by David J. Chavez
Daily Lobo
The UNM football team returned to its old ways on Saturday by pounding the ball down the field with rushes to put it in scoring position.
Sophomore tailback Rodney Ferguson solidified himself as the Lobos' No. 1 tailback going into conference play, after a career-high 162 yards in Saturday's 26-13 victory over UTEP.
Ferguson said he reached his goal of becoming the main tailback for the 2006 season.
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"I feel good. That's what I set out to do, so I'm pretty happy that's what happened," Ferguson said. "But if the coaches want to give half and half, I'm ready to do that, too, but I'm just happy that I set out for something, and I got it."
On the Lobos' first possession of the game, quarterback Chris Nelson hit Ferguson with an eight-yard touchdown pass. Ferguson shook off an awaiting defender at the goal line and strutted into the end zone.
Wide receiver Marcus Smith said he was impressed with Ferguson's performance and offensive coordinator Bob Toledo's play calling.
"We ran the ball very well this game, and we didn't run the ball well in the first three games," Smith said. "Now we came out and ran the ball for 168 yards, and Rodney has a career game, so I think coach Toledo made the perfect play calls for this game."
Ferguson was used as the workhorse in Saturday's game with 34 rush attempts. His longest run was 21 yards, and he averaged 4.8 yards a carry. He also caught three passes for five yards and a touchdown.
Ferguson said he's not used to catching the ball, but it has to be done.
"They throw us the ball a little bit, so we have to have hands," Ferguson said. "But we don't normally get it, so you just got to make that catch when it comes to you."
The offensive line performed modestly in certain areas and excelled in others. It still gave up five sacks for a loss of 27 yards but opened up holes and blocked well for Ferguson.
Ferguson said the team came together and protected the quarterback better this game.
Head coach Rocky Long said the offensive line made all the difference in Saturday's game. It allowed the running backs to gain yards even when UTEP stacked nine or 10 players on the line, he said.
"Rodney ran the ball well. I thought the offensive line really blocked well," Long said. "I haven't seen a good running back yet that has a good day without the big boys blocking for him up front."
The Lobos start their conference play against Air Force on Saturday. UNM is No. 7 in rushing in the Mountain West Conference with 400 total yards. Air Force is No. 1 in rushing in the conference with 608 yards.
Ferguson said he is confident about the Lobos' running game going into conference play.
"I feel good going into Air Force," Ferguson said. "They should have the best rushing offense in this conference, so I'm ready to go and show them what we can do."
Ferguson said the Lobos played like a family Saturday. He said it was the way they should have played all season.
"The offensive line, the quarterbacks, the running backs, the whole team came together and worked toward the common goal, which is a win," Ferguson said. "We had to do this every game, but I'm glad that this is the game that we finally did it."
Tanner Adams / Daily Lobo
UNM's Deandre Wright is face-masked by UTEP's Da'mon Cromartie-Smith on a 49-yard kick return during the first half of the Lobos' 26-13 win at University Stadium on Saturday.
