Lobo football was dealt a difficult loss to their I-25 rivals on Saturday, and things won’t get any easier as the team hits the road for a pair of games, starting with the conference opener against the Boise State Broncos.
The game will take place on a Thursday, making it perhaps an even more difficult task by facing a team that has been a perennial powerhouse in the Mountain West — the Broncos have finished first or second in the division in each of the last six seasons since it became a member.
But head coach Bob Davie said, as difficult as it is to prepare for a team like Boise State, the short week is probably a good thing.
Both teams will enter Thursday’s matchup coming off heart-breaking losses.
New Mexico (1-1, 0-0 MW) lost to New Mexico State (1-1) by a score of 30-28, while Boise State (1-1) suffered a 47-44 road loss to Washington State in triple overtime.
Things did not go very well for the first three quarters for the Lobos against the Aggies. A slew of turnovers, pre-snap miscommunications, penalties and other mistakes have seemed to leave people with more questions than answers about New Mexico’s team.
Senior quarterback Lamar Jordan was benched in favor of freshman Tevaka Tuioti, who helped lead the Lobos almost all the way back from a 30-5 fourth-quarter deficit.
Despite the strong play from Tuioti, which Davie said just confirmed what coaches already thought they knew about him, there does not appear to be a quarterback controversy brewing.
Davie said, “Lamar is our guy,” and is not considering implementing a two-quarterback system at this time. He also said Jordan handled the situation well and was excited when the team scored the final touchdown and had a chance to tie the score.
The head coach said the team has to move forward from the loss and is looking forward to a big challenge, but acknowledged there are things that concern him coming out of the New Mexico State loss.
“We were still fragmented at the end of the game.” Davie said. “We had three two-point conversions; we threw each one of them. Is that really us?”
He said things looked pretty bleak after the third quarter and was proud of the way his team came back, but he also said New Mexico State deserved a lot of credit for what it did on Saturday.
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The Lobos may be searching for an identity, but Boise State will likely have the date with New Mexico circled. 2015 was the last time BSU hosted UNM, and the Lobos held on for a 31-24 victory.
The Broncos paid the Lobos back by thumping UNM 49-21 on its home turf last season with an impressive aerial assault. BSU quarterback Brett Rypien threw five first-half touchdowns and amassed 391 yards through the air in the game, completing 75 percent of his passes.
But Boise State will probably be looking to get retribution on its home field as well, where the team has reeled off seven straight victories.
Davie mentioned Boise State wide receiver Cedrick Wilson as one of the primary weapons the Lobos will need to focus on. He was one of two receivers that caught nine passes and had over 150 receiving yards last time the teams met.
Thursday’s game will take place in Boise, Idaho at 6 p.m. and is scheduled to air on ESPN.
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers basketball, football and tennis. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
