Sept. 15, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Another game. Another opponent with a high-octane offense. This week the rejuvenated New Mexico Lobos (1-2, 0-1 Mountain West) hit the road for the first time in 2008 when they visit Tulsa (2-0, 1-0 Conference USA) on Saturday evening. Kickoff is 5:05 p.m. Mountain Time from H.A. Chapman Stadium on the TU campus. It’s Tulsa’s home opener.
There is no television for the contest, but Tulsa will provide live video streaming on its official website at tulsahurricane.com. There is a charge to view the game.
Last Saturday, New Mexico avoided its first 0-3 start in eight years with a gritty 36-28 victory over previously undefeated Arizona. Senior Rodney Ferguson rushed for 158 yards and 2 TDs and threw a 25-yard TD pass to QB Donovan Porterie. Freshman K James Aho tied a school record with 5 field goals and the Lobo defense created 5 turnovers in a true team win.
The Golden Hurricane did not play last week after opening the season with road victories at UAB (45-22) and North Texas (56-26). Tulsa, which led the nation in total offense a year ago, is again putting up staggering offensive numbers: 50.5 points, 390.5 yards passing and 578 total yards a game. Tulsa also has the nation’s top-rated quarterback in senior David Johnson.
The Lobos were picked to finish 4th in the Mountain West Conference, while Tulsa was chosen to win the West Division of Conference USA.
UNM and TU are scheduled to play in Albuquerque on Sept. 12, 2009. Right now, that is the Lobos’ home opener.
NOTES TO KNOW BEFORE THE GAME
In 2007, Tulsa became the first team in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and three 1,000-yard receivers…the rusher (Tarrion Adams) and two of the receivers (Charles Clay and Brennan Marion) are back this season
New Mexico was one of three FBS schools in 2007 to produce a 3,000-yard passer (Donovan Porterie 3,006), a 1,000-yard rusher (Rodney Ferguson 1,177) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Marcus Smith 1,125 and Travis Brown 1,031)…the others were Rutgers and Tulsa
New Mexico is 25-32 in road games under head coach Rocky Long, 20-17 in conference play and 5-15 out of conference…however, UNM is 4-2 in its last six non-conference road games…the four wins have come at New Mexico State (twice), Missouri and Arizona…the two losses have been dealt by Conference USA member UTEP in 2005 and 2007
Since 2003, New Mexico has a 17-13 record away from University Stadium…the winning percentage of .567 ranks 17th among FBS school over that span
Tulsa is the last team to beat two-time defending Mountain West Conference champion BYU…the Golden Hurricane outscored the Cougars 55-47 Sept. 15, 2007, in Tulsa….BYU has won 13 straight since, the longest current winning streak in the nation
Tulsa QB David Johnson is the nation’s leader in passing efficiency with an other-worldly rating of 241.58…in two games, Johnson has completed 79% (45-57) of his passes for 750 yards, 9 TDs and no interceptions…to put his rating into perspective, BYU’s Max Hall leads the Mountain West Conference at 186.8…Lobo QB Donovan Porterie has a rating of 87.9
Tulsa’s national statistical rankings: 3rd in total offense (578.0 ppg), 4th in passing offense (390.5 ypg) and 7th in scoring offense (50.5 ppg)…the Golden Hurricane, however, is 97th in total defense (432.0 ypg) and 110th in rushing defense (224.0 ypg)
After a minus-5 turnover margin in losses to TCU and Texas A&M, the Lobos reversed the trend against Arizona by getting 5 on 2 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries…UNM scored 19 points off the Wildcat errors…senior CB Glover Quin recovered a fumble and snared an interception…meanwhile, the New Mexico offense was guilty of just one interception in the first quarter…the Lobos committed 7 turnovers in the first two games so the margin for the season is now a minus-1 with 8 giveaways and 7 takeaways
Under head coach Rocky Long, the Lobos have a 45-11 record when committing fewer turnovers than the opposition
After his 158-yard outburst against Arizona, senior TB Rodney Ferguson leads the MWC and is tied for 12th nationally in rushing at 117.3 yards a game…a 2-time all-league perfromer, Ferguson has 2,811 career rushing yards to rank 4th in the MWC record book and 5th all-time at New Mexico
A better start indeed! New Mexico trailed TCU 16-0 and Texas A&M 14-0 before the first quarter was over…Arizona scored on its opening drive, but the Lobos led 10-7 at the end of the first period and 20-14 at halftime…UNM had been out-scored 37-7 in the 1st half before Saturday’s game
Before Arizona, UNM had 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
SERIES HISTORY
New Mexico and Tulsa are meeting for the 5th time with each school possessing two wins.
The last meeting was 1997 when both institutions were members of the Western Athletic Conference. The Lobos walked away with a 51-13 victory to clinch the WAC Mountain Division title in head coach Dennis Franchione’s final season at UNM.
1986 in Albuquerque: The initial meeting between UNM and TU resulted in a 34-27 win for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa QB Steve Gage rushed for 212 yards and passed for 209, at the time becoming just the second player in NCAA history to surpass 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in the same game.
Lobos at Tulsa (1-1): UNM lost 35-33 in 1989 when David Margolis’ 44-yard FG attempt in the final seconds bounced off the left upright. Lobo Terance Mathis returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a TD.
On Nov. 2 1996, 19-year-old redshirt freshman RB Reginal Johnson made his first collegiate start and rushed 41 times for 232 yards and a school-record-tying 5 TDs in the 34-23 Lobo win. Johnson, who carried the ball 12 straight times during a game-clinching scoring drive in the fourth quarter, added a 2-point conversion to establish a single-season school mark with 32 points scored.
LOBOS VS. CONFERENCE USA
New Mexico is 47-41-3 against current members of Conference USA. 75 of the 91 games have comes against UTEP.
The Lobos are 1-1 against Central Florida, 0-2 vs. Houston, 1-0 vs. Memphis, 0-3 vs. Rice, 1-3 vs. SMU, 42-30-3 against UTEP and 2-2 against Tulsa.
MORE ON THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
Tulsa was 10-4 last year, ripping Bowling Green 63-7 in the GMAC Bowl. The 56-point blowout is the largest margin of victory in bowl game history. Tulsa has played in a bowl game four of the past five seasons.
In most preseason magazines, Tulsa was picked to place first in the C-USA West Division standings.
HEAD COACH TODD GRAHAM
Tulsa’s Todd Graham (East Central ’87) is in his second season as head coach of the Golden Hurricane. He has an overall coaching mark of 19-10 and a 12-4 mark with the Hurricane. Graham led Tulsa to a 10-4 mark and the GMAC Bowl championship last year. Before returning to Tulsa, Graham spent the 2006 campaign as head coach at Rice, where he led the Owls to a 7-6 record, second-place in the C-USA West Division and the school’s first bowl berth in 45 years.
Before his stint at Rice, Graham spent three years as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Tulsa. He helped Tulsa post a 21-17 record and win the 2005 C-USA Championship and 2005 Liberty Bowl titles. Prior to coming to Tulsa, Graham spent two years at West Virginia. He coached in the prep ranks in Texas and Oklahoma before moving to the college level.
Matt Wells RETURNS TO TULSA
UNM receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Matt Wells spent five seasons (2002-06) as tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane played in three bowl games in four seasons between 2003-06. Tulsa appeared in its second straight bowl in 2006, a first for the school since the 1964 and `65 Bluebonnet bowls.
Tulsa tight ends were instrumental in the team’s offensive success. Wells coached 2005 All-American Garrett Mills, who established an NCAA single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end with 1,235 yards. Mills ended his career ranked as the top receiving tight end in school history with 2,389 career yards, which also placed him sixth on the school’s all-time receiving list.
Wells also coached Caleb Blankenship at Tulsa, an honorable mention all-conference selection in 2003 and 2004.
Tulsa’s tight ends caught the most passes in the nation in 2003 with 89 receptions for 855 yards and 12 touchdowns. They combined for 83 catches and 919 yards in 2004.
The Golden Hurricane’s 2004 recruiting class was rated as the top-ranked unit in the Western Athletic Conference by PrepStar magazine and Rivals.com, while the 2005 class earned best in Conference USA by Rivals.com.
STADIUM RENOVATION AT TULSA
H.A. Chapman Stadium has gone through renovations since the 2007 season ended last December. The renovation includes new seating throughout the stadium, restrooms, concession areas, new press box with luxury suites and club level seating, and a new scoreboard on the south side of the stadium, among other amenities. A new FieldTurf was installed in April 2008.
LOBOS FROM OKLAHOMA
Just one in true freshman Joe Stoner, who is a safety from Carl Albert High School in Midwest City.
LAST WEEK VS. ARIZONA
Rodney Ferguson ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns and freshman James Aho tied a school record with five field goals to help New Mexico beat Arizona 36-28.
Ferguson, a bruising tailback, also tossed a 25-yard trick play scoring pass to quarterback Donovan Porterie and the Lobos beat the mistake-prone Wildcats for the second straight year.
It was a big night for New Mexico’s defense, which stopped the Wildcats on downs 22 yards from the end zone early in the fourth quarter, and got another big play when Glover Quin intercepted Willie Tuitama’s pass near midfield with just under 8 minutes remaining.
Tuitama, who was 27-of-50 for 321 yards and three TDs, got the Wildcats to 36-28, throwing a 28-yard TD strike to Juron Criner with 4:38 to play. Arizona used its timeouts to slow the clock on New Mexico’s ensuing possession and got the ball back with 1:27 to go. Tuitama’s fourth-down attempt to Mike Thomas was incomplete with 40 seconds left, setting off a celebration on New Mexico’s sideline.
The series is one of the oldest for both schools, dating to 1908, but the Wildcats haven’t visited Albuquerque since 1990. They won’t want to return after losing three fumbles and Tuitama was intercepted twice. New Mexico scored 19 points off those turnovers–four field goals by Aho and a huge TD only 18 seconds into the second half.
The Lobos got an emotional lift when Clint McPeek forced a fumble by Arizona’s Nic Grigsby on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, and Quin returned it 29 yards to the Arizona 10.
Ferguson ran to the end zone on the next snap, stretching to move the ball across the goal line. The TD was upheld after a replay review, and the Lobos led 27-14 after just two second-half plays from scrimmage.
New Mexico’s defense set the tone midway through the first quarter, forcing their first turnover when lineman Brett Kennedy caught Tuitama’s screen pass and returned it 22 yards to set up Aho’s first field goal, a 24-yard effort.
Grigsby’s 4-yard TD run in the third quarter pulled Arizona to 27-21 but Aho, who kicked a 43-yard field goal in the second period, was good from 48 and 42 yards as the Lobos made it 33-21 early in the fourth. His fourth field goal came after New Mexico’s Ian Clark sacked Tuitama, forcing another fumble, and Kendall Briscoe recovered.
Arizona scored 111 points in wins over Idaho and Toledo in Tucson, but New Mexico’s defense offered a tougher test.
The Lobos, who struggled early in homefield losses to TCU and Texas A&M, ended a skid of 11 straight losses when their opponent scores first. The Wildcats led 7-0 when Tuitama connected with Thomas on a 43-yard scoring pass.
New Mexico rallied to lead 20-14 at halftime, aided by a first-quarter trick play where Ferguson tossed a 25-yard TD pass to Porterie. Aho kicked field goals of 24 and 43 yards and Ferguson broke a 25-yard run just before the break.
ARIZONA POSTGAME NOTES
New Mexico posts two straight wins over Arizona for the first time since 1975-76
The Mountain West Conference went 4-0 vs. the Pac-10 on Saturday; BYU beat UCLA 59-0, TCU knocked off Stanford 31-14 and UNLV stunned 13th-ranked Arizona State 23-20 in overtime in Tempe
The Lobos got their first lead of the season when TB Rodney Ferguson hit QB Donovan Porterie with a 25-yard TD pass with 20 seconds left in the 1st quarter…it marked the first time this season that Arizona had trailed in a game
Arizona came into the game with offensive averages of 55.5 points and 486.5 yards…UNM held the Wildcats to 28 points and 388 yards
After creating 2 turnovers in their first 2 games, the Lobos got 5 against the Wildcats…UNM scored 19 points – 4 field goals and 1 TD – following Arizona’s errors
New Mexico caused 8 turnovers in the two games against Arizona in 2007-08: 1 interception and 2 fumbles in 2007 and 2 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries this season
New Mexico rushed for 221 yards, the most since gaining 227 against Air Force in 2005
UNM controlled the clock for 33:18…in last year’s win in Tucson, UNM had the ball for 33:31
Since 2001, New Mexico has a 37-5 record when taking a lead into the 4th quarter
Senior RB Rodney Ferguson – All-America Candidate
rushed 26 times for 158 yards, his second straight 100-yard game and the 12th of his career, and 2 TDs
remains No. 5 all-time at UNM with 2,811 rushing yards and is No. 4 in MWC history…former Lobo DonTrell Moore is 1st with 4,973 yards
5th all-time at UNM with 25 career rushing TDs
completed the first pass of his career, a 25-yard TD connection to QB Donovan Porterie in the 1st quarter…Ferguson had been 0-2 passing in his career
passed Chuck Hill for 8th place all-time at UNM with 3,402 all-purpose yards
True freshman walk-on K James Aho
MWC co-Special Teams Player of the Week in his 3rd collegiate game
tied a school and Mountain West Conference record by kicking 5 field goals from 24, 43, 48, 42 and 46 yards…other Lobos to do that were Bob Berg vs. Fresno State in 1975, Rick Walsh vs. New Mexico State in 1988 and Colby Cason vs. SMU in 1997
the NCAA record for most field goals made by a freshman is 6 by Virginia Tech’s Mickey Thomas vs. Vanderbilt on Nov. 4, 1989
set an MWC record for kicking points in a game with 18
is the first kicker in school history to make 4 field goals in a game from 40 yards or longer
has made 7-7 FGs on the season
Senior CB Glover Quin
MWC co-Defensive Player of the Week
a season-high 8 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, an interception, 2 pass breakups and a fumble recovery
moved into 6th place all-time at UNM with 23 career passes defended
recovered his second career fumble on the 1st play of the 3rd quarter, and returned it 29 yards to set up a 10-yard TD run by Rodney Ferguson
had a huge pass break-up in the 4th quarter on a 4th-and-2 at the UNM 22…on Arizona’s next possession, Quin got his 3rd career interception that led to a James Aho field goal and a 36-21 Lobo lead
has not allowed a TD pass in 15 games since the 2006 game at BYU
Senior LB Zach Arnett
forced a fumble, his 3rd in the past 2 games
tied for 1st in the nation with 3 forced fumbles
got his 1st sack of the season and the 3rd of his career, which resulted in a fumble recovery for DE Jaymar Latchison
Junior lobo Clint McPeek
had a career-high 13 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 pass defended and a caused fumble that was recovered by CB Glover Quin
Junior QB Donovan Porterie
scored the first TD of his career, a 25-yard reception from RB Rodney Ferguson
completed 13 of 17 passes for 89 yards and 1 interception
completed 26 of 45 passes for 191 yards and 3 interceptions – and a fumble – in UNM’s first two games
Sophomore WR Chris Hernandez
caught 4 passes for 39 yards; the first 3 receptions were good for 1st downs
Junior C Erik Cook
has received an 80% overall performance grade in each of the first 3 games.
has yet to allow a sack in 80 pass attempts or commit a penalty in 205 offensive plays
Senior OG Matt Streid
set career-highs for overall performance grade (77%) and knockdown blocks (13)
Senior OT Sylvester Hatten
had a career-high 53% technique grade and a 74% overall grade
leads UNM with 30 knockdown blocks
Junior OG Joshua Taufalele
had a career-high 11 knockdown blocks, and is second on the team with 28 for the season
Redshirt freshman DE Jaymar Latchison
recovered the first fumble of his Lobo career on a sack/caused fumble by LB Zach Arnett
Redshirt freshman NT Brett Kennedy
had an interception on the first play of his collegiate career
Redshirt freshman WR Michael Scarlett
made the first start of his Lobo career