New Mexico finally has a chance to change the way it’s perceived.
For years, ever since the Rocky Long era, the Lobos have been seen as underdogs by their competition. That will likely remain true this year, with only five games left in the season, but UNM has a chance to change that with a win or two.
UNM (4-3, 2-1 Mountain West) will start that stretch of games with a visit to San Jose, California to play San Jose State this Saturday. The Lobos are a 7.5-point underdog after a thrilling 28-27 win over Hawaii.
“The reality is we’re going to be the underdog the next five games, starting this week,” Head Coach Bob Davie said. “We’re also in a position that we can hopefully change that. We’ve got an opportunity, and that’s how we look at it. It’s kind of exciting to just be in it right now.”
The Spartans (3-4, 2-2 MW) have had an up-and-down year thus far. SJSU has alternated wins and losses the past four games and is coming off a 30-7 thrashing by San Diego State. The Aztecs gave up just 148 total yards of offense to SJSU.
That little offensive production is not the norm for the Spartans, as they average around 400 yards of total offense per game. The key to SJSU’s offense is running back Tyler Ervin, who averages 204.6 all-purpose yards per game. Ervin also ranks 12th in the nation in rushing yards per game, with an average of 128 yards.
UNM’s rushing defense has been better than years past, but it still allows plenty of yards, giving up nearly 200 rushing yards a game.
“They’ve got a great running back and a solid line. They like to come out and do a lot of formations at first, then they’ll start settling in after that,” linebacker Dakota Cox said. “We need to shut down their run game and their running back. He looks kind of like (Lobo running back) Teriyon Gipson: He wears number seven and is kind of a quick, shifty guy like that.”
More so than UNM, SJSU has shifted between its quarterbacks throughout the season. Both Kenny Potter and Joe Gray have played five games this year and have thrown almost the same number of passes.
Potter is the starter, but he hasn’t been quite as effective as Gray, who has a better completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception rate and more passing yards.
“They play both guys and both are pretty consistent,” Cox said. “Both are kind of the same players — same kind of completion percentage too.”
The one shocking stat about SJSU’s defense is that it ranks No. 1 in the country in passing defense (121 yards per game). Only UNLV has thrown for more than 200 yards passing against the Spartans.
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“They’re real good. They’re a real solid defense,” quarterback Lamar Jordan said. “They’re not going to let big, explosive plays happen to them. It’s going to be a tough battle.”
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
