, drop out of the PAC 12 so BYU can take your place then join the Mountain West so you can at least finish in the middle of the pack. (4-20 combined)
Miami, Fla./Boca Raton Fla. Florida is usually synonymous with good football but FIU and Florida Atlantic go against the grain. Toss in a mediocre, scandal ridden Miami Hurricanes club and Miami has absolutely nothing to brag about when it comes to college football (7-18 combined with the 'Canes claiming four of the wins)
The Div. 1- FBS Bottom Feeders
Two wins automatically disqualifies a team from this list. (a true bottom dweller would never manage to win two games in one season) Eastern Michigan, Wyoming, UNLV, Kansas and Kentucky are right on the verge of busting through into the Bottom 10. Let's wish them luck.
10. Hawai'i 1-6 (Norm Chow, failing and returning home is one thing, returning home and failing is another)
9. Auburn 1-7 (their shamefully easy schedule is a BCS disgrace)
8. Univ. of Colorado 1-7 (how low can the Buffs go?.... they truly have no limit)
7. Buffalo 1-7 (they play Akron, so one of the two teams will pick up a second win)
6. Akron 1-8 (they play U. Mass and Buffalo so there's still hope for two more wins)
5. FIU 1-8 (heartbreaking one point loss to Troy St. and a close loss to W. Kentucky)
4. Southern Miss 0-8 (not getting any better or any worse... consistently bad)
3. NMSU 1-7 (I'm convinced they would beat U.Mass, hell they may beat Auburn)
2. U. Mass 0-8 (1st. year FBS program is taking its lumps, still better than Idaho)
1. Univ. Idaho 1-7 (upheaval & turmoil won't do them any good)
NMSU Aggies 14 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 28
With Louisiana Tech (7-1, 2-0 in WAC play) ranked in the top 25 and sporting the No. 1 scoring offense in the country (averaging 56-points-per game) coming to town, you can't blame Dewayne Walker for imagining the worst. "Giving up 70 points scared the crap out of me . We definitely didn't want to get put in the 70-club" Coach Walker was referring to the Bulldogs dismantling of the Univ. of Idaho the week before.
La. Tech scored 70 points and racked up over 800 yards of total offense against the hapless Vandals, who's sole victory came at the expense of the NMSU Aggies. That debacle cost Idaho head coach Robb Akey his job as he was fired mid-week. Shades of Mike Locksley's firing last year after the Lobos were embarrassed by Sam Houston St. Lesson learned for Coach Walker.... "blow outs get you fired"
With this in mind the focus and intensity were ratcheted up as the Aggies prepared for the Bulldogs with a fervor not seen since the season opener. It paid off, somewhat... not with an upset victory, but rather in the form of the dreaded moral victory. For the Aggies it still resulted in a 28-14 loss (their seventh straight) dropping them to 1-7, 0-4 in conference games.
The Aggie defense held Louisiana Tech to their lowest offensive output of the year. The Bulldogs previous scoring low was 44 points against Virginia So either the Aggie defense did something right for a change or the Bulldog's were just out of sync (probably a combination of the two) The Bulldogs squandered several first half scoring opportunities(three missed field goals from Matt Nelson) their only score of the half was a 2 yd. run by Kenneth Dixon (Nelson at least made the PAT) Louisiana Tech, 7-0 at the break.
The first half was ugly for both clubs. Andrew Manley actually had some protection, but the Aggies still couldn't get their offense in gear. NMSU was a miserable 1 for 11 on third down conversions and committed three key turnovers. Travaughn Colwell fumbled the snap on a fourth down play. Austin Franklin got in the way of the snap as he went into motion behind the center, resulting in another fumble. Kemonte Bateman cut off his pattern early leading to an interception by the Bulldogs. .
Much like a lazy 'ol boa constrictor trying to conserve energy, The Bulldogs just kept squeezing on the Aggies, slowly and methodically Bulldog Qb. Colby Cameron hit Myles White for a 44 yard touchdown pass to go up 14-0, then Cameron added another score on a keeper to give Louisiana Tech an insurmountable 21-0 lead. La. Tech Rb. Ray Holley busted loose for an 83 yd. td. run, surging through a sea of missed tackles to tack on an insurance touchdown. 28-0.
With the game well out of hand, NMSU's offense suddenly became the mouse that roared. With just over 07:00 left in the game Andrew Manley connected with Kemonte Bateman for the Aggies first score. Then on their next possession Manley found Austin Franklin for a spectacular 67 yd. td. pass. It was too little fight, too late in the game to amount to much other than speculation. The Aggies left the field, knowing that while they were never in the game, at least they weren't humiliated.
Andrew Manley finished at 18 for 34 passing, 283 yards, 2 td's, 1 int. Austin Franklin had seven catches for 139 yards, 1 td. (1-7, 0-4) It was a landmark win for Louisiana Tech their first ever as a ranked team (#24) they had lost twice previously while ranked in the top 25, including a heartbreaking 59-57 loss to Texas A&M earlier this year when they were ranked #23. If the Bulldogs stay in the top 25, it will be the first time in school history that they've ranked in consecutive weeks.
All that means nothing to NMSU which will miss out on a bowl game for the 52nd. consecutive season. Up next for the Aggies is Gene Cheezdick and the Auburn Univ. Tigers. They are the worst BCS team in the country that's not named the Univ. of Colorado. Auburn is 1-7, they've lost five in a row and they were blown out by Texas A&M this past Saturday, 63-21. Auburn has sunk to an incredible low since winning the national championship behind lowlife Cam Newton. How's that for instant karma?
Auburn, has already played and lost to Louisiana-Monroe, they play the Aggies this coming Saturday and they have a game against Alabama A&M, sandwiched between games against Georgia and arch rival Alabama. That's three lower echelon FBS teams in one season.... what kind of SEC team schedules like that?... WAR EAGLE! Losing football games isn't all that Gene Chizik has to deal with, his wife Jonna appears to be a little unhinged.
With the Tigers struggling at 1-4, Jonna took it upon herself to rally the War Eagle faithful on Facebook "We have fans all over the US and I think it is time that they RISE UP and snatch back what SATAN, himself has stolen" I automatically assumed that by Satan she meant Nick Saban. "We serve a God who recovers ALL that "has been stolen" from us and there are times that HE requires the efforts of HIS people to accomplish this truth"
Jonna rambled on, "I encourage you to think outside the box and create something that will show the rest of the world WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO and why when we refer to ourselves as FAMILY that we mean it!" Thank You! Jonna, that's how caps lock should be used... sparingly, take note all you Facebook ranters. The Tigers have since gone 0-3, so it would seem that not even "a reverse tiger walk and the effect of just alone" is an answer to what ails the Tigers.
Oh! how I envy the blind faith of the hopelessly naive ..... curse you sarcasm and cynicism! Jonna then neatly wrapped up her rant, "I look forward to see what you come up with", Blessings, Jonna Chizik, P.S. feel free to share all of this as you feel led! WAR EAGLE!"
A personal note from Left Nut Sports to Jonna Chizik: Dear Jonna, You can lead an Auburn Tigers fan to Facebook but you can't make them share. Where was all this self righteous determination when the DEVIL himself (Cam Newton) was leading you to a national title in 2010? GOD is busy, Jonna and he REALLY doesn't give a fuck about the Auburn Tigers. WAR AGGIES!
"What about football? Is it a sport or a concussion?"
Jim Murray Los Angeles Times
UNM Lobos 32 Fresno St. Bulldogs 49
Injuries are a part of the game, and nothing affects the outcome of a game more than injuries that happen during the course of the game. Case in point, the UNM Lobos are up by touchdown on Fresno St. when Cole Gautsche goes down with another injury. Later, up by 10, B.R. Holbrook is lost. The Bulldogs then scored five unanswered touchdowns to walk away from Univeristy Stadium, aka Branch Field with a 49-32 victory.
Regardless of what happens going forward from this point, The 2012 season is already a success for the UNM Lobos. Though, the loss dropped them to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the Mountain West Conf., it's heartening to know that with Bob Davie, the program is in good hands and headed in the right direction. Still there's those nagging what ifs, both in the Air Force game and against Fresno St., which saw the Lobos up by scores of 21-0 and 24-7 in the first half.
Gautsche in his first game back after a concussion suffered at Hawai'i, lasted a mere four minutes before a neck injury sent him to the sidelines. Holbrook injured his shoulder when he was slammed to the turf on the tail end of a Qb. keeper. “Once the option phase of (the offense) was really gone, (the Bulldogs) are pretty stout up in there,” said Davie. Fresno State's offense also flexed its muscles, running off 42 unanswered points to put the Lobos away.
Then there's the cautionary tale of the Maryland Terrapins, who will be forced to use a linebacker at Qb. after all four of the Quarterbacks on their roster suffered season ending injuries (not all in the same game, I hope!) Mike Locksley is the offensive coordinator at Maryland.... hmmm! While the Lobo's options are slim, Joe Stoner won't be taking snaps anytime soon. Though Lamaar Thomas or Kasey Carrier will continue to take direct snaps from center.
UNM doesn't rely on the passing game, so unlike Maryland the injuries won't totally derail their offensive plans. Beside McCown, the Lobos do have David Vega, who ran the option both in high school (Roswell-Goddard) and at NMMI. Vega however, has been deep in Davie's doghouse since the pre-season. Coach Davie made mention of Vega for the first time since the season started during his press conference.
A denizen of the doghouse who actually saw some game time is Crusoe Gongbay. The Lobos top rusher in 2011, Gongbay had announced his intentions to transfer at the end of the season, he skipped spring practice but then surprisingly showed up on campus at the start of the 2012 school year. Given a chance Crusoe could be a new weapon for offensive coordinator Bob Debesse.
Coach Davie should forgive and forget, it's time to scrounge through the pantry, gather up all the remaining ingredients and make do with what you have available. A paltry crowd of 19,856 attended the game. Home attendance has dropped with each successive game for UNM. That's neither her nor there, Albuquerque sports fans have always been fickle bedfellows when it comes to Lobo football, and it will take a little more time to get them to come around.
Kasey Carrier had 118 yards rushing at halftime and just 20 in the second half, he finished with 138. In the process he became the Lobo's first 1,000 yard rusher since Rodney Ferguson in 2008. Despite its slow start the Fresno State offense finished with 600 yds. total offense, Derek Carr passed for 416 yds. and 4 td's. Davante Adams had 9 catches for 198 yds. and 2 td's. Robbie Rouse had 120 yds rushing for the Bulldogs.
With the Lobo offense misfiring, the Lobo defensive unit was exposed by Derek Carr's ability to read the Lobo defense and adjust to the blitzes and coverage schemes. “We did a good job (early) of disguising our blitzes,” said UNM linebacker Joe Stoner “In the second quarter, they started to pick up on it. Carr gave credit to O.C. Dave Schramm for deciphering New Mexico's defense."I don't know if we expected them to pressure that much (in the beginning)," Carr said.
"We didn't respond enough to the adversity we had," said Lobos coach Bob Davie, who added that he thought Fresno State adjusted well to what the Lobos were doing on both sides of the ball. "It was a chess game," Davie said. "At the beginning, we had (Carr) confused a bit. And then he got settled in and made adjustments, and they're talented. They deserve all the credit. They came back on the road and beat us."
Football is not a contact sport, it's a collision sport.
Dancing is a good example of a contact sport
Duffy Daugherty
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