The Lobos beat the Lobos.
When New Mexico’s offense took one step forward, it always seemed to take two steps back. UNM suffered their first loss of the season to the No. 24 Oklahoma Sooners 14-6 on the road Saturday night, in what felt like a game that was there for the Lobos’ taking.
“I’m proud of the way we played,” Head Coach Jason Eck said. “I knew it’d be a close game. I was very confident coming in that we’d have to play a close game.”
It was never not close for the Lobos, thanks to their defense.
Seventh-year safety Tavian Combs set the tone three plays into the game by nabbing the first of John Mateer’s two interceptions on the night. UNM’s defense made Oklahoma earn everything from the opening snap, but they weren’t going down without a fight.
“All week we knew this was (going to) be a close game,” safety Austin Brawley said. “Coach (Spence) Nowinsky gets us ready for battle every single week. Our whole defense is bought in … we showed again that we’re one of the most dominant defenses in the whole country.”
Eck noted they wanted to stop the run, and they did just that by holding Oklahoma to a measly 61 yards on the ground. To put that in perspective, Oklahoma had eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground in 6 of their last 10 games dating back to last season. New Mexico was the only non Power Four opponent to hold OU under that threshold.
“I think they played their a---- off,” Eck said of the defensive line.
Since the beginning of last season, Oklahoma had scored 14 points or less on just two separate occasions through 15 games — the first against Texas in 2025, and the second against Michigan in 2026. New Mexico’s defense became the third team to accomplish that feat.
“Coach Eck laid out an amazing gameplan all week,” Brawley said. “He told us how this game was gonna go step-by-step all week, and it’s exactly how it ended up playing out. He told us it was going to be a one-possession game in the fourth quarter … he gave us the gameplan, we just have to finish it next time.”
If New Mexico’s defense wasn’t stamped as one of the nation’s best, they sure are now, even if Oklahoma’s offense is experiencing turmoil.
Where Saturday night’s defeat turns into boiling frustration is on offense; The Lobos committed seven penalties, five of which were holding calls — ones that seemed to derail anything and everything UNM’s offense had going for them.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
UNM’s offense managed to score just three points off of three turnovers. That was never going to cut it in a game of this magnitude.
The missed opportunities early in the game came back to haunt them.
Oklahoma’s six sacks were detrimental as well. They sputtered drives, and when paired with costly false starts and holding penalties, finding the endzone became nearly impossible.
UNM had the ball in Oklahoma territory on eight separate occasions, but only managed to score two field goals.
Eck emphasized post-game that Oklahoma is the “most talented team” they’ll face all season. The offense’s inability to run the ball, self-inflicted mistakes and inconsistency from the quarterbacks doesn’t seem to worry Eck — he believes they’ll improve.
“That’s an elite defense,” Eck said. “They have a lot of elite players on that defense … we just have to keep getting better and developing on offense. We have a lot of young players on offense which tells me that we have room to grow — we have room for upside.”
Just as last season’s opening loss to Michigan didn’t derail New Mexico’s season, Saturday night’s hard-fought loss won’t either. If anything, it should give UNM confidence going forward.
“Our goals couldn’t have been taken away by this team,” Eck said. “Winning a conference championship, having double-digit wins, none of that stuff we lost … we just have to keep getting better from where we are at right now.”
The Lobos head south next weekend to take on the New Mexico State Aggies in the annual Rio Grande Rivalry game on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Edge Garcia is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @ByEdgeGarcia
