Dec. 22, 2007
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
Team
New Mexico wins 23-0, giving the Lobos their first bowl victory since a 28-12 win over Western Michigan in the 1961 Aviation Bowl…UNM is now 3-7-1 in bowl games The 2007 Lobos finish 9-4, becoming just the 4th New Mexico team in 109 seasons to win 9 games: 9-2 in 1964, 10-1 in 1982 and 9-4 in 1997 Nevada had not been shutout since Sept. 27, 1980 (10-0 at Weber State), a span of 329 games that was the longest current streak in the NCAA and the second longest all-time in college football…Nevada’s deepest penetration was the New Mexico 30-yard line New Mexico recorded 2 shutouts in a season for the first time since 1983 (31-0 vs. New Mexico State and 35-0 against UTEP) Nevada came into the game averaging 36.2 points and 488.9 yards of total offense…the Wolf Pack only had 210 yards today New Mexico finished 6-1 at University Stadium in 2007, which is the most home wins since the 1939 Lobos went 6-0 during an 8-2 season New Mexico posted a season-high 548 yards of total offense, the highest total since racking up 578 in a loss against UNLV in 2003…UNM came into the game averaging 357.4 yards a game and only 311 in 8 Mountain West Conference games The Lobos had a season-high 354 yards passing, the most since 429 against UNLV in 2003 The Lobos were 9-0 when scoring first in 2007…UNM has now won 13 straight games when scoring first, including 8-0 in 2007…the record is 37-6 since 2001 For the first time in school history, New Mexico produced a 3,000-yard passer (Donovan Porterie, 3,006), two 1,000-yard receivers (Marcus Smith, 1,125 and Travis Brown, 1,031) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Rodney Ferguson, 1,177) Head Coach Rocky Long evened his career record at 61-61, the first time he’s been at .500 since 2-2 in 1998
Individual
Junior RB Paul Baker
Playing for suspended starter Rodney Ferguson, Baker rushed 22 times for 167 yards – both career highs – and the highest rushing total by a Lobo in 2007
the 37-yard run in the third quarter is the longest of his career
also had 2 catches for 42 yards for 209 all-purpose yards
Senior K John Sullivan
3-6 FGs today (one miss and 2 blocks), including a 53-yarder, tying for the second longest in UNM history…it’s the longest FG since Rick Walsh kicked a school record 56-yarder against San Diego State in 1988
tied an NCAA record by kicking multiple FGs for the 10th time…he now shares that mark with West Virginia’s Paul Woodside in 1982
finished the season 29 of 35 FGs for 82.9% accuracy
averaged 2.42 FGs on the season, the highest since UCLA’s John Lee set the NCAA record of 2.6 in 1984
2nd at UNM for a season with 117 points scored; DonTrell Moore is 1st at 126 in 2003
Continues to kick with a torn ACL in his left (plant) leg that he suffered in late April of 2007
Senior WR Travis Brown
7 catches for 120 yards and a 39-yard TD reception
tied for 4th on single-season receiving list with 76 receptions
9th on single-season receiving list with 1,031 yards
3rd on the UNM career receiving list with 182 catches
5th on the UNM career receiving list with 2,196 yards
Sophomore QB Donovan Porterie
New Mexico Bowl II Offensive MVP
20-of-36 for a career-high 354 yards, 2 TDs and one interception
it’s his 4th career 300-yard passing game and 3rd this season
UNM is 12-4 in games he has started and finished
4th on single-season passing list with 3,006 yards
3rd on single-season passing list with 244 completions
5th on single-season passing list with completion pct. of (58.4, 244-418)
Senior WR Marcus Smith
5 catches for 86 yards and 1 TD, which was a career-long 66 yards
set UNM single-season record with 91 receptions; Terance Mathis had 88 in 1989
5th on single-season receiving list with 1,125 yards
4th on UNM single-season list with 1,809 all-purpose yards
4th on the UNM career receiving list with 153 catches
7th on the UNM career receiving list with 2,073 yards
6th on UNM career list with 3,749 all-purpose yards
Senior LB Brett Madsen
New Mexico Bowl II Defensive MVP
did not start, but had 4 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks
Senior DE Michael Tuohy
Recorded a sack in the game to set the MWC career record with 20.5, a figure that ranks 5th all-time at UNM