by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
The UNM football team went into Saturday's game needing a win to improve its bowl hopes.
Thanks to a strong defense and a few big plays on offense, the Lobos boosted their bowl resume with a 27-6 win.
UNM improved to 8-4 and 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference, marking the ninth time in Lobo history a squad has reached eight wins in a season.
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"This is a big-time win," quarterback Donovan Porterie said. "We went down in history as one of the best teams in the history of the school. Some key people stepped up and
played well."
The Lobos would probably be in the New Mexico Bowl if they didn't play in it last season. There is a clause in the New Mexico Bowl contract that states the Lobos can play in it only once every three years. It's possible this is negotiable, and the athletic directors will have a conference call on Monday to discuss the bowl.
Even though the Lobos won eight games, head coach Rocky Long has been skeptical of their bowl possibilities the whole year.
"I said back when we had a chance to go 9-3 that there is a chance we won't go to a bowl game," Long said. "Hopefully, someday this program will be able to pick and choose what bowl game we go to. We're not at that point right now, but we would be very happy to go to any bowl game."
Senior kicker John Sullivan got the Lobos off on the right foot, giving them their first lead with a 45-yard field goal.
UNLV answered with back-to-back field goals to take a 6-3 lead.
The Lobos' started to turn things around when Porterie hit wide receiver Marcus Smith on a screen. Smith broke away from a pack of defenders and sprinted 63 yards to the end zone. He finished the game with eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.
On UNM's next drive, junior tailback Rodney Ferguson handed the ball off to receiver Travis Brown for a reverse, and Brown swept around the defense for a 26-yard touchdown to make the
score 17-6.
On the third-quarter kickoff, Smith broke away with an 82-yard kick return. Ferguson then ran the ball in for his 13th rushing touchdown of the season to give the Lobos a 24-6 lead. Finally, Sullivan kicked a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to make the final score 27-6.
Ferguson said this year has been a roller-coaster ride for the players.
"It was a rocky season for us," he said. "We've had a lot of ups and downs. We've had more ups than downs, but the downs have hurt us more. But that just shows the character on the team."
Long said this year's team was impressive because of the unity it showed.
"This is the best chemistry we've had on a team," Long said. "This isn't even close to our best team talent-wise. But this is the best team we've had in 10 years. They play for each other, and there's no egos."
