by David J. Chavez
Daily Lobo
The UNM football team is searching for its first conference win heading into the school's 82nd homecoming game against Wyoming on Saturday.
The Lobos have won six of the last seven homecoming games and 10 of 13 since 1993.
UNM head coach Rocky Long said homecoming means a lot, but winning is the main source of motivation this week.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"I think homecoming is fun for everybody, and a lot of people come back and watch their team play, which puts a little more excitement into it for our players," Long said. "But we're struggling right now in making just enough mistakes not to win, so I think the real incentive is two teams struggling to get a victory."
Both teams are coming off a loss last week. The 2-3 Lobos fell to Air Force, 24-7, and the 1-4 Cowboys crumbled in double overtime for a 40-34 loss to Syracuse.
The Cowboys also started conference play by losing to the Falcons 31-24 on Sept. 23 in
Laramie, Wyo.
The erratic UNM offense is struggling, with an average of 305.6 yards a game. It will face a Wyoming defense that has allowed an average of 244.6 yards per game and is ranked 12th nationally.
UNM tight end John Mulchrone said the offense needs to score to go along with the defense's
strong play.
"Our defense is playing lights out," Mulchrone said. "We just got to get their backs. We haven't been holding up our end of the bargain the last couple weeks, so this week we need to get our stuff together and put up some points against that tough Wyoming defense."
Second-half scoring will be crucial in this game for UNM. The Lobos have scored just 27 points after halftime in the last five games. In comparison, Wyoming has scored 72 of its 118 points in the second half this season.
The UNM defense started the season by giving up an average of 387 yards in the first three games. In the last two games, the Lobos have given up a total of 522 yards, holding UTEP and Air Force to their lowest offensive totals of the season.
Lobo Jake Bowe said the defense can continue to improve its play by handling its responsibilities.
"We need to play solid assignment football and make sure we start out every play with giving ourselves a chance," Bowe said. "We just need to put ourselves in a position to make a play
every time."
The Lobo defense is tied with Colorado State for the conference lead in sacks, with 13.
It could be a long, painful night for both teams' quarterbacks if their offensive lines don't do a better job of protecting. In the first five games, UNM's quarterbacks have been sacked 23 times and Wyoming's have gone down 19.
The Cowboys are expected to start redshirt freshman Karsten Sween at quarterback. He came off the bench in the second half of last week's game against Syracuse to complete 19-of-27 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns.
Long said the Lobos could have problems with Sween if he continues to play the way he did
last week.
"It's a little difficult to prepare for because you haven't seen much of him, but I watched him against Syracuse, and he looked very confident," Long said. "He threw the ball very accurately, so he had a real hot hand in the half that he played."
Football vs. Wyoming
6 p.m.
University Stadium
