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New Mexico Head Coach celebrates bowl eligiblity after defeating the Nevada Wolfpack 35-26 at Branch Field at University Stadium early Sunday morning
New Mexico Head Coach celebrates bowl eligiblity after defeating the Nevada Wolfpack 35-26 at Branch Field at University Stadium early Sunday morning

Football: Lobos win fifth consecutive game after coming back on the road

UNM's 7 wins matches its total from a year ago

New Mexico football grinded out its fifth straight win in Logan, Utah on Saturday night, in a game featuring an action-packed fourth quarter that saw some big decisions lead to even bigger consequences.

The last three series probably provided enough excitement to last head coach Bob Davie a lifetime. He praised his kicker for making a big field goal to lift the team to what he called a terrific win.

New Mexico (7-3, 5-1 MW) did not get off to the quick start the team has grown accustomed to. It failed to convert on fourth down twice in the first half — once from the Utah State 38-yard line and another from the 16.

Utah State (3-7, 1-6 MW) did, however, come out of the gates blazing, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions before UNM kicker Jason Sanders notched a pair of field goals to make the halftime score 14-6.

Despite featuring one of the top rushing attacks in the nation, the Lobos had not run the ball particularly well, and Utah State put the pressure on by scoring another touchdown on its opening possession in the second half.

Running back Tonny Lindsey scored his second touchdown of the night on a third down run from four yards out, putting the Aggies up 21-6.

Despite the Lobos playing in so many close games this season, the team had only trailed in the second half by such a large margin once before. Some probably had questions about how the team would respond.

The answer? With fire.

UNM running back Teriyon Gipson capped an 11-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. The Lobos forced a punt and Gipson found the end zone again just minutes later. McQuarley successfully ran in a two-point conversion and, just like that, the game was tied 21-21.

Cornerback Ryan Santos snagged his third interception of the season on the subsequent drive. Although the team took over at the USU 36-yard line, it failed to move the ball and punted to start the fourth quarter.

Later in the quarter, Utah State got a huge play when Ron’Quavion Tarver beat Nias Martin on a deep pass for a 41-yard gain. The two battled for position on the play, and it wouldn’t be the last time those players would factor into the game’s result.

Still tied at 21-21, the Aggies decided to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line — a decision head coach Matt Wells probably wishes he had back. Lindsey, who was denied on the previous two plays, was foiled again on fourth down, and the Lobos took over.

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New Mexico picked up three first downs and was aided by a defensive pass interference call that gave Sanders a chance to put the Lobos on top. He drilled a 40-yard field goal to give New Mexico its first lead 24-21 with 1:06 remaining.

But poor clock management by the Lobos still gave the Aggies plenty of time to go to work. Utah State still had one timeout thanks to UNM going out of bounds on first and second down runs, which stopped the clock.

Several plays later, the Lobos committed a personal foul penalty which gave Utah State first-and-10 at the UNM 19-yard line with 22 seconds left. Quarterback Kent Myers dropped a fade right into the arms of Tarver, who had beaten Martin again for an apparent game-winning touchdown.

However, the two got tangled up on the play and there appeared to be contact by both players, and a yellow flag lay in the end zone. It was difficult to see if Tarver extended his off arm to push off, but that is apparently what referees saw. The wide receiver was penalized for offensive pass interference, and Utah State was backed up 15 yards.

The coaches had differing views on what was probably the biggest play of the game.

“Huge call on the pass interference, which I think was a good call, but of course I’m probably a little biased,” Davie said in a release.

“I’m going to choose my words very carefully, as you can imagine. I hope they are right,” Wells said. “That’s a hard one to take away from a kid. I’ll just leave it at that, and let the Mountain West comment on it Monday morning.”

Martin had been on the other side of similar call a few times earlier this season, but this one went in his favor. Despite the penalty on Tarver, the Aggies still had a chance to tie the game even after burning their final timeout.

Myers scrambled and slid to the 25-yard line. In a state of confusion, the Aggies had both offense and special teams on the field at the same time. Instead of spiking the ball, they were forced to kick a rushed field goal attempt.

The kick shouldn’t have mattered as there were at least 12 Utah State players on the field when the ball was snapped, but the attempt was no good and the Lobos escaped with the 24-21 win.

Next up for the Lobos is another road test against Colorado State (5-3 3-3 MW). The Saturday contest is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. and will be broadcast again on ESPN2.

Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football and men’s and women’s tennis. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter 
@robert_maler.

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