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Only four teams in NCAA Div. I-A football started 2-4 or worse in 2002 and rallied to qualify for a bowl game: Oklahoma State (2-4 start), North Texas (1-5 start), Cincinnati (2-5 start) and the New Mexico Lobos (2-4 start). Thats why the 104th season of Lobo football will always be regarded as one of the more rewarding in school history. The story was about a group of young men who overcame a mountain of adversity to play in just the schools second bowl game since 1961UNM finished 7-7 overall after falling to UCLA 27-13, in the Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl. The 14 games played is a school record. The bowl appearance was not solidified until the last game of the regular season when the Lobos beat Wyoming, 49-20. That victory also locked up second place in the eight-team Mountain West Conference for a team that was picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll. UNM won five of its last six conference games to finish 5-2 in the MWC.Following a humiliating 49-0 shutout at the hands of Texas Tech – seen by a national audience on ESPN – on Friday, Sept. 27, the Lobos were reeling at 2-4. Following that loss, New Mexico won five of its last seven regular-season games to claim second place outright in the MWC. The Lobos also won five of their last seven in 2001 to finish with awinning record at 6-5. After losing to Air Force in the conference opener on Sept. 7, New Mexico won five of its last six league games, including four straight for the first time since 1982. UNM won five conference games for only the seventh time: 5-1 in 1952, 58, 70 and 71; 6-1 in 1982 and 6-2 in 1997.New Mexico has the distinction of being the only school in the nation to increase its win total every year since 1999: UNM was 3-9 in 1998, 4-7 in 1999, 5-7 in 2000, 6-5 in 2001 and now 7-7 in 2002. The Lobos reached seven wins for the 15th time in school history, but for only the second time since going 10-1 in 1982. UNM was 9-4 in 1997.
LONG NAMED MWC COACH OF THE YEAR; MOORE TOP FRESHMANLobo head coach Rocky Long was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year by the leagues coaches and selected media. He also received coach of the year plaudits from The Sporting News and a media poll conducted by the Las Vegas Review Journal. Long joins three other UNM head coaches to win the award. Dudley DeGroot was the Skyline Conference pick in 1952 while Marv Levy earned the same honor in 1957. Dennis Franchione was voted Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1993 and 97. RB DonTrell Moore grabbed Freshman of the Year laurels after gaining more than 1,100 yards and scoring 15 TDs in his rookie season. He joins Winslow Oliver (1992) and current teammate Brandon Ratcliff (2000) as Lobos who have won the honor. LB Johnny Jackson was WAC Newcomer of the Year in 1981.
THREE LOBOS NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-MWCThree Lobos were named first team All-MWC: freshman RB DonTrell Moore, senior LB Charles Moss and junior S Brandon Ratcliff. Moores recognition is historic as he becomes the first UNM freshman to be named to the first team. Second-team picks include OG Claude Terrell, OT Jason Lenzmeier, DE Daniel Kegler, DE D.J. Renteria and Dwight Counter as a punt returner. Honorable mention accolades went to NT Hebrews Josue, LB Nick Speegle and LB Billy Strother.
QUICK HITSJunior kicker Katie Hnida became the first woman to make an appearance in an NCAA Div. I-A football game when she attempted an extra point against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl. A kicker for three years in high school, Hnidas extra point was blocked. The Lobos may have been the youngest team in the nation in 2002 with only nine seniors participating most of the season. TB Quincy Wright was the 10th senior, but he was out since September with a knee injury. In addition to getting their first victory at BYU since 1971, the Lobos also collected their first win against San Diego State in Albuquerque since 1983 and their first-ever triumph at UNLV.New Mexico is one of eight teams that has finished in the top-30 in total defense each of the past three seasons. The others are Kansas State, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, TCU, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. The Lobos were 17th in 2000 (309.4), 18th in 2001 (310.8) and 30th in 2002 (332.8).Thanks to an odd twist in the calender – there were 14 Saturdays from Labor Day weekend until Nov. 30 as required by the NCAA – teams were 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 Black Coaches Association Bowl at North Carolina State was an exempt game for the Lobos, giving UNM 13 tries in the regular season. New Mexico had played 13 games only one time in school history as the 1997 squad finished 9-4.UNM finished 5-1 at home, its first five-win campaign at University Stadium since 1997. Since the stadium was erected in 1960, the Lobos have won five home games six times: 1961, 62, 64, 82, 97 and 2002. New Mexico is 8-2 in its last 10 home games overall and 12-4 since the middle of the 2000 season. In conference play, the Lobos were 3-0 at home – the first undefeated home campaign since going 2-0 in 1970. They have won 7 of their last 10 MWC games since 2000.UNM averaged more than 30,000 fans a game for the second straight year and the third time overall. The 30,512 ranks third-best for a single season. New Mexico averaged 31,268 in 2001 and 30,662 in 1997.The Lobos are 6-2 in November the past two years. Both losses have come against nationally-ranked Colorado State. UNM was 1-9 in November from 1998-2000. The win over San Diego State on Nov. 9 means a telling streak remains intact for 2003: New Mexico is a perfect 6-0 following scheduled off weeks under Rocky Long. UNM has won nine straight games in such situations since the last setback in 1996.UNM was 1-2 in overtime in 2002. The three OT games tied an NCAA single-season record held by several schools since the format began in 1996.
UNM HISTORYThe Lobos have a 409-477-31 overall record through 104 seasons.UNM was founded in 1889, although the territory of New Mexico was not granted statehood until 1912. Three years later, the schools 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.
CHANGE ON THE STAFFOn Jan. 3, 2003, Osia (pronounced oh-SAY) Lewis was named the Lobos new defensive coordinator. Lewis comes to UNM after six seasons (1997-2002) as a defensive assistant at the University of Illinois. He replaced Bronco Mendenhall, who accepted the defensive coordinator position at BYU.Lewis, 40, is hooking up with Rocky Long for the second time as the two coaches spent five seasons together (1991-95) at Oregon State. Long was the Beavers defensive coordinator under head coach Jerry Pettibone while Lewis coached the outside linebackers and special teams. 2003 SPRING SCHEDULEThe Lobos will start spring practice on Monday, March 24. They will practice Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday for three straight weeks, then Monday and Tuesday on Apr. 14-15. The annual Cherry-Silver Game will be Saturday, Apr. 19, at 2 p.m. at University Stadium.
2002: WHAT A TURNAROUNDAs mentioned earlier, it was awful somber around South Campus in late September. After consecutive losses to New Mexico State and Texas Tech, UNM was floundering at 2-4. Senior TB Quincy Wright – he of the nearly 500 rushing yards in three-plus games – was lost for the year with a torn ACL. Junior QB Casey Kelly had his left (non-throwing) arm broken in the first half against the Red Raiders and was feared lost for the season.A much-needed off week followed the Texas Tech nightmare as the Lobos used the time to replace Kelly for UNLV. Heading into game week, true freshman Kole McKamey was given the nod to start in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, head coach Rocky Long announced that McKamey would not make the trip due to a one-game suspension for violating team policy. Facing a scant two days of practice, senior Justin Millea – a former walk-on who played primarily on special teams the previous two years – was thrust into the starting lineup. It was Milleas first start under center in five years, since he was a senior at Silver City (N.M.) High School. Right out of Hollywood, Millea guided a scaled-back Lobo offense – UNM used the single-wing several times – that rushed 49 times for 257 yards. Millea was the leading man, galloping for 148 yards on 20 carries, including a back-breaking 73-yard score in the third quarter. The defense scored on an interception-and-lateral, defensive PAT and a safety as the Lobos stunned the Rebels 25-16.The re-energized Lobos had to be thinking, were back on track, leading into a non-conference game at Utah State. Playing with a soft cast on his broken arm, Casey Kelly was back in the lineup after missing just one game. The nip-and-tuck battle seemed to swing in UNMs favor when safety Terrell Golden intercepted an Aggie pass and returned it 59 yards for a TD with 25 seconds left, handing the Lobos a seven-point lead. Somehow, Utah State scored on a 32-yard Hail Mary pass as time expired, sending the game into overtime. USU scored first, but the Lobos answered with a TD. Walk-on kicker Kenny Byrd – playing in just his second football game at any level and a kid who did not even know how to put pads in his pants in August – missed the PAT and a demoralized Lobo team walked off the field with a 45-44 loss and a 3-5 record.A telling moment came to light in the shocker at Utah State. After Byrd missed the extra point, he had to traverse the length of the field to get to lockerroom. There to comfort the shaken freshman kicker was 6-3, 330-pound sophomore offensive guard Claude Terrell, who walked with his arm around the 150-pound kicker all the way off the field.The following week did not appear much better as New Mexico trailed Utah 28-14 in the second quarter. The Utes were throwing at will and it looked like Texas Tech revisited. After cutting the deficit to 28-21 at halftime, the Lobo coaching staff made some adjustments. UNM scrapped its man-to-man coverage in favor of more zone alignments and it worked. Utah did not score again until the first overtime and UNM won it in double-OT, 42-35.It was that defensive change that may have resurrected the Lobos season. They reeled off consecutive wins against San Diego State (15-8) and BYU (20-16) – the first victory in Provo in 31 years – as the defense yielded no touchdowns in those eight quarters. UNM outplayed Colorado State statistically in a game with conference-title implications, but the Rams were able to clinch the crown with a hard-fought 22-14 win. The Lobos blitzed Wyoming in the finale to grab the bowl spot.A look at the stats in UNMs first six games compared to the last eight, which includes the bowl game against UCLA.
First 6Last 8Record2-45-3Rushing Offense146.8202.9Rushing TDs917Passing Offense152.7140.1Total Offense299.5343.0Scoring Offense19.827.8
Rushing Defense147.590.4Passing Defense217.5218.3Total Defense365.0306.6Scoring Defense28.223.6
UNM Turnovers917Opp. Turnovers1018T.O.P.28:0333:15
UCLA RECAPThe Lobo football team did more giving than receiving on Christmas Day, giving the UCLA Bruins three turnovers, which they turned into 17 points, as UCLA beat New Mexico 27-13 in the Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl. I thought it was a tough-fought game on both parts and our kids competed hard, head coach Rocky Long said. We made some mistakes that gave them some opportunities to score, and put us in a bad position. Following a DonTrell Moore fumble, UCLA got on the board first with a Nate Fikse 49-yard field goal at 10:24 of the first quarter. UNM then took a 6-3 lead when senior cornerback Desmar Black picked off UCLA QB Drew Olson’s pass in the flat and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown at the 8:20 mark of the first quarter. Junior kicker Katie Hnida then made her first career appearance, but had her extra point blocked. Already the first and only woman to dress for an NCAA Division I bowl game, Hnida made a little more history in becoming the first woman ever to make an appearance in an NCAA Div. I-A football game. “I made the decision to let Katie (Hnida) kick the first extra point,” Long said. “She has been a vital part of this team all year, and I felt that she deserved the opportuntity to make a play.” The Lobos’ had a chance to increase their lead early in the second quarter after driving to the UCLA 17. After three incompletions, Kenny Byrd’s 34-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right as the 14-play, 74-yard drive resulted in no points, ending a UNM streak of 19 straight scores inside the red zone. Fikse connected on his second field goal of the day from 39 yards out to knot the game at 6-6 with 6:21 remaining in the second quarter. The kick was set up by a questionable pass interference penalty on the Lobos in the endzone. The game remained tied at halftime. The UCLA special teams rose to the occasion when Craig Bragg took a punt back 74 yards early in the third quarter to give the Bruins a 13-6 lead. More bad luck followed at the beginning of the fourth quarter as QB Casey Kellys throw to the flat bounced off the back of TE Zach Cresap into the waiting arms of Jarrad Page. Page returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to give UCLA a 20-6 advantage. On the next Lobo possession, WR Joe Manning caught a pass from Kelly only to be stripped of the ball. New Mexicos third turnover of the game set up a 1-yard leap by freshman Tyler Ebell, handing the Bruins a 27-6 lead. Kelly found Manning in the back of the end zone for a touchdown that brought the Lobos to within 27-13, but New Mexico would get no closer.Kelly finished with a season-high 237 yards, completing 18 of 32 passes. Dwight Counter caught five balls for 78 yards, while senior Jake Farrel also had 78 yards receiving on 4 catches. Redshirt freshman TB DonTrell Moore, hobbled by a sprained right ankle late in the second quarter, was limited to 17 yards on 14 carries. He finished 2002 with 1,134 yards, the second-best single season rushing total in school history. The defense certainly did its part, holding the Bruins to a season-low 167 yard of total offense. UCLA only had to travel 76 yards for its three offensive scores, two field goals and a touchdown.
OFFENSE NOTESQuarterback: Junior QB Casey Kelly (Portland, Ore.) has started 19 of UNMs past 21 games and he has a record of 11-8 in that role…Kelly completed 57.6% of his passes in 2002 compared to 47% in 01…he had 14 TDs and 7 interceptions this year against 8 TDs and 12 interceptions in 2001…in his last seven games, Kelly threw only 3 interceptions compared to 11 TDs, covering 158 pass attempts…the former walk-on suffered a broken left arm in the first quarter of the loss against Texas Tech and was feared lost for the season…he came back three weeks later – missing just one game – and led UNM to a 4-2 record down the stretch…playing with a soft cast on his broken left arm the last half of the season, Kellys pass efficiency rose from 101.84 to a season-ending 118.83…he was 7 of 11 passing against Wyoming for 164 yards and a career-high 4 TDs…he also rushed 12 times for a career-high 84 yards against the Cowboys…Kellys numbers the last 7 games:
PassingRushingTotal OffenseComp-Att-Yds-Int-TDAtt-Yds-TDPlays-Yds-TDat Utah State18-25-202-0-310-26-035-228-3Utah11-23-134-0-212-55-235-189-4San Diego State9-15-70-0-016-28-131-98-1at BYU11-22-155-2-113-(-8)-035-147-1at Colorado State19-30-121-0-05-2-035-123-0Wyoming7-11-164-0-4*12-84*-023-248-4UCLA18-32-237-1-18-(-4)-041-233-1Totals93-158-1,083-3-1176-183-3235-1,266-14Pct.58.9% Running Back: The season started with a big surprise as seldom-used senior Quincy Wright (Los Angeles) burst onto the scene by running for 475 yards in the first three games, including a school-record 265 yards against Weber State…Wright was ranked 3rd in the nation in rushing before the promising season came to an abrupt end in the first quarter of the fourth game against Baylor when he tore his left ACLEnter much heralded redshirt freshman DonTrell Moore (Roswell, N.M.), who was expected to push Wright for playing time…Moore did not travel to North Carolina State due to a sprained knee…Wright got off to such a good start, though, that Moore carried only 7 times for a net of zero yards in the next two games…however, the last 11 contests Moore became the running back many people thought he would be when he was a Parade All-American at Roswell High in 2000, rushing for 1,134 yards and 13 TDs…his accomplishments:
? 1,134 yards is the 2nd-best single-season total in school history, trailing only Mike Williams school record of 1,240 yards set in 1976…Moore was the 3rd-leading freshman ground-gainer in the NCAA in 2002
? he became the 9th player in UNM history to surpass the 1,000-yard mark and first since Lennox Gordon in 1996Moores season total is also a UNM freshman record, breaking Winslow Olivers previous mark of 1,063 set in 1992
? tied a school record with five TDs in the win over Wyoming…he had 28 rushes for 176 yards and three scores and caught two passes for 21 yards, both TDs
? 30 carries for a career-high 181 yards and one TD at Colorado State to break his own single-game rushing record by a freshman in the Mountain West Conference
? four 100-yard rushing games, all of which came in the last six games of the regular season…he had 850 yards over that span, an average of 141.7 yards a game
? 13 rushing TDs in 2002, the most ever by a Lobo freshman, and it ties for 2nd place all-time at UNM for a season…Stoney Case has the record of 14 set in 1993
? the one downside of Moores game was holding on to the football…he lost eight fumbles on the season…five of the bobbles came in three games, including two at Colorado State…DonTrells numbers the last six games of the regular season:
OpponentAtt.YardsAvg.TDsat Utah State251666.62Utah271636.01San Diego State22713.21at BYU26933.62at Colorado State301816.01Wyoming281766.33Total1588505.410Averages26.3141.7
Receivers: Junior Dwight Counter (Lancaster, Texas) continues to move up UNMs career receiving lists, ranking tied for 9th in catches (91) and 11th in yards (1,325)…he snagged an 80-yard TD from Casey Kelly against Utah, tying for the 10th-longest completion in school history…Counter is the only Lobo with two scoring passes of 80 yards or more in a career…he caught an 85-yard TD from Kelly against Colorado State in 2001Senior Joe Manning (Lancaster, Calif.) finished his Lobo career with 75 receptions for 1,017 yards and 6 TDs…Manning finished in the top-20 for catches and yardsJunior Adrian Boyd (Flint, Mich.) was a versatile player all season…he was 3rd on the team in receiving (27-323) and used his running back skills effectively in the Lobos fly-motion series, gaining 238 yards on the groundRedshirt 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 Tight End: Lobo tight ends caught 27 passes for 284 yards and 4 TDs compared to the 2001 numbers of just 6 catches for 37 yards…junior Bryan Penley (Victoria, Texas), who is also an excellent blocker, led the way with 17 grabs for 171 yards and a team-leading 3 TD catches…thats the most receptions by a Lobo TE since Brian Johnson caught 18 for 212 yards in 1998Offensive Line: With the insertion of 6-6, 340-pound redshirt freshman C Ryan Cook (Albuquerque) into the starting lineup at UNLV, the average size of the Lobos all-underclassmen offensive line became 6-4 1/2 and 319 pounds, one of the largest lines in the country in 2002…Cook, like the Lobos top-two quarterbacks in 2002, is a former walk-on Consistency was a big part of the offensive line as demonstrated by the knockdown totals of the four Lobos who started every game in 2002: Junior OT Jason Lenzmeier (Frisco, Texas) led the team with 145 followed by junior OT Justin Colburn (Westminster, Colo.) at 143, sophomore OG Claude Terrell (Texas City, Texas) with 139 and OG Calvin McDonald (Leavenworth, Kan.) had 130Lenzmeier has started 32 consecutive games…Terrell has started 18 straight and 24 of 25 in his careerAfter averaging 146.8 rushing yards and scoring nine TDs the first six games, UNM averaged 202.9 yards and scored 17 times the last eight contests…the Lobos gained 257 yards rushing at UNLV, 263 at Utah State, 268 against Utah and a season-high 292 yards against Wyoming…UNLV was allowing just 99 rushing yards a game, Utah 100.3Under Rocky Long, the Lobos are 12-4 when rushing for 200 yards or more and 11-2 when exceeding 225 yards…the two losses came against Utah State (263 yards) in 2002 and to Colorado State (254 yards) in 1999UNM had scored in 111 consecutive games, the 15th-longest active streak in the nation at the time, 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, 1992In conference games only, UNM led the league by averaging 32:45 in time of possession
SPARKLING IN THE RED ZONEThe New Mexico offense was nearly flawless inside the red zone the last half of the season…before missing a 34-yard field goal against UCLA, the Lobos scored 19 straight times inside the opponents 20-yard line and 18 of those scores were TDs, including 15 in a row…the last 10 games, UNMs 24 penetrations resulted in 22 scores, 21 of those TDs…in its first four games, New Mexico entered the red zone 16 times and scored on 12 occasions, although only 8 of the scores were touchdowns…red zone results the last 8 games:
at UNLV1-1TDat Utah State5-5TD, TD, FG, TD, TDUtah2-2TD, TDSan Diego State2-2TD, TDat BYU3-3TD, TD, TDat Colorado State2-2TD, TDWyoming4-4TD, TD, TD, TDUCLA1-2missed FG, TDTotals20-2119 TDs, 1 FG, 1 missed FG
DEFENSE NOTESAllowing just 167 yards to UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl elevated the Lobos to No. 30 in the nation in total defense at 332.8 yards a game…New Mexico is one of eight teams that has finished in the top-30 in total defense each of the past three seasons…the others are Kansas State, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, TCU, Tennessee, Texas and Utah…the Lobos were 17th in 2000 (309.4), 18th in 2001 (310.8) and 30th in 2002 (332.8)The last five games of the season, the UNM defense allowed 61 points (5 TDs, 9 field goals), 415 yards rushing, 744 yards passing and 1,159 yards total…those are meager averages of 12.2 points and 231.8 yards a game…New Mexico moved from 79th to 30th in the nation in total defense in its last five gamesThe Lobo defense yielded just two touchdowns in the second half of regulation in their last six games…Utah did score a TD in the first overtime on Oct. 26…San Diego State, BYU and Colorado State registered just two field goals after halftime while Wyoming and UCLA each scored one TDAs usual, it was a team-oriented defense as the Lobos did not have a single player who ranked in the top-10 in the MWC in tackles…10 players had the teams 15 interceptions…14 players combined for the 38 sacks and 22 players had UNMs unbelievable 137 tackles for lossesIt may be a stretch to say the best thing to happen to the UNM defensders was allowing 976 yards of total offense – including 780 yards through the air – in back-to-back overtime games against Utah State and Utah…what it did, though, was force the Lobo coaching staff to take a long, hard look at its pass defense and lack thereof…benefitting from a week off before entertaining pass-happy San Diego State on Nov. 9, the adjustments made in personnel and coverages were startling…a look at the numbers:
First 9 GamesLast 5 GamesRushing Def./Game131.488.0Yards/Rush3.42.7Rushing TDs122Passing Def./Game257.4160.0Comp. Pct.55.3 (176-318)50.0 (56-112) Interceptions86Total Def./Game388.9248.0Scoring Defense29.416.5Avg. 1st Downs20.412.03rd Down Conv.63-147 (43%)12-56 (21%)Sacks19-13416-107
San Diego StateAvg. Before UNMvs. UNMPassing333.9153Total Offense406.6183Scoring Offense22.48
BYUAvg. Before UNMvs. UNMPassing279.8194Total Offense415.9188Scoring Offense25.016
Colorado StateAvg. Before UNMvs. UNMRushing220.9129Passing197.2123Total Offense418.1252Scoring Offense32.722
WyomingAvg. Before UNMvs. UNMPassing280.6270Total Offense380.7369Scoring Offense24.420
UCLAAvg. Before UNMvs. UNMRushing132.173Passing240.994Total Offense373.0167
UNM held San Diego State (183), BYU (188), Colorado State (252) and UCLA (167) to their lowest offensive totals of the season…San Diego State came into the game ranked 5th in the nation in passing and boasting two of the nations top-three receivers in J.R. Tolver and Kassim Hasgood…the duo combined to catch only 8 passes for 105 yards and no TDsSan Diego State started four drives inside UNM territory (36, 42, 38 and 46-yard lines) and got just two FGs…BYU started at the UNM 24 twice, but also had just two FGs BYU had gained more than 900 yards of total offense in its two games prior to UNM, including 532 against Wyoming the week before…the Cougars were 17th in the nation in passing and 18th in total offense at the timeThe defense allowed just five offensive touchdowns in the last five games, three of those coming in the Wyoming gameIn MWC games, UNM led the league in rushing defense (114.9 ypg), pass defense efficiency (110.6 rating), total defense (316.4 ypg) and third-down percentage allowed (31%)The Lobos forced 18 turnovers (6 fumbles, 12 interceptions) the last eight games compared to 10 in the first six gamesThe Lobo defense sacked Wyoming quarterback Casey Bramlett a school-record-tying nine times on Nov. 30The first 6 games, UNM allowed opponents to score 21 out of 24 trips into the red zone…18 of those were TDs…the last 8 games, opponents penetrated on 22 occasions, but scored only 9 TDs…the other 13 trips resulted in 7 FGs, 3 interceptions, 2 missed FGs and one stop on downs…red zone the last 8 games:
at UNLV2-3TD, missed FG, TDat Utah State3-4FG, TD, TD, interceptionUtah1-2TD, missed FGSan Diego State2-3FG, FG, downsat BYU2-2FG, FGat Colorado State2-2FG, TDWyoming2-4Interception, TD, interception, TDUCLA2-2FG, TDTotals16-229 TDs, 7 FGs
Senior LB Charles Moss (Dallas, Texas) led the team in tackles with 105, the most since Brian Urlacher had 154 in 1999…the Lobos have had a different tackle leader in each of the past four years: Urlacher in 1999, Mike Barnett in 2000 and Gary Davis in 2001…Moss finished his career with 237 tackles, seven stops shy of the top-20Junior LB Billy Strother (Evansville, Ind.) probably had more big plays than any other Lobo defender…he tied Nick Speegle for 2nd on the team with 89 tackles and 5 sacks…one of his sacks resulted in a safety…he was 2nd with 14 tackles for loss and 3 fumble recoveries…he forced 2 fumbles…one of his three pass deflections secured UNMs win over San Diego State…he also blocked a punt and scored a TD on a fumble-lateral against Weber StateJunior DE Daniel Kegler (Frostproof, Fla.) finished second in the MWC with seven sacks…two of his sacks were for safeties…junior DE D.J. Renteria (Roswell, N.M.) recovered four fumbles, a figure that tied for 2nd in the MWCUNM has led the league in sacks each of the past three years: 50 in 2000, 26 last year and 38 in 2002…the Lobos registered a school record three safeties in 2002The New Mexico defense accounted for 11 points on a touchdown, safety and the schools 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 advantageThe defense accounted for 32 points in 2002, scoring four TDs, three safeties and a defensive PAT…the past two seasons, the Lobo defense has scored 58 points on eight TDs, five safeties and the extra point Twice in 2002, a Lobo 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 UNLVs Jason Thomas and advanced it 5 yards before being tackled…Moss then pitched to CB Desmar Black who rambled the 25 yards for his first score…Black also scored on a 55-yard interception return against UCLAIn 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 yielded by U