by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
EL PASO - On paper, the UNM football team went to UTEP and gave the Miners a beating.
Unfortunately, the Lobos couldn't take advantage of offensive opportunities and left El Paso on a somber note after a 10-6 loss Saturday.
"It's disappointing to come out to the first game and play as hard as we did and lose," UNM tailback Rodney Ferguson said. "It was a tough game, but UTEP got the better of us."
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Statistically, it was UNM that had the advantage in just about every facet - except for the
final score.
The Lobos racked up nearly twice as many offensive yards as the Miners - 383 to UTEP's 195. With 23 first downs, they had 11 more than UTEP was able to muster and did not turn the ball over the entire game.
Still, the offense was able to scrap together only six points. Despite making four trips to the red zone, UNM couldn't put one of those opportunities in the
end zone.
Ferguson said it was frustrating the Lobos were unable to convert a single touchdown. They will have to fix that soon, he said.
"I guess we just have to go back to practice and practice some red zone stuff," he said. "It's just a dagger in our heart every time we get down there and can't make it."
But as costly as the missed opportunities on offense were, so were the miscues in the kicking game.
Kicker John Sullivan was behind all of UNM's points but went 2-for-4 in field goal attempts Saturday.
He made field goals of 20 and 40 yards, but he missed a 32-yard attempt in the first quarter and saw a 37-yarder bounce off the goal post in the third quarter.
UNM head coach Rocky Long said mistakes on kickoffs and punts, along with the missed field goals, contributed to the team's struggles.
"I thought our kicking game was probably the downfall of our team," he said. "We lost field position in the first half because we don't kick the ball very well."
Sullivan is a senior, but this is his first year as starting kicker after standout Kenny Byrd departed for the NFL. Last season, Byrd was one of the most effective kickers in the Mountain West Conference, and the kicking game was one of the strengths of the team.
This season, Sullivan will be called upon to fill those shoes, and he certainly did not get off to the start he wanted.
Sullivan said the missed kicks were frustrating, but he had to get over them fast and remain confident.
"Just keep on believing," he said. "Go out. Practice. I know I can make a kick; I just got to believe and know I can do it. This week in practice, I'll just work on what went wrong and get ready for (NMSU)."
UNM's defense was the strongest unit Saturday. The Lobos disrupted the UTEP passing game, holding the Miners to eight completions on 25 attempts.
UNM cornerback DeAndre Wright swiped a third-quarter interception that led to Sullivan's 40-yard kick, giving the Lobos a 6-3 lead.
But even though the UNM defense looked stout for most of the game, it was one crack in the armor that led to the Miners' game-winning score.
With more than 13 minutes left and the Lobos clinging to a three-point lead, UTEP tailback Terrell Jackson sprung through a hole and raced 36 yards to the end zone to score the final points of the game.
Wright said one of the positives UNM can take from the loss is the play of the defense, although big plays like the one on Saturday have to be eliminated.
"We've got a long season ahead of us," he said. "They just wanted it more than we did, so that's why they made that big play and walked out with a win."
