Sept. 29, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
It’s Homecoming this week at the University of New Mexico and the 84th annual festivities conclude Saturday night when UNM hosts the Wyoming Cowboys in a Mountain West Conference game. Kickoff is 7:36 p.m. Mountain Time from University Stadium in Albuquerque. The game will be televised lived over The Mtn., which is Channel 276 on Comcast Cable in Albuquerque and Channel 616 on DirecTV.
Last Saturday, UNM (2-3, 0-1 MWC) scored the final 19 points of the game – all in the fourth quarter – to take a 35-24 victory over New Mexico State in the 99th meeting between the in-state rivals. The Lobos trailed 14-0 less than four minutes into the game and 24-16 in the 4th quarter.
Senior running back Paul Baker rushed for 146 yards on a career-high 37 carries to lead a Lobo rushing attack that gained 297 yards. Redshirt freshman QB Brad Gruner made his first career start in place of injured Donovan Porterie and engineered TD drives on the Lobos’ final three possessions. True freshman K James Aho coverted all three of his field goals and the Lobos controlled the clock for 38:34.
Wyoming (2-3, 0-2) lost at home to Bowling Green, 45-16. The Cowboys used four quarterbacks and they were intercepted four times. In its two other losses this season, Wyoming committed 11 turnovers, including six interceptions. Devin Moore led the Cowboys with 114 yards rushing and one touchdown.
The Lobos were picked to finish 4th in the Mountain West Conference, while the Cowboys were chosen for 5th.
GAME SPONSORS/PROMOTIONS/SPECIAL EVENTS
Game sponsors include Bank Of The West, Comcast, New Mexico Business Weekly, 610 The Sports Animal and News Radio 770 KKOB. The first 5,000 fans will receive Lobo pom-pons courtesy of Bank of the West.
The UNM homecoming committee has teamed up with Road Runner Food Bank of New Mexico for a food drive for Saturday’s game. Fans should bring a canned food item to the truck located in the 1st Community Bank Lobo Fan Fest area northeast of the stadium to receive a gift coupon courtesy of the Lobo Store.
The official Homecoming Tailgate will be located in the 1st Community Bank Lobo Fan Fest. UNM’s Homecoming court will be recognized at halftime and there will be a fireworks show at halftime after the court is announced.
NOTES TO KNOW BEFORE THE GAME
New Mexico is 40-40-3 in Homecoming games, but it has lost 3 in a row, including a 14-10 setback to Wyoming in 2006…UNM has not lost 4 straight Homecoming games since a 4-game drought from 1987-90…Wyoming has been the Lobos’ Homecoming opponent 4 times and it’s tied at two wins apiece…the Lobos won 24-12 in 1969 when current head coach Rocky Long was UNM’s starting quarterback, and in 1983 by a score of 17-10…the Cowboys also took a 24-23 decision in 1989
Wyoming has committed more turnovers – 19 – than any other FBS team in the nation…the Cowboys have been guilty of 10 interceptions and 9 fumbles…UNM has also tossed 10 interceptions, but has lost just 3 fumbles for a total of 13…Washington State and SMU have thrown the most interceptions with 12
New Mexico has done a good job of keeping the Wyoming offense in check this decade…over the past 8 games – with UNM winning 7 of those – the Cowboys have been held to averages of 14 points, 60.6 rushing yards and 283.6 yards of total offense…the past 5 games, it’s 10.6 points and 250.4 yards of offense
Junior QB Donovan Porterie was lost for the season late in the 2nd quarter at Tulsa on Sept. 20…he suffered a torn right ACL and MCL on a pass play…Porterie does not have a redshirt year
UNM head coach Rocky Long was Wyoming’s defensive coordinator and secondary coach under Al Kincaid from 1981-85…Long is 7-2 against his former employer, 4-1 in Laramie and 3-1 Albuquerque
New Mexico has recorded 28 sacks against Wyoming quarterbacks the past 6 games
Senior TB Rodney Ferguson continues to lead the MWC and is 22nd nationally in rushing at 104.6 yards a game…a 2-time all-league performer, Ferguson has 2,982 career rushing yards to rank 3rd in the MWC record book and 4th all-time at New Mexico
Wyoming’s Devin Moore is 2nd in the league in rushing at 101.2 yards a game…UNM held Moore to 35 yards on 12 carries last year in Laramie
Better starts? New Mexico trailed TCU 16-0, Texas A&M 14-0, Tulsa 21-0 and New Mexico State 14-0 before the first quarter was over…UNM has been out-scored 72-17 in the 1st period with the only lead after one period being 10-7 against Arizona…opponents have scored first in all five games in 2008
UNM has won 8 straight games decided by 3 points or less, 4 in 2007
The Lobos have won 13 straight games when they hit the scoreboard first…the last loss was to Wyoming in 2006
SERIES HISTORY
It’s the 61st meeting is a series that started in 1930 with a 19-6 Wyoming victory in Albuquerque. UW has a 32-28 series lead, although New Mexico has won 7 of 8. The Cowboys prevailed 14-10 on their last trip to Albuquerque in 2006. The two rivals played every year between 1949-94. Wyoming has a narrow 15-14 lead in games played in Laramie, but UNM has come away the victor in its last 4 trips to War Memorial Stadium.
The Lobos have a 17-14 lead in games played in Albuquerque. UNM head coach Rocky Long has a 7-2 record against the Cowboys, 3-1 in Albuquerque.
MORE ON THE COWBOYS
Wyoming was 5-7 last year and 2-6 in the Western Athletic Conference, good for 7th place. The Cowboys started the season 4-1, but dropped 6 of their last 7. Wyoming returns 44 lettermen, including 15 starters – 8 on offense and 7 on defense.
HEAD COACH JOE GLENN
Joe Glenn (South Dakota `71) is 186-95-1 in his 24th year as a collegiate head coach. He is 28-36 in his sixth season with the Pokes. Glenn is 1-4 in his career against the Lobos.
LAST YEAR IN LARAMIE
Lightning, heavy rain and even a few snowflakes seemed to be exactly what New Mexico needed against Wyoming. The Lobos came back in force after a 1 hour, 43 minute weather delay in the second quarter and promptly scored two touchdowns in beating the Cowboys 20-3.
Play had resumed on a soggy field for less than 2 minutes when Travis Brown grabbed a 63-yard reception from Donovan Porterie for a 10-3 Lobos lead with 43 seconds left in the half.
New Mexico coach Rocky Long said Wyoming had the momentum before the delay, but Brown’s big touchdown changed everything.
“Coming out of the delay, that play put the momentum in our favor,” he said of Brown’s TD.
Halftime was limited to 3 minutes. Then, early in the third quarter, Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween fumbled on the Cowboys’ own 2-yard line and Ian Clark recovered to score for the Lobos. John Sullivan kicked a 41-yard field goal at the end of the third for the final score.
Devin Moore, who’d been the conference rushing leader with a 114-yard average heading into the game, had just 30 yards rushing for Wyoming. Wynel Seldon had been averaging 74 yards but managed just 8 against the Lobos.
Brown finished with 94 yards on four receptions for New Mexico. Rodney Ferguson kept closer to his 112-yard rushing average than Moore or Seldon; he had 89 yards rushing on 26 carries.
The weather delay began 2 1/2 minutes before halftime. Lightning flashed right after Billy Vinnedge kicked a 26-yard field goal for Wyoming, tying the game 3-3. NCAA rules require a 20-minute wait after any lightning bolt.
Rain, occasionally mixed with snow, fell for the next two hours before finally letting up.
TWO YEARS AGO IN ALBUQUERQUE
Freshmen Karsten Sween made up for a bad first half with two second half touchdown passes and Wyoming rallied for a 14-10 win. Sween, who fumbled and was intercepted twice in the first half, finally got the Cowboys’ offense rolling with scoring passes of 12 yards to Hoost Marsh midway through the third quarter and a 4-yard TD pass to Michael Ford with 12:48 left in the game. Sween completed 19 of 32 passes for 204 yards.
Wyoming broke a six-game losing streak against New Mexico.
Wyoming could do little right in the first half and New Mexico did just enough to take a 10-0 lead. But New Mexico’s offense, which struggled all night, stalled in the second half as neither senior Chris Nelson nor freshman Donovan Porterie could move the chains.
New Mexico’s last scoring chance ended at the Wyoming 43 on downs with 1:31 left.
The Lobos’ blitzing defense rattled Sween into three first half turnovers and converted two of them into a 1-yard touchdown run by Rodney Ferguson with 6:19 left in the first quarter and a 45-yard Kenny Byrd field goal in the second quarter.
New Mexico had just three first downs in putting up the 10 points and the signs of the Lobos’ struggles on offense were evident.
Ferguson’s touchdown followed a fumble by Sween at the Cowboys’ 23. Byrd’s field goal came after Lobo defensive back Quincy Black picked off a deflected pass from Sween and returned it 35 yards to the Wyoming 38.
Sween, getting his first start of the season, was intercepted on the Cowboys’ opening drive which reached the Lobo 25. Sween tried to force a pass in the end zone and defensive back DeAndre Wright made the easy pick.
Wyoming had a chance to score in the final seconds of the first half when Ferguson fumbled at the New Mexico 24 and Wyoming nose guard Fred Givens recovered. But kicker Aric Goodman’s 41-yard field goal attempt as time expired was wide right.
But with New Mexico’s offense going nowhere, Wyoming took over in the second half. Wyoming scored on its first possession on a seven-play, 64-yard drive that included a 25-yard pass from Sween to Tyler Holden to the New Mexico 28.
The Cowboys took the lead for good on the Sween to Ford pass that finished off a nine-play, 78-yard drive. Sween hit tight end Chris Sundberg with a 33-yard pass to the New Mexico 21 and two plays later found Holden open for a 13-yarder to the Lobo 6. Three plays later he had Ford open in the middle of the end zone.
Wyoming had 318 total yards to New Mexico’s season-low 190.
LAST WEEK AT NEW MEXICO STATE
Paul Baker rushed for 146 yards and New Mexico rallied in the fourth quarter to beat New Mexico State 35-24, the Lobos’ sixth straight victory in the series.
An 18-yard touchdown by Jermaine McQueen and a failed 2-point conversion pulled the Lobos to 24-22 with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Baker gave New Mexico the lead with a 3-yard touchdown run with 4:14 left in the game, and James Wright sealed the win with a 44-yard touchdown run two minutes later.
NMSU Chase Holbrook was 24-for-38 for 382 yards, including an 84-yard touchdown to A.J. Harris on the first snap of the game.
Redshirt freshman Brad Gruner started at quarterback for New Mexico in place of Donovan Porterie and completed 7 of 16 passes for 55 yards.
NEW MEXICO STATE POSTGAME NOTES
The Lobos win their 6th straight against New Mexico State and lead the all-time series 66-28-5
UNM trailed 14-0 just 3:41 into the game and 24-16 in the 4th quarter, but New Mexico scored the last 19 points of the game, all coming in the final 10:16
The last time New Mexico overcame at least an 8-point deficit in the 4th quarter to win was two years ago at Colorado State…UNM trailed the Rams 19-10 entering the fourth period, but escaped with a 20-19 victory on a 33-yard field goal by Kenny Byrd as time expired…the Lobos’ starting quarterback that day was redshirt freshman Donovan Porterie
UNM scored 19 points in the 4th quarter, the most in the final period since getting 21 in a 42-28 loss at Texas Tech in 2003
New Mexico had 175 yards of total offense in the 4th quarter, nearly matching the 177 yards gained through the first 3 periods…UNM got 151 of its 297 rushing yards in the 4th quarter
The 297 rushing yards are the most since 314 against New Mexico State in 2005
The 63 rushing attempts are the most since 63 against San Diego State in 2005
UNM is now 24-5 under Rocky Long when rushing for at least 225 yards in a game
UNM’s 15-play drive covering 6:44 in time of possession is its longest of the year
The Lobos were 3 of 3 on 4th-down tries, and are now 5 of 6 on the season…the 83% conversion rate is tops in the Mountain West Conference
Senior TB Paul Baker
came off the bench to rush for 146 yards on a career-high 37 carries; his previous high was 22 totes (for 167 yards) in last year’s New Mexico Bowl win over Nevada
had a 3-yard touchdown run with 4:14 left in the game to give the Lobos their first lead of the night…he rushed six times for 37 yards on the decisive 10-play, 58-yard drive as UNM overcame a 14-0 first quarter deficit and an 8-point hole in the fourth quarter
instrumental in a Lobo rushing attack that produced 297 yards
his 2nd career 100-yard rushing effort
came into the game with 29 carries for 109 yards on the season
rushed 4 times for 2 yards the previous week at Tulsa
Redshirt freshman TB James Wright
3 carries for 55 yards – all in the 4th quarter – in his UNM debut
his 3rd carry as a Lobo resulted in a 44-yard TD run and a 35-24 Lobo lead with 1:31 remaining in the game
Senior RB Rodney Ferguson
15 carries for 49 yards to pass Fred Henry for 4th place all-time at UNM with 2,982 rushing yards
tied Mike Williams for 4th all-time at UNM with 27 career rushing TDs
7th at UNM with 3,577 all-purpose yards
is the nation’s active leader in career rushing attempts with 659
last Saturday marked the first time in 40 career games that he’s left due to injury
True freshman K James Aho
MWC co-Special Teams Player of the Week, his second award in the past 3 games
scored 11 points by making all three of his field goal attempts and a pair of extra points…converted field goals from 28, 42 and 22 yards.
made 10 of 11 field goals in his first five collegiate games
has provided the winning margin for both Lobo victories this season…he had 18 points in New Mexico’s eight-point win over Arizona
Senior LB Zach Arnett
had a career-high 11 tackles…6 of his stops were for three yards or less.
deflected a pass in the 3rd quarter that was intercepted by DeAndre Wright
Redshirt freshman QB Brad Gruner
made his first collegiate start and engineered three TD drives in the 4th quarter: 6 plays, 80 yards; 10 plays, 58 yards; and 2 plays, 47 yards
had a 46-yard run in the 4th quarter, the longest by a Lobo this season, and the longest by a UNM quarterback since Kole McKamey went 71 yards for a TD against New Mexico State in 2005
Senior CB Glover Quin
had a career-long 63-yard kickoff return and had 2 KO returns for 101 yards
thrown at twice and didn’t allow any long passes
Senior CB DeAndre Wright
grabbed his 9th career interception
thrown at just once all night, allowing a three-yard completion
Sophomore WR Bryant Williams
2 catches for 22 yards
8 of his 15 catches have come on 3rd down, and 5 of those have gone for 1st downs
Sophomore WR Jermaine McQueen
scored the first TD of his Lobo career, an 18-yard reception from Brad Gruner in the 4th quarter
Sophomore LB Terel Anyaibe
set career-highs with 5 tackles and 3 QB hurries; he had 5 tackles in 10 career games coming in
Senior LB Herbert Felder III
tied a career-high with 5 QB hurries, including consecutive pressures on 3rd and 4th down on the Aggies’ next-to-last drive when UNM led 28-24
has a team-high 17 QB hurries, including 10 the past 2 games
Redshirt freshman DE Jaymar Latchison
set career-highs with 5 tackles and 2 QB hurries…also had half a sack
Junior NT Kendall Briscoe
had a career-high 2 QB hurries
COMEBACKS SOMEWHAT COMMON FOR Rocky Long TEAMS
Since 1946, the University of New Mexico has rallied from at least a 14-point deficit to win on 14 occasions. Five of those comebacks – more than one-third of them – have occurred since Rocky Long became head coach in 1998.
RECORD DAY FOR A FRESHMAN KICKER
True freshman walk-on K James Aho had quite a performance in just his third collegiate competition. In the Lobos’ 36-28 victory over Arizona on Sept. 13, Aho tied a school and MWC 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.
In the process, Aho became the first New Mexico kicker in school history to make 4 field goals in a game from 40 yards or longer.
A walk-on, Aho tried out for the team in the fall of 2007 but was cut.
DIVIDENDS ON RETURNS
The UNM return teams continue to get better. Last Saturday at New Mexico State, the Lobos returned 3 kickoffs for 127 yards, an average of 42.3 yards. Glover Quin had the hot hand with returns of 63 and 38 yards. The team KO return average is up to 26.0 yards which ranks 2nd in the MWC and 14th in the FBS. Last year’s average was 21 yards per return.
On the punt return front, the season average is 14.4 yards, good for 3rd in the MWC and 30th nationally. UNM has averaged 17.4 yards on 9 returns the past three games. It was 7.5 yards in 2007.