by Kristie Boudwin
Daily Lobo
Watch for flying footballs Saturday night in University Stadium.
The Texas Tech Raiders bring their air-it-out offense to Albuquerque hot off a 27-13 win in their season opener versus Southern Methodist.
With their combination of an overall effective strategy and individual talent, the Raiders were good enough last year to lead the nation in offensive yards per game.
Their offense resembles the New England Patriots, spreading out the opposing defense and making efficient passes. The pressure is on for quarterback Sonny Cumbie, who picks up where record-breaking B.J. Symons left off.
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Though four key receivers left the 2003 team for the NFL, the pass-happy offense remains a nightmare for defensive backs.
"I think that in our scheme of defense, it ends up being a matchup between our defensive backs and their wide receivers," UNM head coach Rocky Long said. "If you have four quality receivers out there, now it's a true matchup, one on one, with a lot of grass area to cover."
Though the Red Raiders are strong offensively, their defense has been a question mark in past seasons. They showed improvement, however, in their first season game. The defense allowed the SMU offense 322 total yards, a 133-yard improvement from the defense's 2003 average of 453.2 yards allowed per game.
UNM has its own opening game issues to iron out, but their 0-1 record is deceiving. The team performed well last week, but could not come through with clutch plays. Long said it was a good matchup between UNM and Washington State, an improvement over UNM's past encounters with Pac-10 teams.
"It might be the first time we have played with a Pac-10 team even-steven, maybe even dominated them in several aspects the game," Long said.
Long said tackles will be key against Texas Tech. Linebacker Fola Fashola said he recognizes the extra pressure on the defense due to the Texas Tech passing game.
"It's more pressure on the defense, because the linebackers and the D-line have to put a lot of pressure on their offensive line to help out the secondary," Fashola said. "They're back there covering, and they can't cover all day, so the defensive line just has to apply that extra pressure."
As for the UNM offense, Long said the key is to not turn over the ball. Though quarterback Kole McKamey threw three interceptions last game, his teammates say they are confident in his abilities.
"He showed a tremendous amount of maturity admitting the mistakes he had made and the willingness to work on them," receiver Hank Baskett said. "I believe with all of my heart that Kole is going to be a great quarterback for our team."
Long said UNM will have to put a lot of points on the board. Just how many points depends on the Lobos' defensive performance.
"We're going to have to play decent defense and score in the 30s to win - and that is just the way it is," Long said. "We might have to score in the 50s if we don't play decent defense."
After last game's logjam, Lobo football is changing where students will enter University Stadium. The student entrance will return to Gate 6, on the north side of the stadium, and IDs will not be scanned.
