The ground game was on full display for the University of New Mexico Lobos football team on Saturday, Sept. 6. Running backs Scottre Humphrey, D.J. McKinney, and Damon Bankston made their presence known, giving Idaho State University Bengals problems all game.
At the end of the day, the dominance of the running game was too much for the Bengals to handle as the Lobos secured a 32-22 victory and earned Head Coach Jason Eck his first win as a New Mexico Lobo. University stadium was filled with 17,639 fans, the largest crowd the Lobos have gotten for a home opener since 2018.
Humphrey led the running backs with 141 yards on 18 carries along with two touchdowns. McKinney had seven carries for 45 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry and showing off some impactful running. Bankston rushed for 28 yards and a touchdown on six carries, while also making his presence known on special teams and in the pass game, as he had a huge return on a kickoff and a big 55-yard reception.
“I thought it was awesome the way they all contributed, those guys are good players, we knew they were our best guys, It's good that they’re showing up that way,” Eck said.
There was not much action in the start of the first quarter as both teams’ opening drives of the game went three-and-out. On the Bengals second possession they marched down the field, getting all the way to the redzone. It looked like Idaho State would be the first to score but a juggled pass landed right into the hands of Lobo safety David Murphy, giving the Lobos the ball.
Lobo quarterback Jack Layne was able to put together a 10 play, 98-yard scoring drive following the interception. This drive included the 55-yard reception by Bankston and ended with Layne rumbling into the endzone giving the Lobos a 7-0 lead at the end of the first.
The Bengals put up points of their own at the start of the second quarter, settling for a field goal after their drive fizzled out. The following offensive possession for the Lobos was explosive as after only two plays Humphrey took it 61 yards to the house, which gave the Lobos a 14-3 lead.
After a Bengals three-and-out it appeared things were getting ugly, as the Lobo offense started moving down the field again, but a fumble by tight end Dorian Thomas halted that as the Bengals recovered the ball. Idaho State took advantage of the turnover, turning it into a touchdown and cutting the lead to 4. When half time rolled around the Lobos led 14-10.
The Lobo offense struggled in the third quarter as they were only able to score a field goal throughout. The Lobo defense fared a bit better as they only held Idaho State to 6 points. The third quarter ended with the Lobos up 17-16.
The start of the fourth quarter saw Idaho State put together a scoring drive as they found the endzone. After a failed two point conversion attempt by the Bengals, the Lobos were facing a 22-17 deficit.
The following Lobo drive saw Layne orchestrating the offense, finding Thomas twice on the drive for chunk plays. It was all capped off by a Bankston touchdown run, giving the Lobos the lead again. That drive didn’t only give the Lobos the lead, but gave the team energy as well. The defense stiffened, stopping Idaho State, forcing a quick three-and-out.
“We just stayed calm, we didn’t panic, didn’t press, we just fed off each other and guys kept stepping up and making plays,” Lobo linebacker Jaxton Eck said.
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After the three-and-out the Lobos would put the game away as they drove all the way down the field, which ended with Humphrey scoring the finishing blow finding the endzone once again.
With the win, the Lobos now improve to 1-1 but have a tough challenge on Friday Sept. 12, as they head to Pasadena, California to face off against the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins.
Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
