by David J. Chavez
Daily Lobo
The UNM football team ended its five-game home losing streak with superb performances on both sides of the ball against UTEP with a 26-13 win Saturday.
UNM took the ball and the momentum away from UTEP on the first drive of the game. Sophomore Herbert Felder sacked Miner quarterback Jordan Palmer, causing a fumble.
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It was recovered by junior Major Mosley on UTEP's 21-yard line.
Head coach Rocky Long said he was impressed with the team's execution at the start of the game.
"I thought it was big to cause the turnover, first of all," Long said. "Then the offense being able to take it in and put it in the end zone when we've been having trouble scoring gives a team confidence."
Tailback Rodney Ferguson then stepped onto the field and handled the rest.
He ran the ball three times in a row to move the Lobos close to the end zone, before catching an eight-yard touchdown pass from Chris Nelson.
The defense played tough throughout the game, causing Palmer to hurry his throws and settle for short yardage completions.
Palmer, who holds close to every UTEP passing record, completed 26-of-37 passes for 211 yards, but the Lobos' blitzing defense was too much for him to handle. He failed to produce enough big drives to win the game.
Junior Tyler Donaldson said the defense is uniting as it heads into conference play.
"We're starting to play more as a team, and that's huge before conference play," Donaldson said. "The red-zone defense was good. We had a turnover, and there was several times when we held them to a field goal or stopped them completely."
The Lobos also scored on their second possession when Nelson hit Marcus Smith for an 18-yard touchdown. It put the Lobos up 14-0.
The Lobos scored the first 19 points of the game, adding a safety when Donaldson sacked Palmer in the end zone and a field goal when Kenny Byrd drilled a 35-yarder.
Nelson said the offense flourished on the field in Saturday's game because of teamwork.
"We would run it, and that would set up the pass, and we would pass it a couple of times and then go back to running it and just feed off of each other," Nelson said. "Before the game, we talked about the offensive line's nickname, the 'Hitmen,' and I told them we have to bring that back."
Nelson got the first rushing touchdown of the season for the Lobos with a one-yard run to start the second half. It put the Lobos in command, 26-3.
The Miners put up a fight in the third quarter with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to Daniel Robinson. The pass brought the score to 26-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Miners then put together their last points of the game at the beginning of the fourth with a 49-yard field goal by Reagan Schneider.
Lobo Quincy Black said the team effectively executed the coaches' schemes in the game.
"We put a whole game together with great game planning," Black said. "We said were going to do certain things in the game, and we stuck to our guns."
Football vs. Air Force
Saturday, noon
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Televised on the Mountain
