New Mexico secured its first winning season in almost a decade on Saturday at University Stadium.
Several big plays and three key turnovers propelled UNM to a 47-35 upset over Mountain Division champion Air Force. The Lobos finish the regular season 7-5 (5-3 Mountain West) and will play in their first bowl game since 2007.
“It feels real good. You come to college to have a winning season and to win games and to go to bowl games,” redshirt senior running back Jhurell Pressley said. “My senior year we accomplished that goal. We’re going to a bowl game, and we won our last game. I’m proud of my teammates and I’m glad I’m here.”
The calling card for UNM’s offense this season has been big plays. That remained true Saturday as the Lobos finished with four plays of 45 yards or more in the win.
For most of the game, UNM had no trouble gashing Air Force’s defense for big gains. The Lobos rushed for 377 yards—the most rushing yards the Falcons have given up this season—and earned 512 yards overall.
Pressley started the game off with two big runs in the first quarter. The tailback rushed first for a 75-yard then a 57-yard touchdown, finishing with a career-high 170 yards on 17 attempts.
“We’re an explosive team. That’s what we do,” head coach Bob Davie said. “We’re not always the most consistent, but we’re explosive. Certainly tonight we were explosive.”
UNM’s defense gave Air Force trouble throughout the night. The Lobos did a good job of taking away the Falcons’ option attack, forcing them to throw the ball more often. Quarterback Karson Roberts failed to adjust, completing just 6 of 16 passes for 167 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Air Force also moved to a more traditional I-formation look because of UNM taking away the option. The Falcons never established much of a rhythm, finishing with just 222 rushing yards on 38 attempts.
“I think they definitely passed more. They came out and tried to run it, and we shut it down pretty quick,” linebacker Dakota Cox said. “I think guys were disciplined enough to know that they needed to play the next play. It came down to guys just doing that, and we were able to get off the field at the end.”
With the Lobos’ offense stalling early in the second half, the Falcons were able to chip away at UNM’s lead. Air Force quickly cut UNM’s advantage to just 13 points after a 61-yard touchdown run by running back Timothy McVey.
On UNM’s next possession, quarterback Lamar Jordan made an ill-advised throw and was picked off by Falcon safety Weston Steelhammer. Four plays later, McVey added a 26-yard touchdown, trimming the difference to just 34-28.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Air Force (8-4, 6-2 MW) eventually narrowed UNM’s lead to five points after another McVey touchdown later in the fourth quarter. This time the tailback went untouched for 56 yards on a pass from Roberts.
After an onside kick return and a personal foul penalty, Pressley punched it in from 13 yards out for his third score of the day to seal UNM’s 47-35 win.
“They weren’t going away. They didn’t quit, but we didn’t quit either,” Davie said. “I’m just glad that we didn’t cave at the end. The momentum was definitely against us, but we hung in there.”
Jordan played the entire game and finished with 68 rushing yards on 12 attempts with one touchdown.
McVey was virtually the entire offense for Air Force. He wound up with 105 rushing yards with two touchdowns on 12 carries and had 157 receiving yards on five catches with three scores.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com and on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
