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Albuquerque — The New Mexico Lobos fell behind Texas Tech 28-0 at halftime, as the Red Raiders went on to blank the Lobos 49-0. New Mexico was shut out for the first time since the 1992 season when it lost 35-0 at BYU. UNM had scored in 111 straight games, the 15th-longest current scoring streak in the nation.
The Lobos drop to 2-4 overall while Tech improves to 3-2.
In front of an ESPN2 national audience and 35,111 in attendance at University Stadium, Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury threw for six touchdowns before being replaced by backup B.J. Symons in the fourth quarter. Kingsbury completed 41 of 59 passes for 407 yards.
UNM quarterback Casey Kelly fractured the ulna (forearm) bone in his left arm late in the first quarter on a run up the middle. Kelly continued to play in the second quarter, but x-rays taken at halftime revealed the break. He is expected to miss at least four weeks and could possibly be out for the season.
Kelly was replaced by senior Justin Millea. True freshman Kole McKamey, who the Lobos were hoping to redshirt, also saw action in the second half.
Texas Tech mounted consecutive drives of 68, 73, 82 and 27 yards in the first half, the final coming with 43 seconds to play.
Trailing 7-0, UNM drove to the Tech 28 on its third drive of the game, but a DonTrell Moore option run on fourth and one came up short, halting the drive. After the Red Raiders’ next scoring drive, the Lobos once again mounted a spirited succession of plays. Kelly completed passes of 15 and 10 yards to Brian Penley and Joe Manning, respectively, and after Moore converted a fourth-and-two run into a first down, the drive again stalled, this time at UNM’s own 48.
In the second half, the Lobos drove past midfield twice, once to the Texas Tech 48 and the other to the Red Raider 26 on their final drive of the game. Millea completed six of 14 pass attempts and McKamey completed one of four passes in his Lobo debut.
Lobo wide receiver Dwight Counter caught five passes for 22 yards and Moore had 33 yards on eight carries to lead all UNM rushers.
UNM has a bye next week before visiting UNLV on October 12 for its second Mountain West Conference game of the season.
Texas Tech vs. New MexicoSeptember 27, 2002Postgame Notes & Quotes
New Mexico fell to Texas Tech for the ninth consecutive time, dating back to the 1985 season…the defeat snapped the Lobos’ three-game home winning streak (dating back to the 2001 season finale) and was also the team’s first home loss on national television in four games since a 31-24 setback vs. Utah on ESPN2 on Nov. 9, 1996.The 49-0 loss to the Red Raiders is the worst defeat to Texas Tech in UNM history…the series had been much closer in recent games with the Red Radiers posting an average margin of victory of 10.4 points, including five wins by seven or fewer points.The Red Raider’s 28 first half points were the most allowed by New Mexico in 27 games since Boise State posted 31 en route to a 31-14 victory on Sept. 2, 2000.Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury’s six touchdown passes are tied for the most ever against the Lobos…three other opponents threw for six scores, most recently Scott Runyan of Wyoming in 1987.UNM junior defensive end Daniel Kegler notched 1 1/2 sacks, giving him a team-leading 4.5 on the year, while sophomore nose tackle Kyle Coulter notched his first career sack.New Mexico junior cornerback Corey Brown notched his first career interception and returned it 42 yards, the Lobos’ longest of the season.35,111 were in attendance at University Stadium, the second-largest crowd of the season and fourth-straight home crowd over 30,000.Texas Tech’s shutout of the Lobos broke an 111 consecutive games scoring streak for UNM, the 15th-longest active streak in the nation…the last team to blank the Lobos was BYU (35-0) on Nov. 7, 1992.The Lobos allowed a season-high 37 first down and gained a season low 12 first downs. The Lobos 199 total yards is the lowest output of the season while the Raider’s 590 total yards is the most allowed by UNM this season. Lobo receiver Dwight Counter extended his consecutive games making a catch streak to 17 straight.The 49-0 loss is the worst home loss for UNM since a 72-7 defeat by UNLV on Nov. 1, 1980 and is the worst overall loss since a 94-17 loss at Fresno State on Oct. 5, 1991.Lobo junior quarterback Casey Kelly went out in the first half with a broken left ulna…he is expected to be out a minimum of four weeks…his replacement, Justin Millea finished with 5 completions on 14 attempts for 58 yards and one interception…freshman Kole McKamey also saw time at quarterback but did not complete a pass on three attempts.
Texas Tech vs. New MexicoSeptember 27, 2002Postgame Quotes
Texas Tech Defensive Coordinator Greg McMackin
On Texas Tech’s Effort…
“I am really proud of our guys, we’re playing together and really put a challenge to our defense. We have to play consistently and we have to be ready to play every game. We have to be focused and we as coaches challenge them and I am just so proud of our guys because they reacted to our challenge. That shows what kind of kids we have. We have to play consistent and this has to continue on and we’re getting closer to how we want to play. We’ve got to get people third and long and get them off the field. We have to control a team’s run. Obviously today was a good job and we just have to build on this.”
On getting the shutout…
“I don’t ever care about a shutout, I think its great but going in we knew (UNM head coach) Rocky (Long) is a great coach and was going to have his team prepared, so we had to be consistent at the first part of the ball game and keep the intensity up for the whole game.”
On UNM quarterback Casey Kelly’s injury (broken left ulna) affecting the game…
“They came out and did what they were trying to do, out of their two tight end set, they were trying to run the football and out of their three wide set, they were trying to run that fly series and then throw the football. They continued that in the second half and they continued with their game plan.”
On knowing if UNM quarterback Casey Kelly had broken his arm…
“Well, we knew he wasn’t in there in the second half. Did he break his arm? Oh, that’s too bad. He’s a tough son of a gun, because I have really admired him on tape and he’s the best quarterback that we’ve faced from New Mexico since we’ve been playing them the last three years. He’s a tough guy.”
On UNM’s Football Team…
“They’re a well coached football team and they’re going to win a lot of ball games.”
New Mexico Head Coach Rocky Long(on the loss in general): “We were up against a very good football team. We didn’t play well, in fact we played poorly. Obviously we’re on a downward spiral right now, we’ll eventually fix it, but it’s hard to figure out what it is. Sometimes things start going bad and they get worse before they get better. It doesn’t mean you quit. You get up the next morning and go back to work. It got really bad at the end. The momentum started swinging and we lost our composure. It was a total collapse. We blew a great opportunity (being on national television).
(on UNM’s backup quarterbacks): “They were thrust into a difficult situation and they did the best they could.”
(on the Lobo secondary): “We made (Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury) hold the ball a lot, but I thought we weren’t making any plays in coverage.”
(on rebuilding after the loss): “We’ll evaluate all week and see if there’s a different way to handle things. Obviously our players aren’t playing well and that’s my job.
Player Quotes vs. Texas TechCasey Kelly“I knew when it happened (the injury). On a run play, I ran up the middle. I don’t know if it was the ground, I think it was somebody’s helmet. I took a hit to my arm.”
“I don’t know yet (when I’ll be back). Just a guess would be 4 to 6 weeks maybe, hopefully sooner, but I don’t know.”
Nick Speegle“We’ve got to turn it around and that’s the bottom line. Two bad weeks in a row, you just can’t do that as a football team if you want to win. We’ve just got to put this one behind us. We’ve got to do it, put it together as a team. We just have to get better. That’s the best part, you get a second chance. The sun will come up tomorrow. You just got to go to work.”