New Mexico had enough effort and resilience to mount a comeback against Arizona.
However, the Lobos rally attempt fell short because of too many big plays, costly penalties and turnovers that came at inopportune times. The result was a 45-37 loss to the Wildcats in the 10th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Saturday at University Stadium.
Head coach Bob Davie said despite the loss, it was key for UNM (7-6) to be back in the postseason. It was the first time the Lobos participated in a bowl game since 2007.
“It’s encouraging just in the big picture part of it,” he said. “The no back down of our team and the performance level of our team. We lose the game, but I think the best is still ahead but we need to get better.”
Throughout the season, UNM’s defense relied on its pressure to cause turnovers and stop opposing offenses. The Lobos were able to bring plenty of pressure against the Wildcats, but failed to capitalize when they got to quarterback Anu Solomon.
Solomon made several big throws downfield – including a 78-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cayleb Jones in the first quarter– and was able to elude the Lobos for 329 passing yards on 13 of 24 attempts with two scores and an interception. The quarterback also rushed for 12 yards and a score.
The Lobos only mustered just one sack against the Wildcats (7-6), who finished with 503 total yards of offense with an average of almost 9 yards per play.
“Solomon’s a great quarterback and you saw that. He was able to get out of a lot of tackles,” linebacker Dakota Cox said. “He really did it by himself. We just didn’t wrap up and we didn’t get there as we needed to. An athletic quarterback like that it’s hard to bring down.”
The Lobos third and final interception of the game in the fourth quarter finished any comeback bid.
Quarterback Austin Apodaca, who was forced into action after signal-caller Lamar Jordan went down with a knee injury, tried to force a throw with less than a minute left and got picked off by defensive back Cam Denson to end the contest.
“I tried to throw it to (Dameon) Gamblin and unfortunately I got picked,” Apodaca said. “I tried to give him a chance. I should’ve been smarter with the ball there and take a sack. I tried to make a play to Gamblin.”
UNM was able to cut Arizona’s 18-point second half lead to just 5 points when Apodaca ran it in from 4-yard out, making the score 42-37. The Lobos attempted a 2-point conversion but failed.
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It looked like the Lobos were in prime position to cut or retake the lead with 2nd-and-3 at the Wildcats 18-yard line. After a play for no gain and a loss of 10-yards on a fumble, UNM wound up in a 4th-and-13 situation.
Instead of attempting a 45-yard field goal attempt, Davie went for it and Apodaca was subsequently sacked on the play.
“I just felt like we could convert that there. My hunch told me to go for it right there,” Davie said. “We had a hard time stopping them. That would’ve been the perfect opportunity to go ahead instead of going down to a field goal because I didn’t know if we could get the ball back.”
Before his injury, Jordan kept UNM in the game. He threw for 110 yards on 3 of 9 passing – most of that came on a 92-yard bomb to Delane Hart-Johnson – and he rushed for 135 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns.
Jordan also threw two key interceptions. After UNM stopped a fake punt on fourth down, Jordan went deep to wide receiver Carlos Wiggins, but didn’t throw the pass in time and was picked.
With the Lobos backed up on their 1-yard line, Jordan threw a pass right to an Arizona defender that set up a touchdown for the Wildcats.
“The two interceptions were really disappointing,” Davie said. “Both of those interceptions were on first down which is doubly painful. That just can’t happen. You can’t let that happen.”
Arizona running back Jared Baker had 107 yards rushing on 12 attempts with three touchdowns. Jones had four receptions for 182 yards.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
