by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
UNM head football coach Rocky Long will match his best season start if the Lobos beat Sacramento State on Saturday at University Stadium.
To do so, the Lobos need to avoid a letdown game against a championship subdivision team - something they failed to do last year in a 17-6 loss to Portland State.
Long said he hopes this year's team is experienced enough to keep its focus on the Hornets.
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"Obviously, I'm concerned about it," he said. "We have mentioned it to the team, but I would hope that this team is not like last year's team. Last year's team was very, very young. This year's team is a fairly mature football team."
After consecutive wins against NMSU and Arizona, UNM is off to a 2-1 start. The Lobos have started 3-1 once in Long's 10-year UNM coaching career. That was in 2005.
Sacramento State comes into University Stadium 0-2 after a 35-24 loss to Portland State last weekend. The Hornets are returning 13 starters from a team that went 4-7 in 2006.
And even though Sacramento State is a championship subdivision team from the Big Sky Conference, Long said he wants to make it clear that the Lobos are not overlooking the Hornets.
"We are not using it as an exhibition game," he said. "We're not going to rest any player. We're not going to save any players. We're not going to shorten our offense or shorten our defense. You're asking for disaster if you do any of that stuff."
After a season-opening 10-6 loss to UTEP, the Lobos have played solid in their last two games, particularly on offense. UNM scored 73 points in the two wins, behind a balanced offense.
Tailback Rodney Ferguson averaged 106 yards rushing against the Aggies and Wildcats.
Perhaps more impressive has been the play of UNM wide receivers Travis Brown and Marcus Smith, who combined for 519 receiving yards in the last two games.
Lobo tight end Chris Mark said defenses should have to pay more attention to Brown and Smith, which should leave more opportunities for him in the passing game.
"I think they're going to have to start keying on both of them, which is good because it might take the focus off me," he said. "And I'd be able to try to find the hole and catch a few
more balls."
While the offense has been stellar lately, the defense has struggled. In the win over the Aggies, UNM gave up 34 points and 581 offensive yards.
And even though they escaped Arizona with a 29-27 win, the Lobos allowed the Wildcats to give up 484 offensive yards.
UNM linebacker George Carter said the defense needs to make adjustments if it wants to have a successful season.
"I think fine-tuning some things, especially on the defensive side of the ball," he said. "I think we've played well enough to win, but I don't think we've played great yet. I think we have the potential to be a great
defense."
Long said the approach for Sacramento State's offense will be a little different than the spread offenses the Lobos
have played.
He said the Lobos need to perform in all facets of the game to come out with a home win on Saturday.
"I think, on defense, they're physical up front," he said. "They have good skill guys in the back end. On offense, they're a little bit different than what we've seen the last two weeks."
Football vs. Sacramento State
Saturday, 6 p.m.
University Stadium
Visit DailyLobo.com to hear our sports desk analyze
Saturday's game.
