Sept. 1, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
A pair of teams disappointed in their season-opening performances meet Saturday at University Stadium in Albuquerque. New Mexico (0-1, 0-1 MWC) entertains Texas A&M (0-1) at 3:06 p.m. Mountain Time in a game that will be televised nationally on the VERSUS network (versus.com/cfb). VERSUS can be found on Comcast Channel 37 in Albuquerque, Channel 603 on DirecTV and Channel 151 on Dish Network. The broadcast is also available on Channel 127 on SIRIUS satellite radio.
The Lobos are coming off a 26-3 home loss to TCU in the season and MWC opener. UNM trailed 16-0 less than nine minutes in and never really threatened. Three turnovers, poor field position and an injury to starting quarterback Donovan Porterie hurt New Mexico.
TCU needed only 75 total yards to score its 26 points. The Lobos’ average starting point for 15 drives was its own 18-yard line compared to the 50-yard line for TCU. Porterie suffered a neck strain late in the first half and did not return. The UNM defense held the Horned Frogs to 291 yards, however, the Lobo offense was only able to generate nine first downs and 186 yards.
Texas A&M was stunned by Arkansas State 18-14. The Aggies led 14-3 at halftime, but committed four turnovers and missed a field goal in the second half. Arkansas State picked up 415 total yards, 255 on the ground. Texas A&M had won 20 straight home openers.
The Lobos were picked to finish 4th in the MWC, while Texas A&M was chosen to place 5th in the six-team Big 12 South.
Since 2002, New Mexico has been outstanding in its second game of the season. Over the past six years the Lobos are 5-1 – with the lone loss being a 42-28 setback at Texas Tech in 2003 – and have averaged 36 points per game in week two. UNM has four straight wins in week two when it has dropped the season-opener with the last 0-2 start coming in 2000.
GAME SPONSORS / GIVEAWAYS
Sponsors are Bank of Albuquerque, 94 Rock and Big I 107.9 The first 5,000 fans into the stadium will receive Howl Towels courtesy of Bank of Albuquerque, while 5,000 Lobo Louie Growth Charts will be distributed after the game.
SERIES HISTORY
Just one previous meeting and it wasn’t pretty for Lobo fans. The Aggies won 63-0 on Oct. 16, 1926, in College Station. That ranks as the Lobos’ 7th-largest loss in school history. The two schools are slated to play Sept. 5, 2009, at Kyle Field.
UNM-TEXAS A&M CONNECTIONS
University of New Mexico President David J. Schmidly, a native of Levelland, Texas, spent 25 years at Texas A&M from 1971-96, including the last five years as CEO of the Galveston campus and six years as head of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences
Texas A&M athletics director Bill Byrne was the Executive Director of the UNM Lobo Club from 1976-79
Dennis Franchione was UNM’s head coach from 1992-97 and served as the head man for Texas A&M from 2003-07
Rocky Long’s most recent meeting against the Aggies came in the 1998 Cotton Bowl when he was the defensive coordinator at UCLA…the 5th-ranked Bruins nipped No. 19 Texas A&M 29-23…the Aggies led 16-0 in the second quarter
J.T. Higgins has been Texas A&M’s head men’s golf coach since 2001…he moved to College Station after serving UNM in the same capacity from 1998-2001
Before being named UNM’s Senior Associate Athletics Director Aug. 1, 2006, Tim Cass was Texas A&M’s head men’s tennis coach for 10 seasons, from 1997-2006…a 1987 UNM graduate, Cass was in charge of New Mexico men’s tennis for eight seasons from 1989-96…he won 5 straight Western Athletic Conference titles from 1991-95
UNM sophomore QB Tate Smith is the cousin of Stoney and Stormy Case…Stoney was a record-setting QB for the Lobos from 1991-94 while Stormy lettered at Texas A&M from 1993-95
Common high schools:
Cypress Cy-Fair: NT Matthew Lamb (UNM) and OL Chris Lathrop (A&M)
DeSoto: LB Terel Anyaibe (UNM) and RB Cyrus Gray, DL Tony Jerod-Eddie, LB Von Miller and LB Garrick Williams (A&M).
Houston Klein: NT Wesley Beck (UNM) and OL Brandon Lewis (A&M).
Port Arthur Memorial: QB Donovan Porterie (UNM) and CB Danny Gorrer (A&M).
LAST WEEK VS. TCU
TCU quarterback Andy Dalton ran for two touchdowns as the Horned Frogs went on to a 26-3 win Saturday in the season-opener for both teams.
The Horned Frogs scored on their first three possessions and needed a span of just over four minutes to build a 16-0 lead on the Lobos in the Mountain West Conference game.
Dalton scored on runs of 11 and 4 yards, the second TD set up by Jeremy Kerley’s 53-yard punt return midway through the fourth quarter.
The Lobos’ only points came from a 28-yard field goal kick by James Aho with 10:48 left in the third quarter.
A short punt by first year Lobo kicker Adam Miller gave the Horned Frogs the ball on the New Mexico 30 and set up a four-play drive that ended with Dalton’s 11-yard scoring run.
The Lobos got off one play on their ensuing possession as Donovan Porterie’s pass hit TCU safety Steven Coleman in the chest at the New Mexico 35 and Coleman returned it to the 9. Halfback Joseph Turner scored on second down from the 2.
TCU also got field goals of 50 and 39 yards from Ross Evans.
Evans missed a chance to extend TCU’s 16-0 lead when he missed a 20-yard field goal attempt with 39 seconds left in the first half. That drive was set up by Porterie’s fumble near midfield that was recovered by defensive end Jerry Hughes.
Porterie suffered a neck injury on the play and did not return.
Backup Brad Gruner made his first pass a spectacular one, teaming with wide receiver Chris Hernandez on an 81-yard pass play to the TCU 12-yard line. But New Mexico’s offense picked up 6 yards on three plays and settled for Aho’s field goal.
TCU POSTGAME NOTES
The Lobos have lost 4 straight to TCU, which is UNM’s longest current losing streak against an MWC opponent
TCU snapped New Mexico’s 4-game home winning streak
TCU’s average starting field position was the 50-yard line…UNM’s average was its own 18; the Horned Frogs only had to go 75 yards (in 20 plays) for its 26 points
New Mexico is 63-44-3 in 110 season openers and 72-34-4 all-time in home openers
The Lobos have failed to score a TD in their last 3 season openers; losses to Portland State, UTEP and TCU
UNM has committed 14 turnovers in its past 4 games against TCU, 8 fumbles and 6 interceptions
The Lobos have lost 10 straight games when the opponent scores first
7 players made their first UNM start: OT Byron Bell, OG Matt Streid, OG Joshua Taufalele and WR Bryant Williams on offense and DE Kevin Balogun, DE Kendall Briscoe and S Frankie Solomon on defense…14 players made their first appearance in a Division I college football game vs. TCU.
INDIVIDUAL
Senior RB Rodney Ferguson
rushed 18 times for 64 yards has 2,523 career rushing yards, passing Willie Turral for No. 5 all-time at UNM
Senior S Blake Ligon
had his 4th career interception
Redshirt freshman QB Brad Gruner
his first career pass attempt in the 3rd quarter was complete to Chris Hernandez for 81 yards, the 10th-longest pass play in school history…it’s UNM’s longest completion since 2001 when Casey Kelly connected with Dwight Counter for 85 yards against Colorado State
Sophomore WR Chris Hernandez
caught 3 passes for 99 yards, including an 81-yard completion from Brad Gruner had 2 career catches for 22 yards coming into the game
Junior lobo Ian Clark
had a team-high 11 tackles and his first career sack in the 3rd quarter…27 tackles the past two games vs. TCU.
Junior lobo Clint McPeek
career-high 10 tackles
Junior S Frankie Baca and senior lobo Jake Bowe
both had career-high 6 tackles off the bench
COMING OFF A BANNER SEASON IN 2007
The 109th season of New Mexico football turned into one of the most memorable and significant in school history. After a 23-0 shutout over Nevada in New Mexico Bowl II, UNM could boast about a plethora of highlights:
A 9-4 overall record as the 2007 Lobos became just the 4th New Mexico team to win at least 9 games…UNM was 9-2 in 1964, 10-1 in 1982 and 9-4 in 1997…the Lobos ended a season with a win for the first time since 2001
The first bowl victory in 46 years, since a 28-12 triumph over Western Michigan in the 1961 Aviation Bowl in Dayton, Ohio… it was New Mexico’s 5th bowl game in the past 6 seasons
UNM registered the only shutout among the 32 bowls played in 2007-08…it was the first shutout in a bowl game since Dec. 31, 2005, when North Carolina State blanked South Florida 14-0 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl…UNM’s 23-point margin is the biggest shutout in a bowl game in 11 years, since Stanford beat Michigan State 38-0 in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31, 1996
Nevada had not been shut out in 329 games, since a 10-0 loss to Weber State in 1980…that was the longest current streak in college football and the second longest in history…it was the first time Nevada was held scoreless since moving to Division I-A in 1992
The shutout was all the more amazing considering Nevada came into the bowl game with offensive averages of 36.2 points and 488.9 yards during the regular season…UNM held the Wolf Pack to 210 total yards, with only 73 yards rushing
New Mexico, Boise State, LSU, Penn State and TCU were the only schools to post 2 shutouts in 2007…the last time UNM blanked 2 opponents in the same year was 1983
6-1 at University Stadium in 2007, the most home wins since the 1939 Lobos went 6-0 during an 8-2 season
The Lobos finished 13th in the nation in total defense (319.9 ypg), the highest national ranking in Rocky Long’s 10 years as head coach…UNM was also 14th in scoring defense (19.0 ppg), 20th in pass defense (197.4 ypg), 26th in rushing defense (122.5 ypg) and 29th in pass efficiency defense (114.22 rating)
Senior K John Sullivan became just the 3rd consensus All-American in UNM history, joining WR Terance Mathis (1989) and S Brian Urlacher (1999)…a former walk-on who kicked with a torn ACL in his plant (left) leg all season, Sullivan was the nation’s top FG kicker with a school and MWC record 29…he also tied an NCAA record by converting multiple FGs in 10 games…West Virginia’s Paul Woodside was the first to accomplish the feat in 1982
Seniors Cody Kase and Vince Natali were named to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first and second teams, respectively…it’s the first time in program history two players have earned All-America honors in the same season…the duo were the lone Mountain West Conference representatives on the first and second teams