A questionable fourth down call and numerous mistakes cost the UNM football team a victory as it lost to Baylor University 16-13 in overtime.
Daniel Andino's 29-yard field goal in overtime allowed Baylor to beat New Mexico after an evening full of offensive miscues, defensive lapses and spotty special teams play.
"I've been a part of a lot of programs that have won in a lot of ways," Baylor coach Kevin Steele said, "but a win is a win."
This win gave Baylor its first 2-0 start since 1996, when the Bears started out 3-0.
They won in front of a crowd of 38,396, Baylor's largest non-conference home crowd in five years.
New Mexico (1-2) had the ball first in overtime, but senior running back Jarrod Baxter fumbled and lost the ball on 4th-and-two from the Baylor 3-yard line.
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Baylor running back Melvin Barnett ran 6 yards on a third-and-3 from New Mexico's 18-yard line to set up the game-winning field goal.
New Mexico head coach Rocky Long didn't second-guess his decision to go for the win instead of a field goal.
"We wanted to score, especially on the road," Long said. "We knew we were going to score, so we went for it. I don't regret it at all."
Baylor's victory came in spite of its no-huddle offense, which continued to have problems after a sloppy season-opening 24-3 win over Arkansas State on Sept. 8.
Bears quarterback Greg Cicero struggled all evening, throwing two interceptions and throwing countless ill-advised passes.
Cicero managed to snap out of his funk long enough to lead Baylor on a seven-play, 54-yard scoring march in the third quarter.
The drive was capped by Marques Roberts' leaping 4-yard touchdown grab on a fade pass from Cicero, who finished 25-of-45 for 223 yards and a touchdown.
"It was the case of the offense going against a good defense," Cicero said. "The offense is much better. We take some lumps, but we'll give some back."
Baylor's defense held New Mexico in check for most of the evening, but made a few costly mistakes on the Lobos' game-tying field goal just before the end of regulation.
Vladimir Borombozin's 21-yard field goal with 1:40 remaining in the game came after Baylor surrendered a 26-yard reception by Rashaun Sanders.
The referees then tacked on a 15-yard face-mask penalty and moved the ball to the Baylor 8-yard line after a personal foul.
But Baylor still managed to hold New Mexico to one offensive touchdown and 13 first downs.
New Mexico's only touchdown came on a first-quarter 64-yard toss from junior quarterback Rudy Caamano to a wide-open Joe Manning, who darted down the center of the field for the score.
Caamano had a break-out game for the Lobos as he passed for one touchdowns on 13-29 passing for 285 yards, a personal best.
"We made some good progress in our passing game," Long said. "But you can throw those stats out the window -- they had 16 [points] and we had 13. Passing yards just don't matter."
Baxter was held down by the Bears' defense, finishing with 44 yards on 17 carries after entering the game averaging 145 rushing yards a game.
His longest rush of the game was only 8 yards.
"The talent level is there, but it's also an attitude," Steele said. "There wasn't a question in their eyes they would stop New Mexico."
In the first half, both teams missed out on opportunities to score from inside their opponent's 5-yard line.
Baylor marched to New Mexico's 4-yard line on a 15-play, 74-yard drive that took nearly 6 minutes. But Cicero fired a pass into the waiting hands of New Mexico's senior cornerback Stephen Persley in the end zone.
With just under a minute left in the first half, New Mexico's Caamano fumbled a snap inside Baylor's 5-yard line. The ball was recovered by Bears linebacker Kelvin Chaisson.
A moment of silence was observed before the game to honor the victims of last week's terrorist attacks.
Then, everyone bowed their heads and closed their eyes as Baylor president Dr. Robert Sloan Jr. voiced a prayer.
Both teams came out of the locker rooms and stood on the sideline as the band began playing the "Star Spangled Banner."
The crowd joined in and sang the final few bars of the song.
As the band marched into the stands, fans roared with approval and chanted, "U-S-A, U-S-A!"
Thousands of the fans waved small fans with the images of the American flag and "USA" on them.
Staff and Wire Reports
