Impressive Wildcats Invade University Stadium For Nationally Televised Game
Sept. 8, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Almost 100 years ago, a pair of undefeated football teams met for the first time in Albuquerque. It was Nov. 26, 1908, when the 4-0 Arizona Varsity faced the 5-0 New Mexico “University Boys.” (Neither school had its current nickname at the time). Arizona completed its unblemished season with a 10-6 victory over UNM. The territories of New Mexico and Arizona would later join the Union in 1912.
The gridiron rivalry is renewed for the 66th time Saturday night as the two land grant institutions meet in Albuquerque. Kickoff is 6:06 p.m. Mountain Time. The Wildcats are playing the Lobos at University Stadium for the first time since 1990.
The game will be televised live by CBS College Sports, which is located on Comcast Channel 274 in Albuquerque, Channel 603 on DirecTV and Channel 152 on Dish Network. It will also air on Sirius satellite radio channel 130.
After falling 28-22 to Texas A&M, New Mexico is 0-2 for the first time since it began 0-3 in 2000. The Lobos look to avoid dropping their first three home games of the season for the first time since 1994.
Powerful Arizona is 2-0 for the first time since 2002 after ripping Idaho (70-0) and Toledo (41-16) at home by a combined score of 111-16.
The Lobos were picked to finish 4th in the MWC, while Arizona was chosen to place 7th in the Pac-10.
GAME SPONSORS / GIVEAWAYS / SPECIAL EVENTS
It’s American Indian Night on Saturday. There will be a pregame tailgate for the state’s tribal leaders at the First Community Bank Lobo Fan Fest and leaders will be recognized on the field during the game. There will also be a pregame flyover by F-18’s.
Game Sponsors include Route 66 Casino Hotel, Frost Mortgage, Kiss 97.3 & Coyote 102.5. The first 10,000 fans will receive red Lobo hats courtesy of Route 66 Casino Hotel.
The 2008 inductees into the UNM Alumni Lettermen’s Athletic Hall of Honor will be recognized, plus the Route 66 Casino Hotel skydivers will land during halftime.
NOTES TO KNOW BEFORE THE GAME
A Better Start? New Mexico trailed TCU 16-0 and Texas A&M 14-0 before the first quarter was over…opponents have outscored UNM 30-7 in the 1st quarter and 37-7 in the 1st half…UNM has lost 11 straight games when the opponent scores first…the last win in that situation came against New Mexico State in 2006…conversely, the Lobos have won 13 straight games when they hit the scoreboard first…the last loss was to Wyoming in 2006
Mainly due to Lobo turnovers, opponents have had touchdown scoring drives of the following: 4 plays, 30 yards; 2 plays, 9 yards; 1 play, 4 yards; 3 plays, 20 yards; and 4 plays, 21 yards…TCU only had to travel 75 yards for its 26 points while Texas A&M scored on an interception return, and needed just 41 yards to score 2 other TDs…the average starting field position for opponents in their 8 scoring drives is the New Mexico 33-yard line
New Mexico ranks 115th out of 118 Football Bowl Subdivision teams with a turnover margin of minus-2.5…the Lobos have committed 7 turnovers (4 interceptions and 3 fumbles) while gaining just 2…last year, UNM’s 7th turnover of the season came in the fourth game
The Lobo defense allowed just 236 yards to Texas A&M…UNM is 30th in the nation in total defense at 263.5 yards a game
Arizona’s national statistical rankings: 3rd in scoring offense (55.5 ppg), 22nd in total offense (486.5 ypg), 25th in rushing offense (209.0 ypg), 27th in passing offense (277.5 ypg), 7th in total defense (178.0 ypg), 10th in pass efficiency defense (76.87 rating) and 14th in scoring defense (8.0 ppg)
New Mexico is 102nd in the nation in total offense (278.0 ypg), 108th in scoring offense (12.5 ppg) and 115th in pass efficiency (72.37 rating)
Lobo QB Donovan Porterie had one of his best games in last year’s 29-27 victory against Arizona in Tucson…he completed 29 of 41 passes for 327 yards, 3 TDs and just 1 interception
SERIES HISTORY
Outside of New Mexico State (98 games) and UTEP (75 games), New Mexico has played more games against Arizona (65) than any other school. The Wildcats have a 43-19-3 overall lead in the series, but UNM won 29-27 last year in Tucson, the Lobos’ first win there since 1975.
This is just the fifth meeting since Arizona joined the Pac-10 Conference in 1978. The Cats have won 4 of the last 5.
New Mexico and Arizona were charter members of the Western Athletic Conference when it began in 1962. They were also part of the old Border Conference from 1931-50.
Arizona has 21-9-2 lead in Albuquerque with the Lobos’ last victory coming in 1976 (21-15).
LOBOS VS. THE PAC-10
New Mexico has played 100 games against current members of the Pac-10 Conference, although most of those came against Arizona and Arizona State when they were in the Border and Western Athletic conferences. In fact, 93 of the 100 contests have involved the Lobos versus U of A and ASU. UNM’s record against its western neighbors stands at 25-71-4.
Since Arizona and ASU joined the Pac-10 in the fall of 1978, New Mexico is 2-9 against the league: 1-3 vs. Arizona, 1-3 vs. Oregon State, 0-2 vs. Washington State and 0-1 vs. UCLA.
Three of the losses have come in postseason: to Arizona in the 1997 Insight.com; to UCLA in the 2002 Las Vegas Bowl and to Oregon State in the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl.
Rocky Long VS. ARIZONA
Rocky Long is facing Arizona for the second time as a head coach, but he saw them many times while serving as an assistant at Oregon State and UCLA. From 1991-95, Oregon State went 0-4-1 against the Wildcats while UCLA was 1-1 in 1996-97.
Long had better success against Arizona as New Mexico’s starting quarterback from 1969-71. The Lobos lost 52-28 in Tucson in 1969, but prevailed 35-7 in Albuquerque in 1970 and 34-28 at Arizona Stadium in 1971.
LAST YEAR IN TUCSON
The Lobos beat Arizona 29-27 in a game that featured 773 yards passing. Donovan Porterie threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns for New Mexico. Willie Tuitama passed for 446 yards – second-most ever for Arizona – and three touchdowns, but Arizona couldn’t overcome critical fumbles and penalties.
Marcus Smith caught 11 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. Travis Brown added 10 catches for 121 yards and two scores for New Mexico. Porterie was 29-for-41 with one interception. He directed touchdown drives on his team’s first and last possessions of the first half.
The Wildcats twice fumbled the ball away on what would have been go-ahead touchdown drives in the second half, the first at the New Mexico 2-yard line on the first possession of the third quarter. OJ Swift scooped up both fumbles. On the second one, he probably would have ran for a touchdown had he not tripped over his feet at midfield.
Arizona also was plagued by penalties, including one against coach Mike Stoops and his staff for unsportsmanlike conduct during a time out. New Mexico got what turned out to be two critical points when Tuitama was called for intentional grounding in the Arizona end zone for a safety late in the third quarter.
It was only the Lobos’ second nonconference road victory outside the state of New Mexico in 19 tries.
Tuitama completed 30-of-53 passes and had fourth-quarter TD passes of 12 and 13 yards to Mike Thomas to cut the lead to 29-27. But Frankie Solomon intercepted Tuitama on Arizona’s final possession with just under two minutes to play. Any hope the Wildcats had ended when New Mexico’s Rodney Ferguson ran for a first down on third-and-9 with 1:13 to play.
New Mexico led 14-13 at the half, thanks to Porterie’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Brown with three seconds left. It was a play that typified the night.
The Lobos went 80 yards in 1 minute, 5 seconds, with the help of a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Wildcats’ bench during a time out. The drive also got an early assist from an Arizona time out. That unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball to the Arizona 27. After a false start penalty and a sack moved New Mexico back to the 38, Brown ran straight downfield, past the Wildcats’ secondary, and caught the pass in the end zone.
Arizona took the second half kickoff and drove to the New Mexico 5-yard line. But Tuitama fumbled trying to run for the score. Swift scooped up the ball at the 2 and rambled 39 yards to the 41. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Lionel Dotson led to John Sullivan’s 31-yard field goal and New Mexico led 17-13 with 7:15 left in the third.
POSTGAME NOTES FROM LAST YEAR’S GAME
New Mexico snapped a 9-game losing streak vs. the Pac-10…the last victory came on Sept. 8, 1979 – a 35-16 win over Oregon State in Albuquerque
Senior WRs Travis Brown (10-121) and Marcus Smith (11-164) were the first duo with 100+ receiving yards against Arizona since USC’s Dwayne Jarrett (116) and Steve Smith (135) in 2005
Brown had a career-high 2 TD catches, including a 38-yard grab with :03 left in the 1st half, and a career-high 10 receptions (7 in the 1st half) for 121 yards
Smith tied his career-high with 11 catches for a game-high 164 yards and a 23-yard TD catch
S Frankie Solomon had a career-high 3 pass break-ups, including 2 in the end zone…he clinched the victory with a 4th quarter interception (2nd of his career) for the 2nd straight week
TB Rodney Ferguson had 94 rushing yards on 26 carries…he had 71 yards on 14 carries in the 2nd half…he clinched the victory with a 17-yard run on 3rd-and-9 from the UNM 41 with 1:13 to play
FOOTBALL 101: TURNOVERS HURT
Yes, only two games have been played, but the Lobos certainly hope the turnover trend will be short-lived. Heading into Saturday’s game against Arizona, New Mexico ranks 115th out of 118 Football Bowl Subdivision teams with a turnover margin of minus-2.5. The Lobos have committed 7 turnovers (4 interceptions and 3 fumbles) while gaining just 2. That’s a difference of five miscues, divided by two games, thus the minus-2.5 figure.
At the current average of 3.5 turnovers a game, that would be 42 over a 12-game season. The most by a Lobo team in one season is 49 by the 1974 team that played 11 games.
Since Rocky Long took over as head coach in 1998, the Lobos have had a negative turnover margin just twice in 10 seasons, a minus-0.83 in 1998 and a minus-0.1 in 2005.
Not surprising, Long’s UNM teams have a 9-44 record when they commit more turnovers than their opponent versus a 44-11 mark when they have fewer. New Mexico is 18-2 under Long when it plays turnover-free.
LAST WEEK VS. TEXAS A&M
Jerrod Johnson replaced the injured Stephen McGee and threw three touchdown passes as Texas A&M gave coach Mike Sherman his first win with the Aggies, 28-22 over New Mexico on Saturday.
Johnson completed 10-of-19 for 124 yards in place of McGee, who sprained his right shoulder on the opening series and didn’t return. Aggies running back Mike Goodson also left with a sprained right knee, through he briefly returned in the second half.
Rodney Ferguson had 135 yards rushing and two TDs for New Mexico. He broke free on a 45-yard burst in the first quarter and added a late 1-yard TD run as the Lobos rallied for two scores in the final six minutes.
It wasn’t enough to offset Johnson, who performed well under a full day of defensive pressure, and the Lobos couldn’t overcome too many offensive mistakes.
Texas A&M made it 21-7 just before halftime, when Johnson threw a 6-yard TD pass to Fuller to cap a 93-yard drive. Fuller muscled the ball away from New Mexico cornerback DeAndre Wright.
The Lobos trailed 14-0 after Donovan Porterie’s two early interceptions. He also had a fourth-quarter fumble that led to another Texas A&M touchdown.
Texas A&M’s Jordan Peterson returned Porterie’s first pick for a 48-yard TD. On the next series, Arkeith Brown took another interception 11 yards to New Mexico’s 20 to set up Johnson’s 21-yard TD strike to Jeff Fuller.
Still, the Lobos trailed 21-10 in the third quarter and seemed to be gaining traction when trouble struck again.
New Mexico’s Ian Clark had a 32-yard punt return into Texas A&M territory but the Lobos couldn’t capitalize when Paul Baker fumbled a few plays later. After forcing another Texas A&M punt, Clark broke a 34-yard return.
That’s when Porterie mishandled a snap, and Texas A&M’s Michael Bennett picked it up and rumbled 37 yards. The burly lineman missed out on a touchdown because he stepped out at New Mexico’s 22.
From there, Johnson connected with Jamie McCoy on a 9-yard TD pass to put the Aggies ahead 28-10 with 13:20 remaining.
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES
New Mexico turned the ball over 4 times with 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles…that’s 7 turnovers in the first 2 games…UNM’s 7th turnover last year came in the 4th game of the season
Texas A&M scored 21 points following the Lobos’ 4 turnovers…one TD came on an interception return and the Aggies only had to travel 41 yards for another 14 points
The Lobo defense has allowed an average of just 263.5 yards in the first 2 games, but due to great field position, the oppositions’ 8 scoring drives have averaged only 5.1 plays and 26.1 yards to get 48 points
Texas A&M’s Jordan Peterson had a 48-yard interception return for a TD in the 1st quarter…the last interception for a TD against UNM was last year by BYU’s Bryan Kehl (36 yards)
Senior RB Rodney Ferguson
rushed 19 times for 135 yards, his 11th career 100-yard game and over the century mark in 8 of his last 10 home games scored UNM’s 1st TD of the season on a 45-yard run in the 1st quarter, and finished with 2 rushing TDs passed Willie Turral for No. 5 all-time at UNM with 2,653 rushing yards passed Air Force’s Chad Hall for No. 5 on the Mountain West Conference rushing list had 100+ yards from scrimmage in 14 of his last 18 games and 16 times in his career…averaging 129.2 yards from scrimmage (2,325 total) in his last 18 outings ranks tied for 5th all-time at UNM with 23 career rushing TDs passed Manley Woods and Bobby Santiago for 9th place all-time at UNM with 3,241 all-purpose yards
Junior lobo Ian Clark
had a career-long 42-yard punt return, the longest by a Lobo since Dwight Counter went 74 yards against Baylor in 2002 had 2 punt returns for 66 yards led UNM with 7 tackles and recovered a fumble on a muffed punt
Senior CB Glover Quin
had 6 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PBU is tied with Billy Austin and Brandon Payne for 6th all-time at UNM with 22 career passes defended
Senior LB Herbert Felder
set career-highs with 6 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 4 QB hurries
Senior TB Paul Baker
scored his first career TD on a 5-yard run in the 4th quarter finished with 39 yards on 10 carries
Junior QB Donovan Porterie
had a single-game best 45 rushing yards