It’s not often that teams take group pictures after a win. However, New Mexico hasn’t had many victories like the one Saturday night in Boise, Idaho.
UNM pulled one of the biggest upsets in program history by defeating heavily favored Boise State 31-24. The victory means the Lobos are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2007.
Boise State almost sent the game into overtime when wide receiver Austin Cottrell took a lateral down to UNM’s 4-yard line; but safety Markel Byrd made a nice tackle in the open field to bring down Cottrell and seal the Lobos’ victory.
UNM (6-4, 4-2 Mountain West) snapped Boise State’s 18-game home winning streak and gave the Broncos just their fourth home loss since 2001.
“The atmosphere in the locker room at halftime was just so excited and energetic,” head coach Bob Davie said in a transcript provided by Boise State. The Lobos led 14-3 at the time. “I told the guys to calm down; and in the fourth quarter you could tell we hadn’t been there before. But with that said, this team’s aggressiveness, resiliency and toughness — I think we turned a corner here tonight.”
Almost every single statistical category favored the Broncos (7-3, 5-2 MW) except one: turnovers. UNM forced four turnovers (three interceptions and one fumble) on the night, two of which happened in the red zone.
The Broncos had a tough time in the red zone and on fourth downs. Boise State scored on just two of its six chances inside the 20-yard line and went two-of-five on fourth downs. Beside the turnovers in the red zone, kicker Tyler Rausa missed a 22-yard field goal early in the first quarter.
“We had some rough spots (as an offense), but the defense causing turnovers, getting a lot of stops on fourth downs, just big plays that the defense made was just huge on their part,” quarterback Austin Apodaca said in the transcript. “Big credit to the defense, because they definitely kept us in the game and helped us keep our heads up and going a little bit.”
Once again, UNM made several big plays on offense to stay in the game. The first explosive play came in the first quarter, when running back Jhurell Pressley broke a couple of tackles and snaked his way across the field for a 74-yard touchdown run.
The Lobos’ next huge gain couldn’t have come at a better time. After the Broncos tied the game at 17, Apodaca hit Delane Hart-Johnson down the middle of the field for an 81-yard completion. Running back Richard McQuarley scored on the ensuing play, a 1-yard score that gave UNM a 24-17 lead.
Apodaca cost UNM points earlier in the game with an interception and a fumble deep in Boise State territory. He said he just needed to regroup after those mistakes.
“I just had to pick myself up, I couldn’t sulk in it,” Apodaca said. “I just had to pick my head up like I said and go to the next play. And we had some good plays, and we finished it out today.”
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Boise State had a huge advantage in offensive plays with a 114-52 edge over UNM. The Broncos drove inside UNM’s 30-yard line three times after going down two scores, finally scoring on a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brett Rypien to Jake Roh with 2:26 left.
Rypien had a career day by completing 41 of 75 passes for 506 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Thomas Sperbeck set a school record with 20 catches for 281 yards. Jeremy McNichols rushed for 143 yards on 26 attempts and a score.
Overall, UNM finished with 413 total yards of offense, with 195 yards of those yards coming on the ground. The Lobos finished with 218 passing yards, which is the most UNM has had in a game since 2012.
Pressley finished with 139 yards on nine carries; Apodaca went 8 of 12 for 172 yards. Quarterback Lamar Jordan had a 19-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but didn’t play in the second half due to an injury.
With the win, UNM is now two victories away from earning a berth into the Mountain West Championship game. The Lobos have two home games left against Colorado State and Air Force.
“We knew we’ve had an opportunity to go to a bowl game,” Davie said. “We said that publicly a lot because we really believed that. I don’t know if anybody thought we would be sitting here after Utah State and Boise State 2-0 and controlling our destiny with two games left at home.”
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
