LUBBOCK, Texas — At the beginning of the third quarter, the clouds huddled over Jones AT&T Stadium finally opened up.
And as the rain came down, Texas Tech started to pour the points on the UNM football team.
Tech drowned the Lobos 48-28. Backup quarterback Steven Sheffield replaced nation-leading passer Taylor Potts — who was injured after getting sacked — with 56 seconds left in the second quarter and guided the Red Raiders to 28 unanswered points, 21 of which came in a span of about eight minutes in the third quarter.
Lobos’ head coach Mike Locksley said UNM’s close to getting a win.
“I see brighter days for us as a program, and I see them coming soon,” he said. “I don’t believe in moral victories, and I don’t believe in close victories. It’s winning and losing, and we lost today.”
With Tech up, 42-28, the Red Raiders recovered another UNM onside kick with 42 seconds left in the game. Wide receiver Alex Torres scooped up the ball, slipped behind the Lobo kickoff coverage team and returned the kick to the UNM 12-yard line.
Harrison Jeffers scored two plays later from the 2-yard line as time expired in the fourth quarter, leading to the final score, 48-28.
Locksley said he didn’t think Tech’s head coach Mike Leach showed poor sportsmanship by scoring when the game was already decided.
“Mike has a lot of respect for the Lobos and the fight they have,” Locksley said. “They scored a touchdown with two seconds left and, in my opinion, they have a lot of respect for us.”
Before Sheffield took over, Potts faced a relentless Lobo pass rush which forced him into throwing two interceptions to UNM cornerback Nathan Enriquez.
“We tried to throw them off and not allow them to get comfortable,” Enriquez said. “We are looking to get turnovers and get our offense on the field to score some points.”
Enriquez and the Lobo defense forced five turnovers and recovered one onside kick, but it still wasn’t enough for UNM to earn its first win of the year.
Quarterback Donovan Porterie completed 30 passes for 316 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. It was Porterie’s first 300-yard passing game since the 2007 New Mexico Bowl, when he threw for over 350 yards.
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“I think that we proved that we can move the ball and sustain drives within this game,” Porterie said. “The next step for us is coming out and starting a little bit faster. In these first few games, we have come out in the first quarter and had a tie or had a lead. We still have to learn to put our (opponents) away.”
Running back A.J. Butler became the first UNM freshman since Dontrell Moore in 2002 to rush for over 100 yards in a game.
Butler praised the offensive line for opening holes and allowing him to gain 103 yards and score a touchdown. Butler also had nine catches for 39 yards.
“I felt pretty good about this game,” he said. “But I have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line. They worked their butts off for this game.”
Locksley said UNM’s performance against Tech proves the Lobos are starting to gel.
“I was really pleased offensively that we finally made a few plays and adjustments,” Locksley said. “We had some in-game adjustments that we were finally able to make, which, to me, shows a team that is maturing.”
