by Phil Parker
Daily Lobo
With less than one minute left and overtime looming, a fumbled snap by Colorado State quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt gave the ball back to the Lobos and enabled kicker Wes Zunker to nail a 33-yard field goal as time expired.
With the phenomenal 37-34 win, the Lobos keep their bowl hopes alive.
"I had jitters a little bit," Zunker said. "But once I got out there and got my spot, I went into a zone and had to focus on the kick. I just tuned out everything that was going on around me."
With only 1:02 remaining in the tied contest, the Rams forced a punt to regain possession. But the fortuitous fumble came on their first snap of the ensuing drive. Van Pelt, in shotgun formation, watched the ball go through his hands, and Lobo defensive end Kyle Coulter broke through the offensive line and dove right into the quarterback and the football.
"I got a little penetration through the line," Coulter said. "And I just happened to be at the right angle where I could make a straight path to the ball. I saw Van Pelt lunge for it and just tried to get my body in position to shield him from recovering."
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The game featured two of the top players in the Mountain West Conference in Van Pelt and Lobo sophomore tailback DonTrell Moore. Van Pelt was resilient in the loss, but Moore prevailed by rushing for the best game of his career.
Moore finished with a career-best 242 yards on 34 carries, good for 7.1 yards-per-attempt, and three touchdowns. The offensive line opened huge holes all night, and Moore constantly bulled his way through defenders.
"In the last two years, that's the best DonTrell's run with the football," UNM head coach Rocky Long said. "Not only was he finding holes, he was running hard and breaking tackles. The combination of the line blocking well and DonTrell running better than he has before made it a great night on offense."
Moore's three scores gave him a total of 18 this year, including a 21-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Boyd against UNLV, which sets a UNM single-season record.
Despite the last fumble, Van Pelt was a solid leader for the Rams. CSU trailed 31-14 in the second half before he engineered two scoring drives that tied the game. Van Pelt hit David Anderson for a 15-yard touchdown with 10:18 left on fourth-and-goal to close the gap. Then, after a couple field goals, he tied the game at 34 with a one-yard run on fourth down with just over three minutes remaining. Twice, Van Pelt converted on fourth down to keep the drive going.
Van Pelt evaded rushers throughout the game and scrambled for 83 yards and two scores, making moves and breaking tackles like a running back. He also threw for 217 yards and a touchdown.
Lobo quarterback Casey Kelly was efficient in the win, hitting eight of 12 throws for 106 yards and no interceptions. Kelly's one touchdown pass came in the third quarter when CSU's defense bit hard on a faked option run, leaving Dwight Counter open for a 41-yard touchdown.
The Lobos' last home game will be at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday against the Air Force Academy Falcons. UNM and Air Force are tied for second place in the MWC, behind Utah, with conference records of 3-2. However, the Falcons have one more non-conference win than the Lobos and are coming off a 31-3 demolition of Army.
