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Bye week, anybody? Not for UNM.
The Lobos have a grueling stretch of 13 consecutive games for their 2012 campaign, and they’re only three-quarters through. Four games remain on the schedule: two road dates at UNLV and at Colorado State sandwich a two-game home stand against Wyoming and Nevada.
And UNM is banged up, especially among its signal-callers. The top two quarterbacks on UNM’s depth chart, senior B.R. Holbrook (shoulder) and true freshman Cole Gautsche (neck), were sidelined during Saturday’s 49-32 loss to MWC foe Fresno State.
As of Sunday, the status of Holbrook and Gautsche is uncertain.
Thirteen straight weeks is a long time in football terms. The NCAA limits Football Bowl Subdivision teams to 12 games during the season, and teams will take a week off during that stretch in order to heal nagging injuries.
One exception to that rule: road trips to Hawaii. Since UNM had an Oct. 13 road contest at Hawaii, it added another home date to its schedule to recoup travel costs. UNLV also plays 13 games this season because of a road date with the Warriors.
“We have four games left. We have a lot of adversity right now,” UNM head coach Bob Davie said. “We have to find a way to win. That’s all it is, whatever it is.”
So bye weeks are a welcome addition to the schedule, right? UNM senior linebacker Joe Stoner and junior running back Kasey Carrier don’t think so.
“He (Stoner) is in the ice bath with me every day after practice. That’s the way to keep your body fresh,” Carrier said. “Like him, I don’t like bye weeks because it gets you out of the groove.”
Players can end up dwelling on the previous results during that week off, Stoner said. Skipping a bye week puts added importance on treatment: taking ice baths, maintaining a strength-training regimen and using foam rollers in order to keep muscles fresh.
“You just keep going. You don’t have time to think about the last win or the last loss,” Stoner said. “You’ve got to keep going and keep chugging. That’s what I like about not having a bye week.”
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With a 4-5 record on the season, the Lobos can still reach a bowl-eligible .500 record, but they must win three of their next four contests to do so. UNM faces an uphill climb the rest of the season if Holbrook and Gautsche remain out, regardless of whether the team has a week off.
The Lobos looked like a different team after Holbrook and Gautsche left Saturday’s game.
The Lobos’ rushing attack, which has evolved into one of the nation’s best, was contained in the second half, allowing Fresno State to rally from a 21-point deficit. UNM had 11 rushing yards and one first down in the third quarter, keeping the Lobo defense on the field to contend with an effective Bulldog offense of short screen passes and agile receivers.
Sophomore Quinton McCown is the third-string quarterback behind Holbrook and Gautsche. Davie said he appreciates the effort McCown brings, and said it was good for the quarterback, but admitted McCown isn’t ready for this stage.
Stoner said the defense could have done more to help the struggling offense.
“We let the offense down,” he said. “Quinton’s young. Yes, I understand this is D-I football, but he’s still young in the system. We have to be his backbone when we lose B.R. and we lose Cole. We have to step up and make more plays, get more turnovers.”
Davie said he’s not disappointed or discouraged by Saturday’s outcome, continuing his season-long theme that the team is a work in progress building toward the future. While the Lobos have made strides thus far, Davie said they still have a ways to go.
“Things are going to take time,” he said. “I knew we would be in this situation at different periods throughout the year. I’m honestly surprised we haven’t been in this situation a little bit more, but I love this team.”
