Correction: In the week leading up to the UNM football team’s home-opener against Texas Tech, it was inaccurately reported that the Lobos’ mistakes were, in head coach Mike Locksley’s words, “correctable.”
Proven by Saturday’s performance, the Lobos fixed few of the errors Locksley stressed in a week’s time. Once more, costly penalties and turnovers squelched a handful of UNM’s offensive drives, the Red Raid ensued and Locksley might want to start looking for a bunker to hide out in after Saturday’s 52-17 beating handed out by Texas Tech at University Stadium.
Assisted by two blocked punts — both resulting in short-field touchdowns — a 93-yard kickoff return and three Lobo turnovers, the Red Raiders demolished UNM. Less than five minutes into the first quarter, the Lobos found themselves down 14-0, after allowing Tech’s Aaron Crawford to weasel through three hefty blockers and getting a hand on Ben Skaer’s punt.
“It was a one-man rush, and they blocked the first punt inside of three 300-pound guys,” Locksley said.
It didn’t stop there. In all three phases of the game, the Lobos were about as disciplined as an un-house-trained puppy. Defensive lineman Ugo Uzodinma was ejected in the second
quarter, a microcosm of the Lobos’ lack of restraint. Not known so far for being a disciplinarian, Locksley said if Uzodinma did do what the referees told Locksley he did, that “whether the conference suspends him or not, he won’t play for us for a couple of games.”
Credit “Iron” Mike for putting the fist down.
When the field is littered by 16 yellow hankies — costing the Lobos 145 yards — tough love is necessary. None, however, were more dubious or demoralizing than the two penalties assessed late in the second quarter that wiped away a scoring opportunity.
Tech quarterback Taylor Potts, who had carte blanche to pass, and picked apart the Lobos’ secondary much of the night, slid to his right to avoid blindside pressure, but he was tracked down by defensive end Jonathan Rainey. The ball was jarred loose, and UNM, after scoring the previous possession, recovered with a chance to narrow the margin to seven before halftime.
But a 15-yard, B.R. Holbrook-to-Lucas Reed hookup was negated by a pass interference call on wide receiver Chris Hernandez, who set a pick, freeing up Reed to waltz into the end zone. On the same play, center Mike Cannon was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, pushing the Lobos from the 15-yard line back to the 45 and out of field goal range. They wouldn’t score.
Tech shortly after opened the half with another blocked punt. Again, Crawford was allowed unpatrolled access to the punter. With that, the rout was on.
“Another disappointing game,” Locksley said.
And yet another opportunity to revisit the same mistakes that riddled UNM in a 72-0 de-pants-ing against Oregon.
Little of what the offense did — and for once, it wasn’t just light-up-the-scoreboard braggadocio — offset the other two units’ glaring mistakes. Ty Kirk showed hands of Velcro, hauling in five receptions for 119 yards, a career-high. But even the sure-handed Kirk couldn’t take the focus off the shoestrings-tied-together special teams.
On account of their mistakes, Tech was afforded too many short fields, but the Lobos’ defense also allowed the Red Raiders to convert third-and-long situations.
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Not making excuses, linebacker Joe Stoner said the Lobos are immature.
“Stuff goes wrong we kick ourselves more than we should, and when stuff goes right we get a little too excited and lose our minds,” he said.
Mindful of it, Locksley said instilling discipline starts with lineup shake ups, but it’s not necessarily a problem that is easily rectifiable.
“If I had that answer, it’d be fixed,” he said. “I’d venture to say that anytime you’re playing inexperienced players — sometimes that’s one of the growing pains you go through. There’s no excuse for it.”
But there is an explanation: Discipline, as we’ve come to find, is not one of Locksley’s strongest attributes. To his credit, that is something that’s “correctable.”
