Staff Report
The stats tell the story of UNM's 47-35 dismantling of No. 23 Utah, Saturday in Salt Lake City.
The Lobo offense was opportunistic, with five plays of 40 or more yards. The big plays were key for the explosive Lobo offense, converting eight of 18 third downs and earning 12 more first downs than the Utes. UNM dominated with 407-net rushing yards, compared to Utah's 80.
Leading all rushers with 134 yards and two touchdowns was UNM sophomore tailback DonTrell Moore. Lobo running back D.D. Cox gained 106 yards with a score, while senior Adrian Byrd added 98 rushing yards for the Lobos.
Even quarterback Casey Kelly got into the ground attack, carrying 15 times for 68 yards.
After Utah's Brandon Warfield sprained his left knee in the first quarter, Mike Liti led the Utes with 81 yards on the ground. Until this weekend, Warfield was the leading rusher in the Mountain West Conference. He was dethroned by Lynell Hamilton of San Diego State, who rushed for 218 yards in the Aztec's 25-20 win over Wyoming.
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Kelly made huge plays through the air as well as on the ground. He was nine for 23 with 226 yards and a touchdown and one interception.
UNM led by just two at the half, after Wes Zunker hit a field goal with three seconds left in the second quarter to put the Lobos ahead 16-14. The momentum UNM gained from the kick carried into the start of the second half.
Within the first five minutes of the third quarter, the Lobos had blown the game open. Their first play of the second half was a 57-yard touchdown connection from Kelly to senior Adrian Boyd.
Two plays into its next series, after forcing a quick Utah punt on defense, UNM was on the board again. Kelly hit another deep pass, this time to receiver Dwight Counter. Cox completed the touchdown drive after he rushed it in from 20 yards away.
Byrd highlighted UNM's next drive with a 78-yard run. Zunker capped that drive with a 23-yard field goal, and then added another from the 36 on the Lobo's next possession.
A 20-0 scoring spree by UNM was finally snapped with less than five minutes to go in the third quarter when Ute quarterback Alex Smith hit Steven Savoy for an 11-yard touchdown.
The Lobos countered that score quickly, though, when Moore finished a 78-yard drive with a 35-yard touchdown run.
Even though Smith threw for two more touchdowns in the fourth, the Lobos' 28 points to Utah's six in the third quarter effectively put the game out of reach for the Utes.
The Lobos also came through on the other side of the ball. The UNM defense held the Utes to just 300 total yards, 91 yards less than their season average. The Lobos gained more than twice as many yards with 633 total.
If there was a downside to UNM in the win, it was clearly on special teams. Though the outcome wasn't affected, UNM gave up big yardage on kickoffs. Utah had eight kickoff returns for 282 total yards, compared to the Lobos' 41 return yards.
It was the Ute's first conference loss this year and UNM's first win over a ranked opponent since 1994, when the Lobo's beat then-No. 9 Utah.
The win essentially put the MWC title up for grabs, as Utah (3-1) now shares the top spot in the MWC with Air Force (3-1), while UNM and Colorado State (both 2-1) are close behind and tied for second place.
The Lobos look to extend their winning streak this weekend when they will face the UNLV Rebels. The Rebels are coming off a 27-20 overtime loss to BYU.
