When the UNM football team's defense is pitted against the Lobo offense, it is tough for there to be two winners.
But that was head coach Mike Locksley's goal in Saturday's scrimmage at the UNM Indoor Practice Facility.
"I want them to create turnovers on defense," Locksley said. "Offensively, I want us to take better care of the ball."
In the fall schedule, those two goals are mutually attainable, but on Saturday, the defense took the advantage.
The scrimmage began 60 minutes into the three-hour practice. It was broken up into three segments: third-down situations, red-zone stands and a scrimmage.
The offense's quarterbacks were a combined 38-for-69, for 380 yards and one touchdown, while the ground game produced 218 yards on 79 rushes and two touchdowns.
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"I thought defensively we flew around pretty well," Locksley said. "Offensively, we started off a little slow and didn't execute really well, but we finished on a high note when we got to our red-zone segment."
It was hard to tell whether the offense got a slow start because of the defense, or the defense got a fast start because of the slow offensive start.
The defense forced four interceptions, blocked a field goal and had 11 sacks. Two of those sacks came early from sophomore defensive end Jaymar Latchison.
"It's all about learning through intensity," he said. "As Lobos, it is tradition for us to be up-tempo and run around as headbangers. But at the same time, we have a whole new system to learn, so we want to balance out both of them."
Both sides of the ball are still in the installation stage, and the defense is excited about what it has done so far.
The Lobos primarily worked out their 4-3 scheme, something that has Latchison salivating.
"In the D-line, and as long as I have been here, we have been waiting for this four-front," he said. "On the edge, we have a lot more opportunities to get into the backfield a lot faster."
Latchison said that while the fundamentals of defense are easy to grasp - fill holes and get to the ball - the details can get complex.
Senior defensive end Kendall Briscoe, who had eight tackles including a sack, said it is important to keep up the intensity even while making mistakes.
"Every day, we put in and install something different, but the learning process doesn't hold you back," Briscoe said. "If you mess up, you have to mess up going 100 percent. If you mess up, you have to do it flying."
Compared to the four touchdowns the defense gave up in the first scrimmage, the Lobos gave up only three on Saturday.
Defensive coordinator Doug Mallory said that's a step in the right direction.
"The biggest (improvement) was that we didn't give up explosion plays," he said. "We didn't give up as many big plays as we did last Wednesday. That's what we are always talking about, getting a little better every time we come out here."
Mallory said that the 4-3 defense will not be the only front the team will run but that in the early stages of the year, it's hard to implement everything at once.
He wants to base his defense around the four-man front, but he said he also wants to use three linemen in pressure situations and third downs.
But having four men on the line will limit opponents' ability to run, Mallory said.
"I think just having four big butts in there, having four D-linemen - we certainly should be a lot better against the run game," he said.
