Lobos stomp Aggies in front of 37,000

The University of New Mexico Lobo Football team showed out in front of their largest crowd since 2007, a sellout of 37,440 people, and dominated their rival, the New Mexico State University Aggies, sealing a 38–20 home victory. 

Lobo Head Coach Jason Eck fed into the moment with his trademark intensity. After one play where a false-start penalty was called on NMSU, Eck turned toward the crowd and credited the fans for their impact. 

“I want (the crowd) to know they have an impact on the game by making a lot of noise causing that guy to jump offsides,” Eck said.

The pressure was on and the Lobos delivered, as New Mexico native and former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm, former Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and influencer IShowSpeed made appearances at the game.

The first half for the Lobos started off rocky as offensive plays fell short, causing a mess of offsides, penalties and a fumble. The Aggies took off hot, scoring the first touchdown of the game to take an early 7-0 lead. Shortly after, the Lobos secured their first touchdown from tight end Cade Keith on a five-yard pass from quarterback Jack Layne tying the game. The first quarter ended with both teams knotted up 7–7.

The second quarter picked up quickly as the energy in the stands grew. The Lobo defense adjusted quickly and consistently, pushing the Aggies back and racking up nine sacks on the game. The Aggies managed to complete passes and marched down the field to score another touchdown. The other touchdown of the half for the Lobos came from a  31–yard connection between Layne and wide receiver Shawn Miller before going into the half trailing 17–14.

In the third quarter, the Lobos took control. Their defense shut down Aggie drives, while the offense capitalized through the air. After a quiet start, kicker Luke Drzewiecki drilled a 44-yard field goal to tie the game at 17–17. Momentum was sharp from there. With just one minute and 12 seconds left in the quarter, Layne hit tight end Dorian Thomas on a 24-yard touchdown strike, giving the Lobos a 24–17 lead to close the quarter.

“I think we’re doing self-inflicted steps to beat ourselves — we had some stuff to clean up on our end but I said we could do that in 30 minutes,” Eck said. 

Early in the fourth quarter, the Aggies came out swinging with a 39-yard field goal but the Lobos offense responded quickly as wide receiver Michael Buckley threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keagan Johnson, pushing the lead out. With five minutes on the clock, Layne threw an eight-yard touchdown to running back Scottre Humphrey, sealing the win and putting the Aggies’ return out of reach.

With a 38–20 triumph, the Lobos not only shut down the Aggies, but also proved they’re building serious momentum this season. On Friday, Oct. 3, the Lobos will face the San Jose State Spartans at Spartan Stadium in California.

Esmeralda Lozano is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo