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• Fresh off an inspiring road win at UNLV, the New Mexico Lobos step out of conference for the final time during the regular season Saturday when they visit the Utah State Aggies. Kickoff is 3:05 p.m. Mountain Time from Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah. It’s homecoming at Utah State. KRQE-TV in Albuquerque will televise the game on a one-hour delay starting at 4 p.m. locally. Due to the Mountain West Conference’s agreement with ESPN, no local telecast can be shown live between the times of 1-4 p.m. That window is reserved for the ESPN+Plus broadcast.
• UNM is 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the MWC following a scrappy 25-16 victory at UNLV. The win snapped a two-game losing streak, a three-game road slide and it was the Lobos’ first win in Las Vegas after losing the first three. Utah State is 1-5 overall. The Aggies did not play last week. Their last action was Friday, Oct. 4 when they lost a tough 35-34 home decision to BYU. USU had a 34-7 lead at halftime only to have the Cougars score 28 straight points in the second half.
•The combined record of the four teams UNM has lost to is 20-6. North Carolina State (7-0) and Air Force (6-0) are both nationally-ranked. New Mexico State is 3-3 while Texas Tech is 4-3. The six losses for NMSU and Texas Tech have come against South Carolina, California, Georgia, Ohio State, North Carolina State and Iowa State.
•UNM is now 5-0 following scheduled open weeks under current head coach Rocky Long. Looking back further shows the Lobos have won eight straight games – over a period of six years – following a scheduled break. The last loss was 48-42 versus San Diego State on Oct. 19, 1996.
|BYE DATE|NEXT GAME RESULT||Oct. 5, 2002|W at UNLV, 25-16||Oct. 20, 2001|W vs. Air Force, 52-33||Oct. 14, 2000|W at Air Force, 29-23||Oct. 23, 1999|W vs. UNLV, 27-6||Oct. 2, 1999|W at San Diego State, 24-21||Nov. 8, 1997|W vs. BYU, 38-28||Sept. 27, 1997|W vs. SMU, 22-15||Nov. 16, 1996|W vs. UTEP, 44-17|
•New Mexico is 7-3 in October the past three seasons, going 2-1 every year between 1999-2001. The last undefeated October was 1959 when UNM went 5-0.
•Last year, New Mexico went a bowl-eligible 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the Mountain West Conference. After a 1-3 start, the Lobos won 5 of their last 7 games. Picked to finish seventh in the MWC preseason polls, UNM tied Utah for third place. It was just New Mexico’s fifth winning season since 1979. The league’s media projected a sixth-place finish for the Lobos in 2002. Utah State, an NCAA Div. I-A independent, was 4-7 last year. The Aggies claimed wins over Idaho State, Central Florida, Connecticut and Weber State.
•New Mexico has increased its win total by one each of past three seasons: 4 in 1999, 5 in 2000 and 6 in 2001. The only other schools to make that claim are Oregon and Fresno State.
•Thanks to an odd twist in the calender – there are 14 Saturdays from Labor Day weekend until Nov. 30 as required by the NCAA – teams are able to play 12 regular-season games in 2002. Schools will also be allowed to schedule a dozen in 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2014. The BCA Bowl against NC State was an exempt game, thus giving UNM 13 tries this year. New Mexico has played 13 games only one time in school history. The 1997 squad finished 9-4, including a Western Athletic Conference division title and an appearance in the Insight.com Bowl.
THE UTAH STATE SERIES•The Lobos and Aggies meet for the 18th time since the first game in 1951. The two schools played every year from 1951-64, but have met just twice since 1966. UNM has a 10-7 lead, including 7-3 in Albuquerque. Utah State has a 4-3 advantage in Logan.
•Both schools were members of the Skyline Conference from 1951-61.
•New Mexico has won the past three, including a 25-22 triumph in rain-soaked Logan in 1997 and a triple-overtime thriller in Albuquerque in 1998. In the latter contest, WR Germany Thompson caught a 25-yard TD pass from Graham Leigh to give UNM a 39-36 victory. Thompson caught a career-high 10 passes for 175 yards on his 22nd birthday. It was UNM’s first overtime game and also its longest contest in school history.
•The Lobos will play four schools from the Beehive State in 2002: BYU, Utah, Utah State and Weber State.
•UNM and Utah State are scheduled to meet next year in Albuquerque.
UNM HISTORY•The University of New Mexico has a 405-474-31 overall record in its 104th season.
•UNM was founded in 1889, although the territory of New Mexico was not granted statehood until 1912. Three years later, the school’s first football game was played on Oct. 7, 1892, when a team representing UNM played a squad from Albuquerque High School in a vacant lot north of the town’s ice factory. The preps prevailed 5-0.
INJURY UPDATE•After having no major injuries to any frontline players last year, the Lobos? training room became Grand Central Station in September and early October. Starting TB Quincy Wright (torn ACL) was lost for the season in the Baylor game on Sept. 14. Sophomore LB Domingo Villarruel (Fort Worth, Texas) was forced to quit football after a neck injury at New Mexico State and subsequent diagnosis of stenosis in his spine. Starting QT Nate Hembree (Carrolton, Texas) is gone for the year after suffering a torn ACL at New Mexico State. He had surgery Oct. 7. Starting QB Casey Kelly (Portland, Ore.) was put on the shelf with a broken left arm suffered against Texas Tech. He was actually cleared to play at UNLV, but did not. Kelly could play this week against Utah State. Junior LB Shannon Kincaid (Albuquerque) could be out for the rest of the season after reinjuring his right knee against Texas Tech. He will have arthroscopic surgery Oct. 14.
•Kelly had surgery Sept. 29 on his left ulna (outside forearm). A 6-inch by 1/2-inch plate was inserted where the fracture occurred. That plate, which runs parallel to the ulna, will probably remain in Kelly’s arm for a couple of years. He was placed in a cast and a bone stimulator was attached to help speed up the healing process.
•Kelly, 7-6 in his UNM career as the starter, has completed 88 of 156 passes for 821 yards, three TDs and four inteceptions in 2002. He has rushed 40 times for a net 42 yards, including three TDs.
WRIGHT’S SEASON CUT SHORT•The Baylor win on Sept. 14 did not come without cost as senior RB Quincy Wright was lost for the season after suffering a torn left ACL and meniscus at the end of a 13-yard run in the first quarter. It was his fourth carry of the game. Wright finished with 21 yards on the night. He had surgery on Sept. 30. UNM will explore the option of Wright receiving a sixth year of eligibility in 2003. He was a redshirt in 1998.
•In Wright, the Lobos lost a player that head coach Rocky Long described in the following way: “In a very short time, he developed into the heart and soul of our offensive football team.”
•A virtual bit player on special teams in his first three years at UNM, Wright’s senior season of collegiate football looked to be nothing short of colossal before the non-contact injury. Wright came into the Baylor game ranked 3rd in the nation in rushing, averaging 158.3 yards a game. He was 6th nationally in all-purpose yards at 202.3 yards a game and had scored 32 points in the first three games. Wright even had a hand in the Baylor win before going down as he tossed an 18-yard TD to TE Bryan Penley that gave the Lobos a 7-0 lead.
•Wright’s season-ending numbers: 67 carries, 496 yards, 7.4 ypc and 4 TDs…8 receptions, 132 yards and a TD.
•Wright broke a 25-year-old school record against Weber State when he rushed for 265 yards, including 3 TDs. He gained 145 yards on 25 totes at Air Force. Wright’s 410 yards rushing is the highest consective-game total in school history. He scored on runs of 34 and 63 yards against Weber State and on a 48-yard screen pass at Air Force.
HIP, HIP, MILLEA•Pronounced muh-LAY, senior Justin Millea (Silver City, N.M.), a former walk-on quarterback turned safety/special teams player then back to quarterback last spring, had one of the most dramatic debuts in school history…thrust into the starting lineup just three days before the contest against UNLV due to an injury to Casey Kelly and subsequent suspension of true freshman Kole McKamey, Millea rushed 20 times for 148 yards…included in that total was a 73-yard scoring scamper in the third quarter, the Lobos’ longest in five years, that pushed UNM’s lead to 14-3…Millea also engineered the Lobos’ longest scoring drive of the year – 90 yards – in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead…on the march, Millea rushed 4 times for 54 yards and tossed a 10-yard screen pass to DonTrell Moore to convert a 3rd-and-8
•Millea’s rushing total is the most by a Lobo quarterback in 29 years, since Don Woods had 149 yards against Arizona on Oct. 13, 1973…his 73-yard TD run is the longest by a Lobo since TB Reginal Johnson went 79 yards against Northern Arizona in 1997…it’s the longest by a UNM quarterback since David Osborn traversed 85 yards against North Texas in 1982
•Millea made his first start at quarterback since the summer of 1998 when he played in the New Mexico North-South All-Star game at University Stadium…he tore his right ACL on the second play of that game
LOBO QB DEBUTS• A look at UNM quarterbacks in their first career starts since Rocky Long became head coach in 1998 (Note: Graham Leigh, UNM’s starter in 1998, is not listed because he started in 1997 prior to Long’s arrival): |||Passing|Rushing||Date|QB / Site / Result|C-Att-Int-Yd-TD|Att-Yds-TD-Long||Sept. 4, 1999|Eric Jaworsky at UTEP (L, 13-10)|13-23-0-102-1|9-10-0-11||Oct. 9, 1999|Sean Stein at San Diego St. (W, 24-21)|16-26-1-154-2|5-45-0-51||Aug. 26, 2000|Jeremy Denson at Texas Tech (L, 24-3)|6-18-1-52-0|12-(-22)-0-14||Sept. 9, 2000|Rudy Caamano vs. Oregon St. (L, 28-20)|12-21-2-130-2|10-(-8)-0-7||Oct. 6, 2001|Casey Kelly at Wyoming (W, 30-29)|20-30-1-231-1|5-24-0-12||Oct. 12, 2002|Justin Millea at UNLV (W, 25-16)|2-8-1-20-0|20-148-1-73|
UNLV NOTES• New Mexico had its most rushing attempts (49) and yards rushing (257) since last year’s 53-0 win against New Mexico (59-350)…UNLV came into the game allowing just 99 yards a game, 2nd in the MWC and 16th nationally
•UNLV was averaging 205.2 yards a game on the ground, 2nd-best in the MWC and 25th in the nation…the Lobos held them to 102 yards
• The Lobos completed just 2 of 8 passes for 20 yards against the Rebels…the last time UNM had only 2 completions was the 1973 season opener against New Mexico State…it’s the fewest yards since 11 against Arizona in 1972…UNM was 2 of 9 passing in that game
•The Lobo defense intercepted three passes – LB Charles Moss, S David Hall and CB David Crockett – after snaring just three the first 6 games…the last time UNM had three picks in a game was last year at Wyoming
•The New Mexico defense caused a season-high four turnovers (3 int./1 fumble), the most since UTEP had five in the 2001 season opener
•New Mexico had its second defensive takeaway and lateral for a TD of the season…LB Charles Moss intercepted Jason Thomas at the UNLV 30…Moss advanced it 5 yards before being tackled, but pitched back to CB Desmar Black who rambled the final 25 yards for his first score as a Lobo…against Weber State, NT Hebrews Josue stripped QB Tate Bennett and ran 41 yards before lateraling to LB Billy Strother who took it in for the remaining 42 yards
•The Lobo defense accounted for 10 points on a touchdown, safety and the school’s first-ever defensive PAT…after UNLV pared the UNM lead to 21-16 with less than 10 minutes left in the game, the Rebels went for two…the halfback pass from Larry Croom to QB Kurt Nantkes was picked off by S Brandon Ratcliff and returned about 101 yards for the duece, giving the Lobos a 23-16 advantage
•Except for the defensive PAT, all of the New Mexico scoring occurred on third down plays…that included the interception return and the safety
•Junior DE Daniel Kegler (Frostproof, Fla.) notched a sack, which resulted in his second safety of the season…he also had one against Weber State…Kegler leads the MWC with 5.5 QB dumps on the year
•Senior CB David Crockett (Gardena, Calif.) had a career-high 9 tackles and his first interception of the season with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter
•Senior LB Charles Moss (Dallas) had 7 tackles and his team-leading second interception of the season…he leads the team with 65 stops…Moss has 197 tackles in his career
•Six Lobos made their first career starts at UNLV: Senior QB Justin Millea, redshirt freshman C Ryan Cook (Albuquerque), sophomore DE Kyle Coulter (Sapulpa, Okla.), redshirt freshman DE Marcus Parker (Garland, Texas), junior DT Zack Rupp (Pleasant Grove, Utah) and true freshman K Kenny Byrd (Albuquerque)…for Byrd, who only played soccer in high school, it was his first action in any type of football game…when Byrd was issued his equipment in August, he didn’t know how to put the pads in his pants
• New Mexico WR Dwight Counter (Lancaster, Texas) did not catch a pass, ending his consecutive games streak at 17 straight games…the junior has 75 receptions for 1,066 yards, and is close to cracking UNM’s top-15 in both categories
•Junior TE Bryan Penley led the blockers with 9 knockdowns
OFFENSE NOTES•UNM had scored in 111 consecutive games, the 15th-longest active streak in the nation, before the 49-0 shutout by Texas Tech on Sept. 27…the last team to blank the Lobos had been BYU (35-0) on Nov. 7, 1992
•Lobo tight ends have caught 17 passes for 150 yards and 2 TDs this season compared to last year’s numbers of just 6 catches for 37 yards…junior Bryan Penley (Victoria, Texas) leads the way with 11 grabs for 110 yards and the 2 TDs…that’s the most receptions by a Lobo TE since Brian Johnson caught 18 for 212 yards in 1998
DEFENSE NOTES•In the 23-0 win over Baylor, UNM allowed just 107 yards, the stingiest effort since holding UTEP to 70 in 1983…it ranks as the 10th-lowest yards ever yielded by a Lobo team
•Junior DE D.J. Renteria (Roswell, N.M.) has recovered four fumbles, a figure that leads the MWC…the UNM single-season record for fumble recoveries is 5 by Tom Cole in 1984 and Charles Butler in 1994…Renteria has 5 recoveries for his career
•Only five backs have eclipsed 100 yards rushing against UNM since the start of 2000, a span of 30 games, however, two have done so this season: Oregon State’s Ken Simonton (184) and UNLV’s Jeremi Rudolph (106) in 2000, Utah’s Dameon Hunter (177) in 2001 and Air Force’s Leotis Palmer (125) and New Mexico State’s Paul Dombrowski (136) this year
•The Lobos had held 9 straight opponents to less than 200 yards rushing before Air Force totaled 261 and New Mexico State got 262…only three times in the past 27 games has an opponent reached 200 yards on the ground…the 262 yards by New Mexico State are the most against the Lobos since Air Force had 283 in 1999
•It’s been 47 games since UNM allowed 300 rushing yards…San Diego State churned for 349 yards in 1998
•UNM’s first three opponents manufactured 8 scoring drives covering at least 80 yards…in 12 games in 2001, opponents only did that 7 times
•Foes converted 58% (28-48) of their 3rd-downs the first three games before Baylor was held to 2-of-15…opponents have converted 45% this season compared to 34% all of last year…NC State was an unsettling 67% (10-15) on 3rd downs, the best percentage against the Lobos since Air Force made 73% (11 of 15) in a 56-14 win on Oct. 3, 1998…the Wolfpack gained 181 yards on those 10 conversions, including TDs of 21, 1 and 50 yards, respectively
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES•Dwight Counter is 1st in the MWC and 2nd in the nation in punt returns, averaging 21.1 yards…he has 211 yards on 10 returns…Counter scored on a 63-yard return against Weber State…he returned 4 punts for 107 yards against Baylor, the highest single-game total since Chad Smith set a UNM record with 142 yards on 7 returns against UTEP in 1996…Counter’s 74-yard return against Baylor – which was not a TD – ties for the 7th-longest in school history…the Lobos are 4th in the nation in punt returns, averaging 19.8 yards
•The Lobos have returned 3 punts for TDs in the past 12 games…Counter had the 63-yarder against Weber State on the first return of his career…one of the previous scoring returns – last year versus New Mexico State – was the result of a blocked punt
•UNM has blocked 10 punts since the start of the 2000 season – a span of 30 games…Brandon Gregory (St. Louis, Mo.) stuffed the Air Force punter earlier this year
•True freshman P Tyler Gaus (San Diego, Calif.) has punted 41 times for a 40-yard average…13 of his kicks have landed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line…UNM is 2nd in the MWC and 23rd nationally in net punting at 37.3 yards…only 18 of Gaus’ punts have been returned for a total of 100 yards, an average of 5.6 yards
•New Mexico led the MWC in kickoff coverage last year, allowing just 18.6 yards a return…the Lobos are good in 2002 as well as opponents have returned 12 kicks for a 17.9-yard average
•UNM has punted 205 consecutive times without having a kick blocked…the last rejector was Air Force’s Buck Hodgkinson, who did so in the first quarter of the 1999 season finale, 31 games ago
YOUNGSTERS•The Lobos may have the youngest team in the nation with only nine seniors currently participating. Quincy Wright is the 10th, but he is out for the season with a knee injury. UNM has three seniors on offense and six on defense.
ATTENDANCE STRONG AGAIN•UNM has had four straight crowds in excess of 30,000, a first for the Lobo program…prior to the current string, the best was two in a row in 1997…the crowd of 35,765 for Weber State ranks third-best all-time while 35,111 for Texas Tech is No. 4 at University Stadium
•New Mexico is averaging 33,630 fans through three games…the school record, established last year, is 31,268
•Lobo fans purchased 14,142 season tickets in 2002, the second-highest in school history and easily eclipsing last year’s total of 13,202…it’s the ninth straight season New Mexico has sold at least 10,000 season tickets. The school record is 14,254 set in 1998.
ALTERNATIVE SCORING•The Lobos have definitely found ways to put points on the board other than just on offense. Here’s a list of “other” scores since the start of the 2000 season:
2000 (3 TDs)Oregon State:Stephen Persley 20-yard punt return (on a block)Wyoming:Mike Barnett 25-yard fumble recoveryat Air Force:Stephen Persley 19-yard punt return (on a block)
2001 (6 TDs, 2 safeties)UTEP:Terrell Golden safetyat Utah:Gary Davis safetyat Wyoming:Stephen Persley 6-yard interception return/David Crockett 17-yard interception returnAir Force:Stephen Persley 25-yard fumble recovery/Holmon Wiggins 47-yard punt returnColorado State:Terrell Golden 24-yard fumble recoveryNew Mexico State:Amos Wilson 30-yard punt return (on a block)
2002 (3 TDs, 2 safeties, 1 PAT return)Weber State:Daniel Kegler safety/Billy Strother 42-yard fumble recovery/Dwight Counter 63-yard punt returnat UNLV:Desmar Black 25-yard interception return/Brandon Ratcliff defensive PAT return/Daniel Kegler safety
CAPTAINS•New Mexico’s four captains were selected last spring by a vote of the team. The offensive captains are both juniors, QB Casey Kelly and WR Dwight Counter. NT Hebrews Josue and LB Charles Moss – both seniors – are the defensive captains.
GAME-DAY COACHING ASSIGNMENTS•Head coach Rocky Long is joined on the sidelines by assistant coaches Bob Bostad (offensive line), Jeff Conway (special teams/receivers), Curtis Luper (running backs), Lenny Rodriguez (linebackers) and Everett Todd (cornerbacks). Upstairs in the press box are offensive coordinator Dan Dodd, defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall, tight ends coach Jason Strauss and defensive line coach Grady Stretz.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS•UNM was picked to finish sixth in the 2002 MWC race by the league’s media. That’s the highest predicted finish in Rocky Long’s five years at New Mexico. However, since the inception of the MWC, the Lobos have proved the sages wrong every year:
|PRESEASON 1999|FINAL 1999||BYU|BYU5-2||Air Force|Colorado State5-2||San Diego State|Utah5-2||Utah| Wyoming4-3||Colorado State|New Mexico3-4||Wyoming|San Diego State3-4||New Mexico|Air Force2-5||UNLV|UNLV1-6|
|PRESEASON 2000|FINAL 2000||Utah|Colorado State6-1||Colorado State|Air Force5-2||BYU|UNLV4-3||Air Force|BYU4-3||San Diego State|New Mexico3-4||Wyoming|Utah3-4||UNLV|San Diego State3-4||New Mexico|Wyoming0-7|
|PRESEASON 2001|FINAL 2001||Colorado State|BYU7-0||UNLV|Colorado State5-2||BYU|New Mexico4-3||San Diego State|Utah4-3||Air Force|UNLV3-4||Utah|Air Force2-4||New Mexico|San Diego State2-5||Wyoming|Wyoming0-7|
Composite MWC Record (1999-2001, MWC games only)BYU16-5Colorado State16-5Utah12-9New Mexico10-11Air Force10-11UNLV8-13San Diego State8-13Wyoming 4-17
BLOCK PARTY•The Lobos have rejected 10 punts since the start of the 2000 season, or the past 29 games. Four of the rejections have been returned for scores. After having gone 21 straight games during most of 1998 and all of ’99 without blocking a punt, the Lobos established a school record with five blocks in 2000. The year-by-year blocks:
2000Texas Tech:Dave MaurerOregon State:Stephen Persley (TD by Persley)Air Force:Terrell Golden (TD by Persley)Utah:Stephen PersleyUNLV:Larry Davis
2001Texas Tech:Stephen PersleyBaylor:Derrick ShepherdSan Diego State:Derrick ShepherdNew Mexico State:Tony Mazotti (TD by Amos Wilson)
2002Air Force:Brandon Gregory
LOBOS IN OVERTIME•The Lobos are 1-3 all-time in overtime games, including a 38-31 loss this year at Air Force. UNM played a pair of OT games in 1998, winning a 39-36 triple-OT thriller against Utah State and losing to San Diego State 36-33 in a single overtime. The Lobos suffered a 16-13 setback last year at Baylor in single overtime.
GRADES KEEP CLIMBING•The University of New Mexico football team compiled a 2.63 grade-point-average for the 2002 spring semester, the highest GPA since UNM began charting grades in the fall of 1988. UNM had a 2.59 GPA in the spring of 2000 and 2001. That means five of the top-seven semester GPAs have occurred under current head coach Rocky Long. Thirteen Lobos earned academic all-conference laurels during the 2001 season, also a record.
STADIUM IMPROVEMENTS/ATTENDANCE MARK•Last year, the home of New Mexico football – University Stadium – received its most significant renovation since it was erected in 1960, and it proved to be a smashing success. A record crowd of 41,771 witnessed the Lobos’ season-opening 26-6 victory over UTEP on Sept. 1, 2001, crushing the previous mark of 37,156 for the Rice game in 1997. UNM averaged a school-record 31,268 fans in 2001.
•While the expanded stadium has just 37,370 fixed seats, UNM was able to shoehorn nearly 4,000 more fans into the UTEP game by selling 1,000 bleacher tickets in the south end and standing-room-only spots.
•A pavilion now connects the east and west stands for the first time. Renovation on the northwest corner of the stadium was completed in October of 2000 and includes new concession stands, restrooms, novelty stands and landscaping. The next phase is to renovate the remaining three corners with new facilities.
•The highlight of the renovation is a $1.8 million state-of-the-art videoboard at the north end of the stadium. Appropriately named LoboVision, the system has instant replay and live-action capabilities. Manufactured by Daktronics, Inc., the board measures 60 feet high and 61 feet wide. The videoboard is 21′ x 28′. A staff of 10, including three cameras, is needed to operate the system during games.
LOBO TRACK SAYS THANKS TO FOOTBALL•Five members of the UNM football team combined to score 42.5 points at the 2002 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track Championships. That was more than one-third of UNM’s team total of 125.5 points.
•WR Hank Baskett III placed 2nd in the high jump with a leap of 6-10 1/4. WR Michael Powdrell placed 3rd in the high jump (6-10 1/4) and 5th in the long jump (23-11 1/4). LB Shannon Kincaid was 4th in the long jump with a career-best effort of 24-2 1/2. NT Guillermo Morrison was 3rd in the discus (160-0) and 5th in the shot put (51-10 1/2) while RB Quincy Wright ran the 100 meters in 10.53 to claim second place.
SUCCESSFUL WALK-ONS•Some of the better-known Lobos – past and present – began their careers as walk-ons, including four team captains over the past two years. Departed seniors Jarrod Baxter, Brian Johnson and Mohammed Konte all started their UNM careers without athletic scholarships, as did junior quarterback Casey Kelly, an offensive team captain for the 2002 season who was awarded a scholarship prior to his sophomore campaign.
•Baxter, a fifth-round pick of the Houston Texans in the 2002 National Football League Draft, was a walk-on during the fall semester of 1997 under former head coach Dennis Franchione. He was placed on scholarship in the spring of 1998. Johnson, a two-time first team all-conference selection, was a 195-pound walk-on running back when he came to Albuquerque in the fall of ’97. He had to wait a year for a scholarship after impressing Long and his staff during ’98 spring drills. Konte, also a redshirt in ’97, paid his own way for three years before being placed on aid in the fall of 2000 and earned honorable mention all-conference honors.
•Former walk-ons placed on scholarship prior to the 2001 season include junior S Terrell Golden, a two-year starter and honorable mention all-conference selection last year, and junior WR Terrence Thomas. This year’s recipients are sophomore S Josh Bazinet, redshirt freshman C Ryan Cook, sophomore deep snapper Martin Lovato, sophomore fullback Ryan Rice and sophomore K Wes Zunker.
THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE•After 37 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference from 1962-98, the University of New Mexico officially joined Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, UNLV, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference on July 1, 1999. The 2002 season will be the fourth for the MWC. Craig Thompson is the commissioner after spending eight years as commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference.
•This is the fourth conference affiliation for the University of New Mexico. The Lobos were in the Border Conference from 1931-50, Skyline from 1951-61, and WAC from 1962-98.
•UNM was a charter member of the Western Athletic Conference in 1962 along with Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Wyoming and Utah. The Lobos compiled a 91-159-2 record in 37 seasons of WAC play.
•UNM has claimed conference titles four times: the 1934 Border, and WAC in 1962, ’63 and ’64. The Lobos also won the 1997 WAC Mountain Division championship.
CLINIC HELPS UNDERPRIVILEDGED KIDS•The ninth annual UNM Women’s Football Clinic was held on July 30 with nearly 200 football-hungry females attending. Consequently, over 700 Albuquerque area children will be able to see a Lobo game as part of the UNM Send-A-Kid Program, which provides tickets for underpriviledged and disadvantaged youth. Since the program was founded in 1994, over 7,000 children have been able to see a game.
UTAH STATE NOTES•The Aggies are allowing 41 points and 490 yards of total offense a game, 245.2 yards on the ground and 244.8 through the air…they have yielded 18 rushing TDs…USU has been outscored 58-7 in the third quarter
•Senior WR Kevin Curtis caught 100 passes for 1,531 yards and 10 TDs last year…his 2002 numbers are 38 grabs for 583 yards and three scores, including one for 80 yards
•Third-year head coach Mick Dennehy (Montana ’73) is 59-43 in his 10th year as a head coach, including a 10-18 mark at Utah State…Dennehy compiled an impressive 39-12 record in four seasons (1996-99) at NCAA Div. I-AA power Montana…the Grizzlies were national runnerup in 1996
WORDS FROM THE HEAD COACH•(On UNLV) — “It’s a special victory because of all the things that have happened on and off the field the past few weeks. I told the team after the game that they have a lot of heart and not to believe everything that is being said about them. We made more big plays than I anticipated on both offense and defense. For as bad a two weeks that we had, it’s unbelievable how they bounced back and played with the emotion and heart that they did. The secondary made some key plays in crucial times.”
•(on QB Justin Millea) — “Justin did exactly what we thought he would do. He is a great competitor. He played hard enough and well enough to keep us in the game