Lobo football might still be looking for an identity, especially on offense, as the team will prepare for perhaps its toughest test this season thus far.
New Mexico (1-2, 0-1 MW) suffered a 28-14 loss to Boise State last Thursday and lost starting quarterback Lamar Jordan in the process. But the Broncos were short-handed as well, playing without their quarterback, Brett Rypien.
The Lobos shut down the Broncos running attack for the most part, but head coach Bob Davie said Tulsa's running attack will look quite different from what the Lobos saw against Boise State.
Tulsa (1-2, 0-0 American) will enter the game after losing a 54-51 shoot-out with Toledo but have clearly demonstrated an impressive ability to put points on the board. The team has scored 47 points per game, while the Lobos have averaged about 27 points so far this season.
Davie said there are a few areas of concern heading into Saturday’s contest against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. He cited the tempo of Tulsa and the fact that the Lobos will start a third team quarterback as two potential obstacles.
He said Tulsa has a tendency to spread the field, putting receivers out wide to create space. If the Lobos aren’t able to control things at the line of scrimmage, the defense could be in for a long day.
UNM quarterback Jordan and his backup, Tevaka Tuioti, have both been ruled out for the game, which means Coltin Gerhart will get another chance behind center. Gerhart entered the game against Boise State toward the end of the first half and went 7-of-13 for 67 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception. He led the team with 49 yards on the ground as well.
Keeping up with Tulsa’s offense could be a tall order, as the Golden Hurricane has put up similar numbers to what the Lobos notched last season. Tulsa will feature the third-best rushing attack in the nation, rushing for 363.7 yards per contest — over 150 yards better than New Mexico this year.
Davie said Tulsa has a lot of run-pass-option built into the game plan, which could make defending things even more difficult. Last week, the Golden Hurricane had three 100-yard rushers and picked up six touchdowns on the ground.
New Mexico has yet to have a 100-yard rusher this season. Ironically, the last time it occurred the Lobos also had a trio of runners accomplish the feat. Teriyon Gipson led the charge with 217 yards in a rout of Wyoming in the 2016 regular season finale.
Tulsa leads the all-time series between the schools, boasting a 5-2 record entering Saturday’s game. The Golden Hurricane has won the last three meetings, with the most recent victory coming in 2015 by a score of 40-21.
The contest will be broadcast Saturday, Sept. 23 on ESPN 3 and has a scheduled kickoff time of 11:30 a.m.
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Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers basketball, football and tennis. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Robert_Maler.
