Lubbock, Texas - Lack of consistency on offense and the Lobo defense giving up numerous big plays was a recipe for disaster for the UNM football team as it lost to Texas Tech University 42-30 Saturday.
The Lobo defense could not stop the explosive Texas Tech offense, giving up 426 yards of total offense during their first loss of the season, dropping their record to 1-1. The Red Raiders used touchdowns from all parts of the team - offense, defense and special teams - to win their season opener at home in front of a crowd of 48, 924.
Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury torched the UNM defense, throwing for 364 yards on 30-of-49 with three touchdowns.
"They have pretty good guys; they delivered," UNM senior cornerback Stephen Persley said. "We didn't play up to our potential. We didn't execute at the right time and they have some good players. We had chances to get back into the game but we didn't execute."
Although the passing offense struggled again and the defense wore down, the Lobos had a chance to tie the score early in the third quarter. After trailing 21-14 at the half, the Lobo special teams came out and created a turnover three minutes into the second half. The defense forced a Tech punt, but the punter dropped the ball and the Lobos recovered at the Red Raider nine-yard line.
After gaining five yards on three running plays, the Lobos had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by kicker Vladimir Borombozin to cut the deficit to 21-17.
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On the ensuing kickoff, Tech running back Ivory McCann made one of the biggest plays of the game. He received the kickoff about eight yards in the endzone, ran the ball out and took it 100 yards for a Tech touchdown and a 28-17 lead.
"I thought we were right in the game before the kickoff return," head coach Rocky Long said. "I thought it was going to be a hell of a football game until they ran the kickoff all the way back."
With the Lobo offense stalling, Tech scored another touchdown on a 32-yard screen pass from Kingsbury to running back Ricky Williams for a 35-17 lead.
Tech would finish off the Lobos early in the fourth quarter when Red Raider safety Paul McClendon recovered a fumble by senior tailback Holmon Wiggins and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown and an insurmountable 42-17 lead.
The running game for the Lobos showed up again as it ran up 233 yards rushing for the night. Senior fullback Jarrod Baxter rushed for more than 100 yards for the second straight game, amassing 110 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns.
However, with the Lobos playing catch up for most of the night, junior quarterback Rudy Caamano and the passing game failed to produce big chunks of yardage. Caamano struggled to connect with his wide receivers for the second straight game as he went 11-for-24 for 122 yards. Although he gained a career-high 46 yards rushing, Caamano did not complete a pass until eight minutes left in the third quarter, starting the game zero-for-eight.
UNM had only four gains of more than 10 yards from the passing game, the largest being a catch from Baxter for a 39-yard gain.
"We have big play potential all across the board," sophomore wide receiver Rashaun Sanders said. "We just have to bring it all together and bring it to the field."
The Lobo offense did gain some confidence going into next week as they started moving the ball effectively in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns. Baxter scored his second touchdown when he bulled his way into the endzone from four yards out with 3:25 left in the game. Then Caamano threw his only touchdown pass of the game when he found Sanders open for a 20-yard touchdown with 51 seconds left.
"It gives us a little confidence going into next week," Sanders said. " We just need to get our routes down and our timing down."
The Lobos' defensive timing was off for most of the game. The defensive backs had trouble staying with the Tech wide receivers all night, too often letting the receivers get behind them for long gains. The blitz-happy Lobos also had trouble putting pressure on Kingsbury, giving him time to pick apart the defense.
"It was very disappointing because I thought the coaches did a great job getting us ready," defensive end Brian Johnson said. "We just didn't make enough plays as players. This was is tough to swallow, but we'll bounce back."
In the first half, the special teams and defense kept the game from being an early blowout. Trailing 3-0 in the first quarter, Persley streaked through the line and blocked a punt at the Tech 29-yard line, his third during the last two years. UNM recovered at the three-yard line and two plays later Baxter scored untouched on a sweep, thanks to a crushing block by senior fullback Sulayman Konte. It was the Lobos only lead of the game.
"I was just trying to make a play; make something happen on special teams," Persley said. "I just beat them with speed and blocked it. He didn't have a chance to block me."
Tech looked to extend a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter deep in Lobo territory when senior linebacker Gary Davis intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 31 yards to the Tech 45-yard line. On the next play, Caamano optioned right, made a fake pitch and squirted up the middle for a 28-yard gain. Four plays later, he optioned to the right again and scored a touchdown from five yards out to make the score 21-14 Tech.
