Oct. 11, 2008
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | AP Photo Gallery 
Saturday: Brigham Young 21, Lobos
Up Next: : San Diego State at Lobos, (Oct 18)
Where: University Stadium
Tickets: www.unmtickets.com; 925-5858; 1-877-664-8661; The Pit’s ticket office; UNM bookstore
By Richard Stevens
Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The Rocky Long plan for an unlikely upset in Provo, Utah really didn’t have too many flaws. The Lobos controlled time of possession, didn’t fall behind early, and even got the rushing/passing balance that Long wanted.
But there were two things that really hurt the University of New Mexico Lobos in their 21-3 loss Saturday at Brigham Young.The Lobos did not score a touchdown.
And the one they did score was negated by an official on a controversial penalty that was even questioned by the Mountain Network announcers.
“That’s as bad of a call as I’ve been associated with and I’ve been coaching a long time,” said Long on his KKOB radio show after watching his Lobos drop to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference.
“There is a very good chance that (BYU) would have won the game anyway,” said Long, who added that the call “took the game away from our players.”
The call hit the Lobos in the fourth quarter calling back a 14-yard TD pass from Tate Smith to Bryant Williams. The score would have made it 14-10 in favor of BYU. The TD was nullified by an official who said Byron Bell, UNM’s right tackle, illegally blocked a BYU defender in the back.
The replay showed the defender slipped on the turf and Bell was merely reaching out at the downed Cougar.
Coach Long said the official’s flag hurt the Lobos a lot more than the final numbers on the scoreboard.
“We have to get our team back because they are as disappointed as any football team I’ve been around,” said Long. “I don’t think it’s because we lost. I think it’s because they feel like they were (denied) a chance to win.”
Long took his Lobos into Provo with a simple game plan designed to frustrate – and beat – a BYU team ranked No. 8 in the coaches’ poll and No. 9 in The Associated Press poll.
Time of possession was one part of the plan. The Lobos had the ball 32:32 minutes to 27:28 for BYU.
A balanced attack was there, too. Long used a QB combination of Brad Gruner and Tate Smith and UNM’s attack was about as balanced as it could get: 144 yards passing, 144 yards rushing.
Long said he went with the two-headed QB strategy to give BYU “some challenges that they haven’t had up to this point and it seemed to work pretty well.”
“We didn’t score enough points,” he added, “but we moved the ball pretty well.”
The Lobos had 288 yards in total offense to 380 for BYU. The Lobos also had two turnovers to none for the Cougars.
“They are a very physical team,” said BYU’s Andrew George. “You have to give them credit for holding us back today.”
The combined score of BYU’s three previous home games was 144-17. The Cougars fell short of their offensive production, but the only points UNM could keep on the board came from a 27-yard field goal by James Aho in the second quarter. The two teams went scoreless in the first quarter and BYU took a 7-3 lead into halftime.Gruner went 8-of-12 in the pocket for 86 yards and Smith was 5-of-10 for 58 yards. Rodney Ferguson ran for 90 yards. BYU’s Max Hall went 22-of-34 for 258 yards and three TDs.
The Lobos move on to play San Diego State this coming Saturday at University Stadium. Long said, despite the disappointment in Provo, he expects his Lobos to be ready.
“They are pretty disheartened right now,” he said. “But I’m pretty positive about this group.”
Said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall: “We had to earn everything we could get today. The Lobos deserve credit. If there was a difference today, it was turnovers.”The win was the 16th straight for BYU in Provo. The Cougars move on to a pivotalThursday MWC clash at TCU.
After UNM’s TD from Smith to Williams was flagged away, BYU added an eight-yard TD pass from Hall to Austin Collie.
It was a score that sealed the win, but it also was a score that the BYU offense probably needed after being held to a single TD in the first half. BYU had 45 yards of offense in the first quarter and 175 at the half.BYU took the second half kickoff and appeared determined to establish more of a running attack behind Harvey Unga. BYU was running the ball well and had an apparent first down at the UNM 49-yard line. An illegal block pushed BYU back and the Cougars had to punt.
The Lobos’ offense did exactly what Long said they could not afford do against BYU: go three-and-out. BYU came up with a big play with UNM looking at a 3rd-and-one with 9:48 to play in the third quarter. The Cougars broke into the UNM backfield and dumped Ferguson for a three-yard loss. UNM punted and BYU took over at its 36-yard line.
BYU’s Hall struck quickly with a 29-yard pass to Austin Collie giving BYU a first down on the UNM 39-yard line. The Cougars sent Unga up the middle twice to get a first down at the UNM 26-yard line. Hall finished this drive with an 11-yard TD pass to George, who broke open on the right side of the UNM end zone. At the 6:08 mark, BYU was up 14-3, going 69 yards in six plays.
UNM’s turn to moved the ball. The Lobos couldn’t do it; another three-and-out. The Lobos’ punt was partially blocked, but a great UNM roll placed the ball on the BYU 43-yard-line. BYU also couldn’t generate a first down and punted back to UNM.Gruner got UNM a first down on a run and then hit Jermaine McQueen at the UNM 42 to give the Lobos another first down. The Lobos put themselves into a hole on a 3rd-and-three play when holding pushed UNM back again. UNM’s Smith went deep down the middle looking for a first down, but the ball was tipped and intercepted. It was UNM’s second turnover, handing BYU the ball at their 35-yard line. The third quarter ended with UNM still trailing 14-3.
BYU did nothing with its drive and punted the ball into the end zone. The Lobos got the ball at their 20-yard line with 13:10 left in the game. The Lobos dodged a bullet when a Gruner pass went directly into the hands of a BYU linemen, but was dropped. Gruner came back to hit Chris Mark, who got the Lobos a first down at the UNM 49. Gruner then scrambled up the middle to get another first down, this time at the BYU 35-yard-line.
The Lobos were looking at 3rd-and-5 at the UNM 30 and Gruner came out of the option to gain seven, handing UNM a first down at the BYU 23. Again, UNM worked into another third-down situation. James Wright went up the middle and UNM had another first down, this one at the BYU 11-yard line.
The Lobos dodged yet another bullet when a Gruner pitch to Wright ended up on the ground. Cook recovered for UNM. The Lobos Smith got into the end zone on the next play, but BYU caught a huge break on the illegal block call against UNM’s Byron Bell, who lightly touched a Cougar defender already on the ground.
UNM had a chance to score anyway when Williams got open about five yards in front on the BYU end zone, but Smith threw the ball behind Williams. Smith then tossed a prayer into the right corner of the BYU end zone. It fell incomplete and BYU took over on downs with seven minutes to play.
The Lobos needed to get the ball back quickly, but it didn’t happen. BYU went to the ground and to short passes to work the ball down the field as they worked the clock. The Cougars probably didn’t need to score again to win this game, but the Cougars could not be happy with their offensive numbers. Collie beat Glover Quinn to the corner and a perfectly placed pass by Hall fell gently over Collie’s shoulder for BYU’s final score. BYU went up 21-3 with 3:05 to play.
The first quarter was almost perfect for the Lobos, well, except they didn’t score. But the Cougars didn’t score either. UNM marched into the second quarter tied 0-0 and slipped into the lead by three points on the 27-yard field goal by Aho. The Cougars’ offense really didn’t do much in the second quarter either, but Hall did get BYU into the end zone with a one-yard pass to George. The Lobos trailed 7-3 at the half.
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner