Through thick and thin — and mostly thin — the Lobo football team has been able to count on one thing: the running game.
From Don Perkins to Don Woods, from Winslow Oliver to Rodney Ferguson, almost every era of UNM football has had a marquee back to carry the team.
So, when this year’s Lobo squad averages 38 yards on the ground and a dismal 1.6 yards per carry over its first two games, there’s some cause for concern among the UNM faithful.
Even head coach Mike Locksley, who perhaps got spoiled by the dominant Rashard Mendenhall during his tenure at Illinois, is struggling to find a remedy.
“With this same style of offense (at Florida and Illinois) we led the SEC and the Big 10 in rushing,” Locksley said. “How do we get it back on track? Obviously, we’ve got to block better up front and make sure when we have opportunities, our running backs are hitting the point of attack.”
True freshman Demond Dennis was recruited to “manufacture (the) big plays,” Locksley mentioned at the news conference after Saturday’s game. After Ferguson and Paul Baker graduated last year, the 5-foot-9-inch running back turned down big-name schools like Georgia so he could play a major role in the Lobo offense.
Problem is, he’s only averaging 2.4 yards per carry, and his longest rush was an 11-yard scamper against Texas A&M last week.
Of course, the nonexistent running attack is a drop in the ocean of the Lobos’ failings — costly turnovers, unreliable passing, reliable three-and-outs — but let’s just focus on the rushing game. Is all lost if UNM can’t get it together on the ground?
Not necessarily.
Legendary Lobo back DonTrell Moore had a sluggish start to his freshman campaign, notching zero yards in his first two games. He then went on to score 13 touchdowns that season, averaging 111 yards in the final 10 games and helping the Lobos clinch their second bowl bid in 41 years. Moore ran for 1,117 yards that year, setting the UNM freshman rushing record.
Similar story for Ferguson: The recently-cut running back had a quiet freshman season backing up Moore, and when he returned from injury in 2006, his first few games found him and a sluggish Lobo offense struggling for wins. Then came his 162-yard explosion against UTEP in week 4, after which he never looked back.
Ferguson chipped in 1,234 yards that year, enough to lead the Mountain West Conference, and he finished his career in Albuquerque third on the UNM all-time rushing list.
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But not all of history falls on the Lobos’ side.
With Saturday’s loss, Locksley becomes just the fourth first-year UNM coach to lose his home opener. And his losing brethren don’t make for good company: Rudy Feldman and Mike Sheppard went on to lose every game of their first seasons.
But the past, of course, doesn’t dictate the future. Locksley’s not doomed to a failed season. However, by that same token, Dennis and the Lobos’ running attack aren’t fated to turn it all around.
Instead, the Lobos have another disappointment under their belts, and, on Saturday against Air Force, another chance to prove that Locksley’s remodeling job won’t dig up the foundation.
UNM vs. Air Force
Saturday
5:30 p.m.
University Stadium
