On Saturday, the University of New Mexico football team was humbled by its 24-13 loss to in-state rival New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.
The Lobos looked confused and out of rhythm for most of the game as the Aggies dominated time of possession and the flow of the game.
UNM started off with the ball and got a nice gain on a trick play where freshman running back DonTrell Moore took the pitch and then threw it back to quarterback Casey Kelly who raced out of bounds for a first down. The Lobos could not get much more than that on the drive and were forced to punt when Moore dropped a pass on third down. Dropped passes and poor execution were things that would plague UNM throughout.
"I thought they looked like a team that had practiced two weeks and we looked like a team that had practiced two days," Head coach Rocky Long said.
NMSU scored first thanks to a career long 52-yard field goal by junior kicker Dario Aguiniga. On the drive, running back Eric Higgins broke free up the middle before being brought down after a 22-yard gain to set up the field goal.
A five-yard face mask penalty was called against the Lobos on the play. It was the first of many penalties for UNM. In the first half alone, the Lobos were flagged eight times for 73 yards while the Aggies had just two penalties for 10 yards.
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UNM got the ball back late in first quarter at the 11-yard line. Moore had his best run of the game when he ran through one tackler, spun through another and cut to the left for a 25-yard run.
"Any time they give you a chance you've got to read the holes and that's what I was able to do," Moore said.
The Lobos steadily moved the ball and converted on a fourth down and inches when Kelly dove over the line to keep the drive going. Kelly then hooked up with wide receiver Joe Manning on 14 and 17 yard receptions to bring UNM inside the Aggie 20. Kelly smashed his way into the endzone on a quarterback keeper from the two-yard line to cap an impressive 13-play, 89-yard drive and give the Lobos the lead 7-3.
NMSU would not give up, relying on a steady dose of running plays to get back in the game. The Aggies were helped out by a crucial Lobo miscue when NMSU freshman quarterback Paul Drombowski was tackled in the backfield. But a 15-yard face-mask penalty was assessed on UNM and NMSU was given new life. Drombowski haunted the Lobos again when he scrambled for a 50-yard gain to put the Aggies in field goal range. Aguiniga made the kick to cut the lead to 7-6.
The second half belonged to NMSU. The Aggies took the momentum when linebacker Richard Glover intercepted Kelly in the third quarter.
Drombowski made the Lobos pay for their mistake scrambling for a 46-yard gain down to the five. He then plunged into the endzone to give NMSU a 12-7 lead. Drombowski busted through the line for a 2-point conversion to make the score 14-7. The Aggies added another field goal later for a 17-7 lead.
"They just played harder than us," junior safety Terrell Golden said. "It's as simple as that."
The Lobos seemed to lose all momentum when kicker Matt Goldstein missed an extra point after a hard fought touchdown score by Moore to cut the lead to 17-13.
NMSU needed one more big play and got it when tailback Walter Taylor broke through the UNM line busting past arm tackles for a 58-yard rush. On third and goal from the Lobo 8, Higgins ran in for a touchdown giving the Aggies a 24-13 lead.
NMSU finished with 287 yards on 49 carries. Drombowski had 144 yards on 18 rushes with a touchdown. He threw for only 58 yards on 5 for 11 passing.
UNM's last play on offense was a fitting way to end the game as Jake Ferrel dropped a perfect pass from Kelly on fourth down. NMSU took over and ran the clock out. An eager Aggie crowd rushed the field to take down the goal posts as time expired.
"Being from here, growing up here, it's the worst feeling to be on the losing side," linebacker Nick Speegle said.
Offensively, Kelly and Moore carried the load for the Lobos. Kelly completed 18 of 32 passes for 207 with one interception. On the ground Kelly had 27 yards on eight carries and a touchdown but was more concerned with the team's loss.
"This game means a lot to everybody on the team, everybody in the state," Kelly said. "It hurts."
Receivers Manning and Dwight Counter each had five catches for 61 and 56 yards respectively.
Next week, UNM returns home to take on Texas Tech University. The game will be played on Friday at 5 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.
