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Two teams picked to finish near the bottom of the conference in the preseason polls will try to keep postseason dreams alive Saturday as New Mexico (4-5, 2-1 MWC) plays host to San Diego State (3-6, 3-1 MWC). The Lobos reside in third place in the MWC, while San Diego State is in second. UNM was picked to finish sixth in the MWC preaseason rankings, the Aztecs seventh. Kickoff is 4:07 p.m. Mountain Time from University Stadium in Albuquerque. The game will be televised by SportsWest and can be seen locally on KRQE-TV. UNM needs three wins in its last four games to become bowl eligible. The Aztecs must win their remaining four. New Mexico’s last 3-1 conference start was in 2000. • The Lobos did not play last week, as they got to savor a palpitating 42-35 double overtime victory over Utah on Oct. 26. New Mexico is a perfect 5-0 following off weeks under current head coach Rocky Long. San Diego State, 0-5 in non-conference play, had a three-game MWC winning streak snapped last week at BYU, 34-10.
• New Mexico is now 2-4 all-time in overtime affairs, 1-2 this season. The three OT games in 2002 ties an NCAA single-season record held by several schools since the format was introduced in 1996. No school has played four overtime games in one season.
• San Diego State leads the MWC and ranks 5th nationally in passing at 333.9 yards a game. The Aztecs also possess two of the nation’s top-three receivers in seniors J.R. Tolver and Kassim Osgood. Tolver, averaging 9.2 catches and an NCAA-best 138.4 yards a game in 2002, is the Aztecs’ career receiving leader with 217 catches. He is second on the charts with 3,033 yards. Osgood’s averages are 8.6 receptions and 118 yards a game, third in the NCAA in both categories. Opponents have completed 55% of their pass attempts and thrown 23 TD passes against UNM this season. The Lobos are allowing 257.4 passing yards a game, 7th in the MWC and 102nd nationally.
• UNM is averaging 32,047 through four games. The school record, established last year, is 31,268.
• New Mexico is 8-4 in October the past four seasons, going 2-1 every year between 1999-2001.
• 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 five of their last seven 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. San Diego State was 3-8 overall and 2-5 in the league.
• 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.
GAME-DAY SPONSORS/PROMOTIONS• The San Diego State game is sponsored by Giant Gasoline and Convenience Stores, 103.3 The Zone and 96.3 The Buzzard.
• The MWC has granted UNM a 5-minute extension of halftime for Saturday’s contest. Halftime will be 25 minutes in length to accommodate the performance by more than 1,500 young girls participating in Razzle Dazzle dance group. The MWC grants school’s one exemption per season.
THE SAN DIEGO STATE SERIES• The Lobos and Aztecs meet for the 29th time since the first game in 1953. SDSU has a 20-8 lead in all games, although UNM has won two of three since the Mountain West Conference was formed. The Aztecs have a commanding 10-3 advantage in games played in Albuquerque.
• In a real oddity, the visiting team has won the past six games. The last time the home team won was 1995 with the Aztecs taking a 38-29 decision in San Diego.
• The Lobos have won three in a row at Qualcomm Stadium after losing seven straight between 1984-95. SDSU has captured eight consecutive encounters in Albuquerque. UNM’s last win on the University Stadium turf was in 1983, 34-14.
• The average margin of victory in the last four games is just three points. The last four games in Albuquerque – all SDSU wins – have been decided by 1, 3, 6 and 7 points, respectively. The 1998 encounter was settled in overtime.
• UNM won 20-15 last year in San Diego. Casey Kelly threw a 61-yard TD pass to Joel Baker and DE Brian Johnson secured the victory with a sack on the Aztecs’ last drive. The Lobos set season-lows with 34 yards rushing and 265 yards of offense. SDSU was held to 222 total yards.
• Two years ago in Albuquerque, UNM was unable to maintain a 16-0 halftime lead before falling 17-16. Nate Tanberg’s 18-yard field goal with 5:27 left proved to be the game winner. UNM notched a season-high seven sacks and held SDSU to a season-low 183 yards of offense, including 35 yards rushing.
LOBOS FROM SAN DIEGO• New Mexico has two players on its roster from San Diego. Junior WR Michael Brunker is a 1999 graduate of Patrick Henry HS and attended Grossmont College in 1999-2000. Brunker’s father, also named Michael, was an assistant men’s basketball coach at San Diego State under Smokey Gaines. True freshman Tyler Gaus came to UNM during walk-on tryouts and became the team’s starting punter. Gaus graduated from Valhalla HS last spring.
LOBOS LOVE THE BYE• After beating UNLV 25-16, in Las Vegas on Oct. 12, UNM is now 5-0 following scheduled open weeks under 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 after a bye was 48-42 versus San Diego State in Albuquerque 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|
CARDIAC CARE• The Lobos have played three overtime games in 2002, including two straight. UNM lost at Utah State 45-44 in a single overtime on Oct. 19, then followed that up with a 42-35 double-OT win at home against Utah. New Mexico lost at Air Force 38-31 on Sept. 7.
• At Utah State, the Lobos scored 14 points in a 53-second span to grab a 38-31 lead with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. Terrell Golden’s 59-yard interception – his second pick of the game – staked UNM to the seven-point bulge, but the Aggies scored on a 32-yard Hail Mary on the last play of regulation to knot the score at 38-38. Utah State scored first in overtime. The Lobos answered with a TD, but missed the extra point to end the game.
UTAH RECAP• The Lobo defense, victims of 440 yards passing by Utah’s Brett Elliott through regulation and the first overtime, thwarted four pass attempts from the 14-yard line in the second overtime to come away with a therapuetic 42-35 victory over the Utes.
• The unexpected offensive slugfest resulted in Utah holding a 28-21 lead at halftime. The only scoring in regulation after intermission was QB Casey Kelly’s 2-yard run with 46 seconds left that evened the score at 28.
• In overtime, Utah got the ball first and scored on a 6-yard TD pass. The Lobos answered in just two plays as Kelly scored on a keeper from 19 yards out. UNM got the ball first in the second overtime. Kelly rushed 14 yards to set up 1st-and-goal at the Utah 4. Three plays later, backup QB Justin Millea squirted in from the 1.
• New Mexico allowed seven passes of 26 yards or more. The last big play almost cost UNM the game. After tying the game at 28, Utah completed a 29-yard pass to the Lobo 34 with three seconds remaining. However, the 51-yard game-winning field goal attempt was wide left. The Utes, who lost three fumbles, also missed a 20-yard field goal early in the third period.
• Utah gathered 319 yards – including 274 through the air – in the first half. In the second half and OT, the Utes had 190 yards of offense, 166 passing. Utah came into the game averaging 163 yards rushing, but were held to 89 yards on 39 attempts.
NOTES FROM THE UTAH GAME• The Lobos have won four straight homecoming games for the first time since winning five in a row from 1958-62…UNM is 6-1 in front of the alums since 1996
• Prior to Utah, the Lobos had scored just 17 points in the 1st quarter in 2002 and had gone four straight games without scoring in that frame…UNM scored 14 points against the Utes • Junior QB Casey Kelly (Portland, Ore.), playing with a soft cast on his broken left arm for the second straight game, had another solid performance…Kelly completed 11 of 23 passes for 134 yards, no interceptions and 2 TDs…his 80-yard TD strike to WR Dwight Counter trimmed Utah’s lead to seven midway through the second quarter…Kelly also rushed for a career-high 55 yards and a pair of scores, the first a 2-yard plunge with 46 seconds left in regulation that forced overtime…the second was a 19-yard keeper in overtime…34 of his rushing yards came in OT
• Kelly’s pass efficiency has risen from 101.84 to 114.01 the past 2 games, and he has accounted for 7 TDs, 5 passing and 2 on the ground over that span…Kelly has thrown 79 straight passes without an interception…his last pick was in the third quarter at New Mexico State on Sept. 21…Kelly and Brad Wright are the only Lobos to toss two scoring passes of 80 yards or more in a career…Kelly had an 85-yard bomb to Dwight Counter last year against Colorado State
• The Lobos rushed for 268 yards, establishing a season-high for the third straight game…that’s the most rushing yards by UNM against Utah since gaining 294 in 1985…the 402 yards of total offense is the most by the Lobos against the Utes since 408 yards in 1995
• Redshirt freshman DonTrell Moore (Roswell, N.M.) had his second straight 100-yard rushing effort, rambling for 163 yards on 27 carries…he became the first back in 2002 to surpass the century mark against Utah…Moore scored on an electrifying 33-yard run and would have duplicated that feat later in the game, but he fumbled at the goal line midway through the fourth quarter with the score tied at 28…Moore, who rushed 7 times for 0 yards in the first 3 games as Quincy Wright’s backup, now has 596 yards on the season and needs to average 101 yards the last four games to become only the second freshman in school history to reach 1,000 yards for a season…Winslow Oliver gained 1,063 yards in 1992…Moore’s 329 yards the past 2 games are the most in consecutive games by a UNM freshman…Oliver is the only UNM freshman to gain 100 yards in three straight games • Moore’s 166 yards against Utah State is the 3rd-best effort ever by a Lobo freshman…Reginal Johnson galloped for 232 yards vs. Tulsa in 1996 and Oliver gained 186 yards against Air Force in 1992
• Junior TE Zack Cresap (Victoria, Texas) caught 2 passes for 19 yards, including his first career TD from 11 yards…his second grab of 8 yards to the Utah 3 converted a 3rd-and-8 situation and kept alive the Lobos’ eventual game-tying score late in regulation
• Junior WR Dwight Counter (Lancaster, Texas) caught 3 passes for 100 yards, the third time in his career he’s eclipsed the century mark…Counter caught an 80-yard TD from Kelly, tying for the 10th-longest in school history…Counter is the first Lobo with two scoring passes of 80 yards or more in a career…he caught an 85-yard TD from Kelly last year against Colorado State
• True freshman P Troy Gaus (San Diego) kicked eight times for a 44-yard average, the second-best game of his career…included was a career-long boot of 60 yards
• Sophomore deep snapper Martin Lovato (Albuquerque) set up the Lobos’ second score of the day…after delivering a solid snap to Gaus, Lovato bolted down the field and popped Utah return man Morgan Scalley, forcing a fumble…Lovato recovered the loose ball, and DonTrell Moore scored two plays later on a 33-yard run
• A week after missing an extra point that would have forced a second overtime at Utah State, walk-on K Kenny Byrd (Albuquerque) connected on all six PAT tries against Utah…one came with 46 seconds left in regulation that tied the score at 28…his first try in OT was from 25 yards – out after a Lobo penalty – that sent the game into a second overtime
• S Brandon Ratcliff (12), S Kevin Walton (7) and NT Hebrews Josue (6) set career-highs for tackles
OFFENSE NOTES• Because of overtime, the Lobos are averaging 37 points the past 3 games compared to 19.8 the first 6 games…UNM has averaged 30.3 ppg in regulation the past 3 games
• New Mexico has scored 40 or more points in consecutive games for the first time since the 1994 season…UNM has scored 40 or more in three straight games only twice, 1916 and 1971
• After averaging 146.8 rushing yards and scoring 9 TDs the first six games, UNM has averaged 262.7 yards and scored 8 times the past three contests: 257 at UNLV, 263 at Utah State and 268 against Utah…UNLV was allowing just 99 rushing yards a game, Utah 100.3
• Under Rocky Long, the Lobos are 11-4 when rushing for 200 or more yards in a game and 10-2 when gaining 225 or more…the two losses came against Utah State (263 yards) this year and to Colorado State (254 yards) in 1999
• Thanks to the enhanced rushing game, UNM’s total offense numbers are on the rise as well…the Lobos totaled 483 yards at Utah State and 402 against Utah for an average of 442.5 yards a game…it’s the first time for consecutive 400-yard outbursts since the final two games of last season…UNM has not had three straight since 1997
• New Mexico has scored just once on its opening drive of the game this season…after Weber State fumbled on its first snap from scrimmage, Quincy Wright scored on the next play from 34 yards out
• Redshirt freshman WR Hank Baskett (Clovis, N.M.) saw his first action as a Lobo at Utah State and caught 2 passes, both for TDs…he caught a 9-yard pass in the second quarter and had a 12-yard score in overtime…Baskett suffered a spinal concussion during two-a-days on Aug. 14 that required him being taken off the field on a backboard and admitted to University Hospital with minimal movement in his extremeties for several hours…Baskett sat idle for almost two months before being cleared for contact on Oct. 6
• 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 22 passes for 204 yards and 4 TDs this season compared to last year’s numbers of just 6 catches for 37 yards…Bryan Penley (Vicrtoria, Texas) leads the way with 14 grabs for 145 yards and the team-leading 3 TD catches…that’s the most receptions by a Lobo TE since Brian Johnson caught 18 for 212 yards in 1998
• Seventeen different Lobos have scored during the 2002 season
DEFENSE NOTES• The Lobos have forced 9 turnovers (4 fumbles, 5 interceptions) the past three games compared to 10 during the first six games
• Junior DE Daniel Kegler (Frostproof, Fla.) is second in the MWC with 6.5 QB sacks…two of his sacks have been for safeties
• UNM has allowed 1,900 yards the past four games, an average of 475 yards a game…opponents have averaged 370.3 yards passing over that span
• The Lobo defense accounted for 11 points on a touchdown, safety and the school’s first-ever defensive PAT at UNLV…after the Rebels pared the UNM lead to 21-16 with less than 10 minutes left in the game, they 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
• Twice this year, a Lobo has caused a turnover then lateraled the ball off to a teammate for a TD…against Weber State, NT Hebrews Josue stripped QB Tate Bennett and ran 41 yards before handing off to LB Billy Strother who took it the remaining 42 yards…LB Charles Moss intercepted UNLV’s Jason Thomas and advanced it 5 yards before being tackled…Moss pitched to CB Desmar Black who rambled the 25 yards for his first career score
• In the 23-0 win over Baylor, UNM allowed just 107 yards, the stingiest effort since holding UTEP to 70 yards in 1983…it ranks as the 10th-lowest total 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 the 2000 season, a span of 32 games: 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 29 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 49 games since UNM allowed 300 rushing yards…San Diego State churned for 349 yards in 1998
• UNM’s first three opponents produced 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 43% this season compared to 34% all of last year…NC State was an un settling 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• Even though he has returned 6 punts for 10 yards the past two games, Dwight Counter is 2nd in the MWC and 19th nationally in punt returns, averaging 13.9 yards…he has 223 yards on 16 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 19th in the nation in punt returns, averaging 13.8 yards
• The Lobos have returned 3 punts for TDs in the past 14 games…Counter had the 63-yarder against Weber State on his first career return
• UNM has blocked 10 punts since the start of the 2000 season – a span of 32 games…Brandon Gregory (St. Louis, Mo.) stuffed the Air Force punter earlier this year
• True freshman P Tyler Gaus (San Diego, Calif.) has punted 51 times for a 40.6-yard average…15 of his kicks have landed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line…UNM is 2nd in the MWC and 8th nationally in net punting at 38.0 yards…only 23 of Gaus’ punts have been returned for a total of 117 yards, an average of 5.1 yards
• UNM has punted 216 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, 33 games ago
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 at UNLV on Oct. 12…thrust into the starting lineup just three days before the contest due to an injury to Casey Kelly and subsequent suspension of true freshman Kole McKamey, Millea rushed 20 times for 148 yards to earn MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors…included in that total was a 73-yard scoring scamper in the third quarter, the Lobos’ longest run in five years, that pushed UNM’s lead to 21-10…Millea also engineered the Lobos’ longest scoring drive of the year at the time – 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
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 for a game with a broken left arm suffered against Texas Tech. Junior LB Shannon Kincaid (Albuquerque) has missed seven games after twice injuring his right knee. He had arthroscopic surgery Oct. 14. Starting K Wes Zunker (New Braunfels, Texas) was limited to five games due to a groin injury.
• 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. 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.
ALTERNATIVE SCORING• UNM has found other ways to put points on the board other than just on offense. A list of “other” scores since the start of the 2000:
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 (ona block)
2002 (4 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 safetyat Utah State: Terrell Golden 59-yard interception return
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 had four straight crowds in excess of 30,000, a first for the Lobo program, before 27,300 gathered for Utah on Oct. 26…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
BLOCK PARTY• The Lobos have rejected 10 punts since the start of the 2000 season, or the past 30 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 2-4 all-time in overtime games, including losses at Air Force (38-31) and Utah State (45-44) and a 42-35 double overtime win against Utah this season. 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.
SAN DIEGO STATE NOTES• Head coach Tom Craft is in his first year with the Aztecs. He was named SDSU’s 15th head coach on Dec. 6, 2001. Craft played quarterback for the Aztecs in 1975-76. He was team captain as a senior when SDSU went 10-1 as an NCAA independent. Craft’s final collegiate game was a 17-14 victory over the Lobos in San Diego. Craft was the Aztecs’ offensive coordinator from 1994-96, including a pair of 8-win seasons in 1995-96. The ’96 San Diego State team was the first in NCAA history with a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,500-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers.
• Junior QB Adam Hall, a transfer from the University of Texas following the 1999 season, saw very limited action against the Lobos last year in San Diego. He rushed one time for 1 yard and threw one incompletion. Hall ranks fourth in the nation in passing (331.1 ypg) and fifth in total offense (323.9 ypg).
• The Aztecs came into the BYU game averaging 24 points and 426.6 yards of total offense a game, including 347.1 yards through the air. The Cougars held SDSU to 246 yards, including 18 rushing and 228 passing. games before Baylor was held to 2-of-15…opponents have converted 43% this season compared to 34% all of last year…NC State was an un settling 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• Even though he has returned 6 punts for 10 yards the past two games, Dwight Counter is 2nd in the MWC and 19th nationally in punt returns, averaging 13.9 yards…he has 223 yards on 16 returns…Counter scored on a 63-yard return against Weber State…he returned 4 punts for 107 yards against Baylor, the highest single-gametot,(|”(|”d 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 19th in the nation in punt returns, averaging 13.8 yards
• The Lobos have returned 3 punts for TDs in the past 14 games…Counter had the 63-yarder against Weber State on his first career retur