Standing before them is a divided congregation: There are the believers and the athletic agnostics.
Faith, though, is inextricably binding and blinding. Bound by a uniform goal, but blinded by its improbability, the UNM football team is set to embark on another season under the direction of second-year head coach Mike Locksley.
Without everyone aboard the Conestoga bandwagon, the Lobos journey down the Oregon Trail to adrenaline-crazed Autzen Stadium as 34-point underdogs — Locksley’s mission to convert a host of doubting Thomases.
However reasonable a goal that is, well, that’s for the Lobos to decide.
The objective truth remains that season ticket sales have slid, down from 13,698 last year to 11,490 as of Thursday. In Oregon, the Lobos face an inexorable offensive force.
A quick glance at the schedule proves sobering, coupled with the fact that, dating back to 2002, 23 teams have won one or less game a season. Of those 23 teams, six won just one more game the next season. Half as many teams (3) won six more games, and only Tulsa in 2003 and UCF in 2005 won seven or more games the next season, after going 1-11 and 0-11, respectively, the year before.
In the absence of all the empirical, Locksley was asked what an ideal season-opener would be for the Lobos.
“A game that’s winnable,” Locksley said.
By definition, all games are winnable. Doesn’t mean the Lobos will win any.
It’s worth remembering that the season begins, but does not end, with the Ducks. Yet it’s not far-fetched to think that in order to breed faith, fans will want to see measurable progress come Saturday. In last year’s season-opener, the Lobos fell to Texas A&M 41-6.
That, unfortunately, might just have been part of the growing process. I cannot, in good faith, neglect Locksley’s graduated scale.
Marked year-to-year improvements, Locksley said, can be gauged by looking at an opponent’s margin of victory. On teams he has been a part of in Year 1, they usually lost big. By the following season, the gap was narrowed significantly. And by Year 3 and Year 4, those teams went from just winning games to blowing opponents out.
But not everyone is as patient as Locksley.
Wide receiver Chris Hernandez said there is no column for moral victories — only wins and losses.
“If we don’t go to a bowl this season, or if we don’t have a winning season, I view that as a failure,” Hernandez said. “That’s just personally. I can’t speak for everybody. I really expect a lot from this team. For us not to make the giant strides that we expect, I think would be a failure.”
Defensive end Jaymar Latchison wasn’t as much of an absolutist. “Everybody talks about what happened last year, and everybody talks about how good they are, so, really, we’re in a no-pressure situation,” he said.
Speak for yourself, Jaymar.
Might I add, respectfully, that Locksley, according to Sports Illustrated, is the national coach on the hot seat. Not only that, but the Lobos are, “All In,” according to their motto. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t that mean the Lobos either double up or walk away from the table empty-handed? So, then, there’s a lot on the line.
Not that it bothers Latchison.
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“Somebody’s coming at me saying, ‘Oh, you got Oregon.’ No, Oregon has us,” Latchison said at a Lobo spring practice. “You better get it straight. It’s not like we’re going to be some pushovers.”
Not being pushovers, like they were last year, will fill the pews at University Stadium, as will doing the “things that lead to winning — how our players prepare, how they execute in practice, the effort they give in practice and in games and then the discipline it takes to win,” Locksley said.
Suffice it to say, if Locksley can unite Lobo parishioners, this year’s season will be a success.
