The University of New Mexico football team (2-5) was outmatched by the University of Wyoming Cowboys (5-2) in an away game on Saturday, losing 23-10.
This game was the 95th homecoming game for the Cowboys and the 70th one played in their War Memorial Stadium.
At the start of the game, UNM won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball. In its first possession, Wyoming inched up the field but had to punt after not receiving a first down and played Ryan Galovich as its punter.
On offense, Lobo running back Bryson Carroll started instead of regular Ahmari Davis. Although he didn't start, Davis rushed for the team-high of 86 yards overall.
During its first possession, the Lobos made it 23 yards up the field before having to punt on fourth down.
In Wyoming’s third possession of the quarter — with only four seconds on the clock — running back Sean Chambers rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with a successful point-after kick. The quarter ended 7-0 with Wyoming in the lead.
During the second quarter, neither team scored, leaving the scoreboard at 7-0 at the end of the first half. New Mexico started with the ball at the beginning of the second half.
During Wyoming’s first possession of the second half, running back Xazavian Valladay scored a touchdown on a 3-yard rush but couldn't manage the extra point. There were no other scoring plays for the rest of the quarter.
The score leading into the last quarter of the game was 13-0 to Wyoming's advantage.
Kicking off the fourth quarter, Andrew Shelley made a 25-yard field goal and put points on the board for New Mexico. With 14:55 minutes left in the game, the Cowboys still led 13-3.
During Wyoming’s first possession of the quarter, a completed 15-yard pass into the end zone added an extra six points to the Cowboy lead. Another conversion point again extended Wyoming’s lead to a total score of 20-3 with nine minutes remaining in the game.
The Lobos' next possession started with quarterback Tevaka Tuioti entering the game. He threw New Mexico’s first touchdown of the game with a 21-yard pass to Aaron Molina. With six minutes to go, the score was 20-10 for Wyoming.
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In the last minute of the game, the Cowboys managed to rush down the field and make a 36-yard field goal, ending the game at 23-10 overall.
Throughout the game, the total yards gained by both teams stayed close to even. New Mexico outdid passing while Wyoming outdid rushing. The Lobos had a total of 203 passing yards while keeping Wyoming to only 86, which is the fewest passing yards allowed by UNM since the 2015 Mississippi Valley State game on Sept. 1.
With rushing yards, Wyoming gained a total of 259 and held the Lobos to 169. Wyoming’s Valladay rushed for 127 yards total and quarterback Sean Chambers rushed for 117 yards. Chambers had also passed for 86 yards during the entire game.
The Lobos come out of this game with a 0-3 Mountain West conference record and the Cowboys with a 2-1 conference record.
The Lobos will take on the University of Hawai'i at home on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. The game marks UNM’s homecoming and will celebrate faculty and staff. You can catch the game on the Mountain West Network or on the Lobo Radio Network.
Angelina Pompeo is a sports reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @PompeoAngelina
