by Doug Alden
The Associated press
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah coach Kyle Whittingham felt like he was having flashbacks.
The Utes' 14-point lead Saturday against New Mexico had dwindled to four points, and Whittingham was vividly remembering what happened a year ago in Albuquerque.
The Utes led 24-3 last year and ended up losing to the Lobos 34-31. This time, Utah held on to the lead and beat the Lobos 28-10, forcing three critical turnovers in the second half and turning two of them into touchdowns.
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"When they came back at 14-10, things got a little tight there," a relieved Whittingham said after the Utes' seventh straight win.
Utah (8-3, 5-2) forced four turnovers, including a fumble by quarterback Donovan Porterie that Koa Misi returned 28 yards for a touchdown to seal it for the Utes.
The Lobos (7-4, 4-3) also dropped two punts in the second half and the Utes recovered both to help offset some of their own mistakes. Utah was 3-for-14 on third down conversions and turned the ball over twice, including a fumble at the New Mexico 5-yard line.
"They do so many things defensively, so we just had to keep working," said Utah's Brian Johnson, who fumbled and threw an interception. "We turned the ball over a few times and gave them short fields. But a win is a win, and we'll take it."
The Utes still have slim hopes for sharing the conference championship with rival Brigham Young. Utah would need to win the rivalry game next week in Provo and have the Cougars lose the following week at San Diego State.
Johnson completed 16 of 27 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Darrell Mack, who needed 5 yards to reach 1,000 for the season, had 24 carries for 77 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run that put the Utes up 7-0 early in the second quarter.
Receiver Jereme Brooks also had a touchdown pass, throwing it 7 yards after a reverse to Bradon Godfrey with 23 seconds left before halftime to give Utah a 14-0 lead.
The Lobos had won the last two in the series and four of the last five. New Mexico started to rally after DeAndre Wright returned an interception 42 yards to the 11 on the first series of the second half. Rodney Ferguson scored on fourth-and-goal from the 2, and John Sullivan added a 22-yard field goal later in the period.
But the Lobos self-destructed from there with three turnovers, two of which led to Utah touchdowns.
"The turnovers tonight were the momentum changers. Just as we got things going our way, we seemed to turn the ball over," New Mexico head coach Rocky Long said.
The Lobos fumbled twice on punt returns and turned it over again when Paul Kruger ran down quarterback Donovan Porterie from behind and knocked the ball loose, and Misi grabbed it.
"We felt like, at some point, we're going to have to be able to make a play," Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen said. "Koa picked it up and ran it for a touchdown that pretty much ended it."
Porterie was 18-for-41 for 198 yards. The Lobos' Ferguson ran 19 times for 51 yards and went 50 yards on the first play only to fumble it. The New Mexico defense kept that one from turning into any points, but there was little the Lobos could do late in the third after the first bungled punt return.
Louie Sakoda kicked a low punt that Ian Clark tried to catch on the run, but the ball bounced hard off his chest and Utah recovered at the 39-yard line. The Utes got another 15 yards on a personal foul and started a short drive at the New Mexico 24. Johnson threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Derrek Richards that put Utah up 21-10 with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Lobos did it again early in the fourth when Wright didn't make the catch near his own 10-yard line, and the Utes recovered at the 5.
But the Lobos got it right back when Johnson fumbled on first down. Clark, who had dropped the first punt, caused the fumble as Johnson tried a run up the middle.
