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During his first weekly press conference of the 2012 season, UNM head football coach Bob Davie shared the story of his final game as head coach for Notre Dame.
It was Dec. 1, 2001, a game rescheduled due to 9/11. Despite tallying 161 total yards, Davie’s Irish squad captured a 24-18 victory over a Kyle Orton-quarterbacked Purdue Boilermakers.
The win concluded Notre Dame’s campaign at 5-6, the eighth losing season in the Irish’s storied history. After the game, someone from the stands tossed a whiskey bottle that flew over Davie’s head and landed on the field.
“I’m still trying to figure out if it was a Notre Dame fan or a Purdue fan,” joked Davie, who was let go by Notre Dame the following day due to his team’s poor performance over the course of his five-season tenure.
It’s been a long time, but Davie has found his way back to the gridiron.
Saturday will mark Davie’s return to coaching when he leads the UNM football team in its 2012 season opener against Southern University, a Football Championship Subdivision opponent from Louisiana.
After his time at Notre Dame, Davie moved to the broadcast booth for ESPN, an experience he said benefited him. He said he takes a lot of pride in preparing a team for an upcoming game. He also gained an appreciation for the path along the way.
“I don’t worry so much about the results as maybe I did when I first did this as a head coach, and maybe that sounds funny,” he said. “It’s (about) enjoying the process. It’s going to be a long journey. I know we can fix whatever problems we have.”
Prior to hiring Davie, the Lobos struggled under former head coach Mike Locksley. UNM won just two games with Locksley at the helm, one each in 2009 and 2010. Locksley was fired after an 0-4 start in 2011, and the Lobos finished the year with just one victory.
“It’s always tough with a whole new coaching staff. That’s always tough,” senior quarterback B.R. Holbrook said. “Learning new terminology, new schemes, it’s always tough. I think this offense really fits this team, and I think a lot of guys really buy into this and really like this offense.”
So far, two players — Devonta Tabannah and David Vega — have been suspended from the team this week following arrests. An issue also arose during UNM’s camp in Ruidoso on Aug. 11, where Vega, Zoey Williams and Tim Foley were suspended for violation of team rules.
Vega and Foley were reinstated on Aug. 20.
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That wasn’t the end of player discipline, as defensive linemen Rod Davis and Fatu Ulale were suspended on Wednesday by the NCAA for “impermissible benefit violations.” Davis is ineligible for the first two games, while Ulale is gone for the first four.
The issue of players getting into trouble is not exclusive to UNM, Davie said. In fact, the coach feels the team hasn’t had many incidents and that these kinds of issues can’t be completely eradicated.
“All I can control is what we do as soon as we find out.” Davie said. “It’s something I’ve always been proud of. I’ve tried to be fair. I try to do everything as if I were a father. The moment I know, I will address it, and I will address it in front of our entire team.”
Another part of the team’s new foundation is the recognition of the New Mexico Man, a new weekly award. The recipient will lead the Lobos onto the field for each home game carrying the New Mexico flag. The selection of each New Mexico Man will be based on a player’s dedication, work ethic, team spirit and unselfishness.
Sophomore walk-on and Rio Rancho native Jeric Magnant is the first New Mexico Man. He received a scholarship for fall semester for displaying those award-winning attributes.
“I feel really honored,” Magnant said in an Aug. 24 story in the Daily Lobo. “I grew up here in New Mexico; I’ve lived here almost my whole life. Another reason I feel honored is because of coach Davie, he just brings a lot of respect to the program himself.
Everybody I know respects him and I respect him a lot. It sounds like a great tradition to me, something that I’d like to keep going here.”
There’s also the new artificial turf — dubbed Branch Field — recently installed at University Stadium. With its bright Cherry and Silver end zones and Lobos logo at the 50-yard line, it’s an inspiring sight, Davie said.
“It’s amazing — you guys have been around here a long time, I’m new — but just to sit in my office and look at this stadium now, how different it looks with that new artificial surface in there, and just the reaction our players had when we got back from Ruidoso to see what that field looks like now,” he said.
With Davie in charge, it’s a new beginning for UNM football. A team has just one chance to start a season with a win, and that chance comes Saturday.
“If you don’t like the results of the way it’s gone, you’ve got a chance now to change it,” Davie said. “I hope our players realize we have a chance to be 1-0 for the first time in seven years. I hope they’re focused on the target. We have no excuses, so let’s go out there and go play.”
