New Mexico took the dreary route to victory on a rainy Saturday night, stumbling over enough self-inflicted wounds to make the finish far more stressful than necessary.
The Lobos had a tale of two halves in Honolulu, earning an ugly 21-10 win over the Rainbow Warriors, moving to 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 1997.
“Undisciplined.”
Just one of many words Head Coach Jason Eck used to describe New Mexico’s uninspiring first-half performance. The offense managed just 108 total yards, but UNM’s biggest issue was penalties: 12 that cost them 95 yards, including a holding call that negated quarterback Toa Fa’avae’s 50-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter.
Two unnecessary roughness calls on UNM’s opening defensive drive were the first of many uncharacteristic penalties. The Lobos finished the game with 16 accepted penalties for 130 yards.
“We have to be more disciplined,” Eck said after the victory. “We have to play with a lot better technique than we did tonight. We were fortunate to only be down 10 at halftime; it could have been a lot worse.”
Yellow laundry and rain both fell consistently on the turf all night. In fact, UNM’s 16 total penalties are tied for the 2nd-most in a single game in program history.
“Really proud of the win, but we have a lot of s--- we can clean up though,” Eck emphasized.
Before UNM’s forgettable first half ended, quarterback James Laubstein went down with a lower-body injury that Eck described as “pretty bad” after the game. Laubstein, who has 6 rushing touchdowns this season, took the opportunity to fire up the sideline, yelling “let’s go” to his team repeatedly as he was carted off the field.
“He [was] encouraging his teammates and trying to motivate those guys,” Eck said. “He’s a winner. He’s gonna be a winner in life.”
The Lobos took Laubstein’s energy and applied it to their second-half performance, opening up the third quarter with a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive highlighted by offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner’s decision to dial up a trick play that resulted in a 35-yard throw from wide receiver Bailen George to quarterback Toa Fa’avae.
“That’s a play we really liked on third down,” Eck said. “I always like being aggressive.”
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UNM outgained Hawaii on the ground 170-25 and converted all three fourth-down attempts in the second half. Running back Scottre Humphrey, who lost his father earlier in the week, became the Lobos’ identity, rushing for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 7 yards-per-carry in the second half.
“I’m so proud of him — I love that kid,” Eck said of Humphrey after the game. “I know his dad [is] looking down proud.”
Humphrey said his decision to play in the game against Hawaii was an easy one.
“[My dad] would have wanted me to play, so there was no doubt in my mind,” Humphrey said postgame.
Fa’avae’s three turnovers — on top of the recurring penalties — gave the Lobos an unfamiliar level of adversity during a season where New Mexico has rarely encountered a close game. As Hawaii marched down the field after Fa’avae’s second interception, quarterback Micah Alejado had what looked like a walk-in touchdown before safety Drew Speech knocked the ball out of his hands inside the 1-yard line, which the Lobos recovered in the endzone.
“We talked all week [that] we had to be good in the red zone defensively,” Eck said.
Out of Hawaii’s four trips inside the 20-yard line, UNM held the Rainbow Warriors scoreless twice, including a missed 29-yard field goal.
On the ensuing drive, wide receiver Miles Williams caught a pivotal 4th-and-6 pass, and Fa’avae redeemed himself with a 21-yard touchdown run, giving the Lobos their first lead of the night.
“I think [Fa’avae] will learn a lot from his performance,” Eck said. “I thought we put him in some tough situations. He didn’t play his best game, but I think he responded [well].”
After forcing Hawaii’s sixth punt of the night, Humphrey would ice the game on the island with a go-ahead 49-yard touchdown run right up the middle of the defense to give the Lobos and their fans a breath of fresh air. Safety Tavian Combs would close out the game on Hawaii’s ensuing possession with an interception.
“Sometimes you gotta win games when you don’t play your absolute best,” Eck said. “That’s what championship teams do.”
Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
Edge Garcia is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @ByEdgeGarcia
