Football

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Football: Lobos slip up in second half against Spartans

Francesca Cicconetti | October 16

The University of New Mexico Lobos lost 52-24 at home against the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday, Oct. 14. A disappointing second half led to a 28 point loss for the Lobos, earning them their 14th conference loss in a row. The Lobos are now 2-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Early in the game, the Lobos began to switch between senior quarterback Dylan Hopkins and freshman Devon Dampier. Dampier went in for the first time midway through the first quarter and continued to play periodically throughout the game.

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Sports

Football: After loss against rivals, Gonzales guarantees a bowl game

Thomas Bulger | September 18

The University of New Mexico lost 27-17 at home against the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday, Sept. 16. Going into the game, the Lobos were favored to win by 2.5. Head Coach Danny Gonzales fell to a 1-2 record against the Aggies while Aggies Coach Jerry Kill advanced to 2-0. NMSU Head Coach Kill had experienced health issues early in the week and it was called into question if he was able to coach the game. During the game, Kill was struck by a football and fell to the ground but immediately stood back up and went looking for a referee to fight for his players. In his post-game press conference, Coach Gonzales still had unwavering confidence in the team.

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Sports

New look for offense wins their first game of the season

Thomas Bulger | September 11

  The University of New Mexico’s football team defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 56-10. It was the home debut of the new offense led by Bryant Vincent at offensive coordinator and Dylan Hopkins at quarterback – both transfers from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. The Golden Eagles play in the Ohio Valley Conference in Football Conference Subdivision. They haven’t had a winning season since 2011. There were 17,279 fans in attendance, which is the most in a home opener since 2018.

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Sports

OPINION: 2023 Lobo’s football schedule predictions

Thomas Bulger | August 14

 The University of New Mexico football team will begin to get back on track after a 2 - 10 season last year. This year on their schedule, six of the teams they played against went to bowl games, two were last season division winners and three are teams that go by the nickname “Aggies.” 

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Sports

Football: Lobo safety A.J. Haulcy selected to national, local teams

Thomas Bulger | December 1

University of New Mexico football freshman safety A.J. Haulcy is receiving both local and national attention after an impressive rookie season. Haulcy was named to the Pro Football Focus' College All-True Freshman team. He is the first Lobo in history to receive that honor and was the only Mountain West player on the team. Haulcy also made the All-Mountain West second team, one of the three freshmen in the conference to do so alongside teammate Christian Washington. Pro Football Focus is a sports analytics company that looks at all different levels of football. It is used by teams at the professional and college level, as well as journalists and fans.

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Sports

Football: Lobo offense not enough to take on San Diego State

Thomas Bulger | November 21

The University of New Mexico football team lost to the San Diego State University Aztecs 34-10 at their final home game on Friday, Nov. 18. It was also senior night for the Lobos which gave fans a chance to say goodbye to the team's 12 seniors. It was the second coldest home game in Lobo football history: at kickoff, it was 30 degrees. The coldest home game in history was against Brigham Young University in November 1976. UNM is on an eight-game losing streak that started back in September. The Lobos now have a 2-9 overall record and have yet to win a conference game.

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Sports

Football: UNM dominated by Fresno State 41-9 in homecoming game

Thomas Bulger | October 23

The University of New Mexico’s football team played the California State University, Fresno Bulldogs for their homecoming game and lost 41-9. The Lobos are now on a five-game losing streak with a 2-6 overall record and have yet to win a conference game. A win would have kept the dream of a bowl game alive for at least three more weeks, but now UNM will have to win their last four games in a row to end with a 6-6 record. With the win, Fresno State now has a 2-1 record in conference play. They are tied for first in their division and will be competing for a spot at the Mountain West championship game.

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Sports

Football: Davie to stay put as UNM head coach

Cameron Goeldner | November 30

University of New Mexico head football coach Bob Davie will return for the 2019 season, athletic director Eddie Nuñez announced in a statement on Friday night. The statement, in its entirety, is below: “After meeting with Coach Davie, both he and I are looking forward to the 2019 season,” Nuñez said in a release.

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Sports

Football: Lobos finish with worst offensive performance of season

Matthew Narvaiz | November 26

The University of New Mexico Lobos finished its season on Saturday afternoon with a 31-3 loss, the team’s seventh straight of the season. New Mexico finished the season 3-9 overall, 1-7 in conference and 1-5 at home. It is the second straight season in which the Lobos went 3-9 and lost seven straight games to close things out.

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Sports

Football: Lobos host Cowboys in season finale

Matthew Narvaiz | November 24

The disappointment has struck in a variety of ways — three loses at home, three on the road. New Mexico (3-8, 1-6 Mountain West) has been blown out on multiple occasions, but also squandered a comfortable lead against San Diego State and lost on a last-second field goal to Colorado State. UNM's home record this season is also an abysmal 1-4, with the Lobos’ lone home win coming against Incarnate Word in their season opener. The only conference victory came against UNLV, which is also 1-6 in the Mountain West and 3-8 overall.

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Sports

Football: Lobos blow 4th quarter lead, lose 31-23 to Aztecs

Cameron Goeldner | November 4

An inability to move the ball late in the game, coupled with the returns of two of San Diego State’s best offensive players, doomed the Lobos on Saturday night, as former UNM coach Rocky Long returned to town and lead his Aztecs to a 31-23 win over the Lobos. The game couldn’t have started better for UNM if it had been scripted. On SDSU’s first possession of the game, Adebayo Soremekun scooped a fumble from Aztec’s backup quarterback Ryan Agnew, who started the game, and rumbled all the way down to the end zone for a touchdown to give the Lobos a 7-0 lead and electrify the sideline.

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Sports

Football: New Mexico gets crushed 61-19 by Utah State

Robert Maler | October 28

The New Mexico football team scored first on Saturday, but the heavy underdog took it on the chin for the second time in as many weeks as they were decimated by Utah State 61-19 on the road. Things started off well for New Mexico (3-5, 1-3 MW) as it got a defensive stop and took its opening drive into Utah State territory and came away with a field goal to open up the scoring and take a 3-0 lead just a couple of minutes in the game. The score came off the foot of freshman kicker Andrew Shelley, who drilled the 53-yard field goal — the second-longest in school history, according to a release.

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Sports

Football: Lobos struggle to draw fans to games

Cameron Goeldner | October 28

The University of New Mexico Football team is halfway through its home schedule, and at the current pace, it will be the lowest number of fans per game in the Bob Davie era. Through three games, the Lobos are averaging 17,908 fans to see the team play at the 39,224 seat Dreamstyle Stadium. The home opener against University of the Incarnate Word, which drew 18,213 fans, was the smallest crowd for a home opener since at least the 2003 season, the last year which the information is available online for every game.

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Sports

Football: Lobos dominate UNLV on the road in Mountain West opener

Matthew Narvaiz | October 7

The University of New Mexico football team put on a dominant performance behind junior QB Sheriron Jones and stellar defensive play, as they defeated the UNLV Rebels 50-14 in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon. Jones threw for 250 yards on 13-of-20 attempts, including four touchdowns through the air. His offense, in a well-balanced affair, had 252 yards on the ground. Jones rushed for 72 yards. Meanwhile, New Mexico’s defense forced eight three-and-outs during the game, and didn’t allow the Rebels’ offense to pass the 100-yard threshold until halfway through the fourth quarter.

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Sports

Football: Lobos lose Tuioti for the year

Cameron Goeldner | September 30

The New Mexico Football team lost to Liberty 52-43 on Saturday night at Dreamstyle Stadium, but what could be the biggest loss for the team occurred in the second quarter when Tevaka Tuioti, in his first game back after suffering a concussion in the game against Wisconsin, broke his left clavicle at the end of a 24-yard scramble. Head coach Bob Davie said that Tuioti will have surgery on it Monday and that he is “probably” out for the year. In his place, Sheriron Jones, who started the game against New Mexico State, will be the starting quarterback.

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Sports

Football: Lobos flip script, use turnovers to defeat Aggies

Matthew Narvaiz | September 16

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Forced turnovers and a stout rushing attack willed the University of New Mexico Lobos to its first win over the New Mexico State Aggies since 2015, as the Lobos defeated NMSU 42-25 in Las Cruces on Saturday evening. New Mexico (2-1) was also able to get its rushing attack going on offense, with junior running back Ahmari Davis rushing for three touchdowns and redshirt senior running back Tyrone Owens going for 110 yards and a touchdown. The Lobos were the recipient of five interceptions against the Aggies, one of which was a pick-six. It was the most interceptions forced by a UNM defense.

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Sports

Football: Pivotal game for both New Mexico football programs as Aggies go for three in a row over Lobos

Robert Maler | September 15

Both college football teams are probably entering Saturday's Rio Grande Rivalry game exactly where most fans thought they might be. Saturday's matchup could mark a pivotal moment in both team's seasons and a lot might be riding on the line at Aggie Memorial Stadium. UNM head coach Bob Davie has often referred to not letting the air out of the balloon, making the analogy in several of the past season openers. The idea being that teams can sometimes let a pin poke that metaphorical balloon and things go flat before it even realizes what happened. Even though it is week three for UNM, not many things could let whatever is left in balloon that is Lobo fan support, than losing to its in-state rival for the third season in a row. A loss for the University of New Mexico football team could undo any momentum the program has started to regain and potentially thwart hopes of trying to bring in the casual fan to attend future home games — support a financially struggling athletic department could desperately use.

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Sports

Football: Wisconsin running back logs career high to help erase early Lobo lead

Cameron Goeldner | September 9

MADISON, Wis. -- The University of New Mexico defense was unable to slow down Wisconsin star Jonathan Taylor, who turned in a career day with career-high 253 yards as well as three touchdowns in a 45-14 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Lobos received the opening kickoff and immediately put together a long, methodical drive that lasted 17 plays and covered 87 yards — one that included four third-down conversions and took 7:38 off the clock. The drive culminated with an 11-yard pass from Tevaka Tuioti to Delane Hart-Johnson that gave UNM an early 7-0 lead and silenced a crowd of 77,003 at Camp Randall Stadium. “I really felt offensively we had a great rhythm early in the game,” head coach Bob Davie said. “I thought honestly schematically there were some things we could do. When (Tuioti) went out...we didn’t get much done after that.”

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Sports

Football: How a new offense helped the Lobos against UIW

Cameron Goeldner | September 2

In their season opener, the Lobos new offense put on a show against FCS opponent the University of the Incarnate Word in a 62-30 victory. Tevaka Tuioti looked the part of a starting quarterback, finishing with 327 yards, four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. It was the highest point total for the Lobos since a 66-0 victory of Mississippi Valley State in 2015.

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Sports

Football: Head coach feels no pressure stemming from sports cuts, rather an urgency to reclaim lost momentum

Robert Maler | September 1

“We had great momentum as I stood here a year ago — well, we lost that momentum — and we have to go get it back.” Losing has a tendency to make fans and critics alike forget things, but University of New Mexico head football coach Bob Davie’s statement above is accurate — as good times weren’t all that long ago. It was August 27, 2017 and Davie stood in front of the media talking about the upcoming season.The program wasn’t just riding high, it was an all-time high. New Mexico had just put together the best two-year stretch in program history.