The freshman quarterback led New Mexico on its final three drives, but came away with zero points as the Lobos lost 35-31 to the Falcons in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
UNM’s last three possessions amounted to just 26 yards on 11 plays.
“We can’t finish,” head coach Bob Davie said. “Maybe we’re just not good enough, or maybe we just have to keep working and it’ll come.”
On fourth-and-2 at UNM’s 12-yard line with just 1:45 left in the game, Jordan rushed for only 1 yard for a turnover on downs, essentially clinching the game for the Falcons. UNM had one more possession and tried to lateral the ball down the field with six seconds left, but fumbled, and the Falcons recovered to end the game.
Senior quarterback Cole Gautsche started the contest and had 46 rushing yards on 13 carries. He also completed 2 of 7 passes for just 27 yards.
Davie said there was no major factor in his decision to replace Gautsche with Jordan in the fourth quarter.
“I just thought that Cole looked a little slow on the quarterback draw. We were talking about getting Lamar in the game the whole time,” Davie said. “Maybe we were hoping for a little magic there at the end. He deserved to play; there was no real big decision besides not playing him earlier.”
In the third quarter UNM gained its final lead of the game when sophomore running back Teriyon Gipson ran 28 yards for a touchdown and a 28-21 lead.
Two big pass plays by AFA quarterback Kale Pearson gave the Falcons the lead for good. On the ensuing possession, Pearson hit wide receiver Garret Brown for a 63-yard completion, and on the following play D.J. Johnson ran it for a 1-yard score, tying the game at 28.
On the next drive, Pearson gave the Falcons a 35-28 edge when he found wide out Jale Robinette for a 50-yard score in the third quarter. Pearson completed just 5 of 9 attempts for 159 yards and ran for 66 yards with one touchdown.
“I really thought our kids played hard. We fought hard. (Air Force) just made some plays on us in the second half,” Davie said. “We got the ball back a couple times and had a position to potentially go win it, but we couldn’t quite get it done. But again, it was a hard-fought game. Give credit to Air Force; they made some plays.”
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UNM’s running game got back on track as it rushed for 397 yards on 52 carries, an average of 7.1 yards per rush. Redshirt junior running back Jhurell Pressley ran for 148 yards on 11 attempts with two touchdowns. Gipson was the second leading rusher for the Lobos, gaining 87 yards on 16 runs.
The Falcons (5-2, 2-2 Mountain West) didn’t have any trouble running the ball either, earning 269 yards on 74 attempts. Tailback Shayne Davern led AFA with 85 yards on 16 carries. Johnson had 15 carries for 51 yards and three scores.
“We just got to read our keys,” said senior safety David Guthrie, who returned a fumble for 43 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. “It’s option football and when someone doesn’t do their job we get exploited.”
The Lobos (2-5, 0-3 Mountain West) and Falcons went into halftime tied at 21 after Johnson ran into the end zone from 6 yards out.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
