Lobo fans were silent and teammates fell to their knees at the sight of senior team captain Jason Lenzmeier lying motionless on the field.
It took two trainers to help him to the sidelines and onto a cart that took him to the locker room where he would undergo examinations and x-rays.
Sporting News picked Lenzmeier as the 18th-best offensive lineman in the nation. Saturday night he was told by trainers he had "blown out" his knee and that his career as a Lobo was officially over.
However, Sunday's test showed contrasting results.
"I tore my MCL and some cartilage around my knee cap," the beaming Lenzmeier said Sunday evening. "My ACL is good, so it'll only be 2 to 3 weeks and we'll be good to go. It worked out pretty well."
In his three years at UNM, Lenzmeier has played in 40 football games, with 35 consecutive starts. Last season, he lined up for all but six offensive snaps.
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This weekend BYU put an end to Lenzmeier's streak when he took a hit from the left side that nearly ended in disaster.
"I was blocking for somebody and I was hit on the side of the knee," he said. "I went backwards and my leg stayed where it was. I heard some stuff you probably don't want to hear your body do."
This is the second time Lenzmeier has suffered a career-threatening injury when in combat with BYU. He broke one of his legs in the 2000 season finale against the Cougars.
"BYU's just out to get me," he said.
Senior wide receiver Adrian Boyd said it is unfortunate that Lenzmeier got hurt again.
"He already broke his leg once and now it's his knee," he said. "I talked to him before the game was over and it was sad to see him like that. He's a good player."
With Lenzmeier watching from the sidelines on crutches, the UNM offense was not as productive as usual.
However, the Lobos managed to score toward the end of the third quarter on a run by DonTrell Moore.
"It always hurts when you have one of the top offensive lineman in the country go down," head coach Rocky Long said. "It hurts emotionally as well as physically."
Lenzmeier is one of the most dominant players on the offensive line. He led UNM last season with 145 knockdown blocks, including seven in the Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl against UCLA.
For his efforts and leadership this year, Lenzmeier is a candidate for the national Rotary Lombardi Award for Outstanding Linemen.
He was named to the 2002 first team All-Mountain West Conference, and to the 2003 preseason team.
Lenzmeier said he hates to sit out any game, but is glad he will be able to finish his senior year.
"I got good news within bad news," he said. "I'll have to miss the next couple of games, but it's not near as bad as I thought. I'm a happy man."
