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New Mexico redshirt sophomore quarterback Lamar Jordan throws a pass against ASU on Friday, Sept. 18, 2015, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Lobos 34-10. (Reilly Kneedler/The State Press)
New Mexico redshirt sophomore quarterback Lamar Jordan throws a pass against ASU on Friday, Sept. 18, 2015, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Lobos 34-10. (Reilly Kneedler/The State Press)

Football: Lobo offense struggles to get off the ground in 34-10 loss to ASU

There wasn’t much of a rhythm to New Mexico’s offense at Arizona State on Friday.

The issue was at a key position: quarterback. UNM’s Lamar Jordan and Austin Apodaca both struggled, resulting in a 34-10 loss to the Sun Devils in Tempe, Arizona.

Jordan, who started the game, went just 4-11 for 22 yards. Apodaca did slightly better, going 8-18 with 89 yards and an interception. Both quarterbacks took the same number of snaps, leading the Lobos to just 295 yards of total offense.

“We’re not getting real consistent play with our quarterback,” head coach Bob Davie told the media in Tempe after the game. “We’re hit-and-miss with our quarterbacks.”

Up until Friday Jordan had taken most of the snaps under center. Apodaca had been used sparingly in the previous two games, and was erratic when he did play.

Neither quarterback distinguished himself against ASU (2-1). Jordan had a difficulties throwing on time and finding his receivers. Apodaca forced several throws, including an interception in the end zone.

“We felt like we were preparing for the rest of the season,” Davie said. “In some ways the nonconference season and the exhibition season is over. We planned on playing both of those quarterbacks through the week.”

UNM’s defense held its own for a majority of the game against ASU, but one critical mistake allowed the Sun Devils to take control.

On third-and-10 from the Sun Devils’ 7-yard line, UNM (1-2) blew the coverage on a wheel-route, giving up a 93-yard touchdown from quarterback Mike Bercovici to running back Demario Richard for a 31-10 ASU lead.

“That comes with the game,” cornerback Donnie Duncan said. “There’s going to be adversity, and you’re just going to have keep fighting and going along.”

Bercovici had his way with the Lobo defense. After a sluggish start, he finished 22-37 for 317 yards and three scores. He also ran eight times for 15 yards and a score.

Richard rushed for 104 yards on 15 attempts and caught four balls for two touchdowns. ASU finished with 449 yards of total offense, but had a slow start to the game.

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“I felt that the defense competed hard. I didn’t feel like they could just run the ball on us at will,” Davie said. “The couple runs that they did have, we had a couple of little busts in there. I was pleased. I thought from an effort standpoint we matched their physicality. I thought that we played a lot better than last week.”

Running back Tyrone Owens had the only touchdown for UNM, a 72-yard run up the middle that cut ASU’s lead to 17-7. Jhurell Pressley had a team-high 17 carries for just 56 yards. UNM finished with just 184 rushing yards on 47 attempts for a 3.9 yard-per-carry average.

“I’ve got to give them a lot of credit: their defensive game plan was outstanding,” Davie said. “They gave us a lot of edge pressure that forced us to hand the ball up in there. They did a really good job defensively.”

Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.

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