Oct. 20, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
A pair of dominant running teams square off in a key Mountain West Conference game Thursday as New Mexico travels to Air Force. Kickoff is 6:06 p.m. Mountain Time from Falcon Stadium on the grounds of the United States Air Force Academy. The game will be nationally televised live on CBS College Sports which is Channel 274 on Comcast Cable in Albuquerque, Channel 613 on DirecTV and Channel 152 on Dish Network.
The Lobos and Falcons played on a Thursday night last year with UNM taking a 34-31 victory in Albuquerque. New Mexico recovered five fumbles in that game, three in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons rank 1st in the MWC and 3rd in the nation in rushing offense at 300.1 yards a game. New Mexico is 3rd in the MWC and 15th nationally at 223.9 yards a game, however, the Lobos have averaged 293 yards on the ground in their past four games.
Last Saturday, UNM (4-4, 2-2 MWC) ambushed San Diego State 70-7 to win for the third time in the past four games. Senior TB Rodney Ferguson rushed for 149 yards and 4 TDs while redshirt freshman QB Brad Gruner ran for two scores and threw for another. The Lobos piled up 565 yards of total offense, including 419 yards on the ground, the highest total in 11 years. UNM held the Aztecs to 227 yards.
After a setback at nationally-ranked BYU earlier this month, the Lobos have lost three straight MWC road games for the first time since the 2000-01 seasons (at UNLV and BYU in 2000 and at Utah in `01). UNM has never dropped four straight MWC road tilts since the league started play in 1999.
Air Force (5-2, 3-1 MWC) got a late field goal to win 29-28 at UNLV. Ryan Harrison booted a 19-yarder with 2:36 to play and QB Tim Jefferson threw two touchdown passes to help the Falcons improve to 4-0 on the road this season. Jefferson led Air Force on a 91-yard drive to set up Harrison’s winner, his third field goal of the game. The freshman quarterback ran for 105 yards on 13 carries and completed six of seven passes for 167 yards.
LOBOS HAVE TOUGHEST SCHEDULE AMONG MWC TEAMS
According to this week’s NCAA stats, New Mexico continues to have the toughest schedule among the nine MWC schools. Based on past and future opposition, the Lobos’ schedule has a winning percentage of .588, which is the 21st hardest in the nation and the most difficult of all non-BCS teams. Colorado State (29), Air Force (43), San Diego State (48) and TCU (49) and are also in the top-50.
UNM’s non-conference opponents – Texas A&M (2-5), Arizona (5-2), Tulsa (7-0) and New Mexico State (3-3) have a combined record of 17-10. Four of the Lobos’ 2008 opponents are currently ranked in the top-25 of both major polls: Utah, TCU, BYU and Tulsa while Arizona is receiving votes.
New Mexico and UNLV are the only two MWC schools that did not play a FCS (Football Championship Series formerly NCAA I-AA) opponent in 2008.
EARLY END TO THE SEASON AND NO OFF WEEK
New Mexico will be the first FBS school to complete its 2008 regular season when it plays at Colorado State on Nov. 15. Every other team finishes Nov. 22 or later. Nov. 15 is UNM’s earliest date to end a regular season since Nov. 13, 1943.
The Lobos are also one of only two FBS schools that do not have an open week in 2008. Purdue also plays 12 straight weeks from Sept. 6 to Nov. 22.
NOTES TO KNOW BEFORE THE GAME
In last year’s 34-31 win over the Falcons, New Mexico held the ball for 34:40…in the last 9 meetings with Air Force, the team with the advantage in time of possession has won 8 times
Air Force has not returned a kickoff for a TD since 1985, or 278 games, currently the 2nd-longest drought in the nation…the Lobos’ skid is 128 games, the 9th longest
Air Force TE Travis Dekker is a 2004 grad of Albuquerque La Cueva HS; UNM has 8 players from La Cueva in LB Zack Arnett (2005), S Frankie Baca (2005), lobo Jake Bowe (2004), NT Brett Kennedy (2007), lobo Clint McPeek (2005), OL Mike Muniz (2007), FB Matt Quillen (2004) and LB Greyson Wieczorek (2006)
Senior TB Rodney Ferguson continues to lead the MWC and is 19th nationally in rushing at 108.3 yards a game…a two-time all-league performer, Ferguson has 14 career 100-yard rushing games…his 3,217 career rushing yards rank 3rd in the MWC record book and 4th at UNM…Ferguson carried a career-high 41 times for 146 yards and 2 TDs in last year’s win against Air Force
New Mexico had a 7-game October winning streak snapped at BYU…UNM head coach Rocky Long is 25-15 in October, 24-11 since 1999
Opponents have not scored following 4 Lobo turnovers in the past 4 games…in the first 4 games of the season, UNM turned it over 12 times, resulting in 59 points for the opposition
Subbing for the injured Donovan Porterie, who is out for the season, redshirt freshman QB Brad Gruner is 3-1 as a starter, and seems to be getting better each game…in his first 4 games (2 starts), Gruner completed 41% (25-61) of his passes for 279 yards, with 5 interceptions, 2 TDs, and he was sacked 4 times…the past 2 games, he is 16 of 23 (69%) for 178 yards with 0 interceptions and 1 TD, and no sacks…the past 3 games, he is averaging 7.7 yards as a ball carrier (20 for 154 yards) with 3 TDs
Senior CB Glover Quin leads the MWC in interceptions (4) and is 2nd in passes defended with 11
Junior lobo Ian Clark leads the MWC and is 4th in the nation in punt return average at 21.2 yards…the single-season school record is 19.4 yards by Bobby Lee in 1953…UNM’s punt return average is now 16.6 yards, good for 1st in the MWC and 10th nationally…it was 7.5 yards in 2007…the school record for punt return average in a season is 14.8 in 1953
New Mexico also leads the MWC and is 1st nationally in kickoff return average at 25.4 yards
Although he has not caused a fumble in the past 3 games, senior LB Zach Arnett is tied with TCU’s Jerry Hughes for 1st in the nation in that category with 4, an average of .50 a game
UNM has won 8 straight games decided by 3 points or less, 4 in 2007
UNM 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
SERIES HISTORY
It’s the 26th meeting and the Falcons have a 15-10 lead. UNM won 34-31 last year to halt a three-game series losing streak. The Lobos have a 5-4 edge in MWC competition. Air Force holds an 8-2 advantage at the Academy where it has won three in a row and six of the past seven. The Lobos’ only wins in Colorado Springs came in 1982 and 2000. New Mexico head coach Rocky Long is 5-5 in his career against Air Force, 4-1 in Albuquerque and 1-4 at Falcon Stadium.
MORE ON THE FALCONS
Air Force was 9-4 last year, 6-2 in the MWC and finished in 2nd place behind BYU. The Falcons fell to California 42-36 in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth. Air Force returned just 23 lettermen and 9 starters from the 2007 team.
AIR FORCE HEAD COACH TROY CALHOUN
Former cadet Troy Calhoun (Air Force `89) is (9-4) in his second year as a collegiate head coach. He is 1-0 against the Lobos.
LAST YEAR IN ALBUQUERQUE
Rodney Ferguson ran for 146 yards and John Sullivan kicked four field goals, leading New Mexico to a 34-31 victory over Air Force on a Thursday night.
The Lobos snapped a three-game losing streak to Air Force, capitalizing on five lost fumbles by the Falcons – three in the fourth quarter.
Sullivan set a school record by hitting his 18th straight field goal, a 36-yarder that put New Mexico ahead 34-31 with 10:10 remaining.
The Falcons got a big break when Sullivan finally missed, sailing wide right on a 32-yard try with 2:18 remaining. But Air Force’s Mark Root fumbled and Herbert Felder recovered for the Lobos, who ran out the clock.
Air Force standout Chad Hall had 97 yards rushing on 21 carries and had 247 total yards. He added six catches for 66 yards receiving and added 84 yards on four kick returns, two days after missing practice because of food poisoning.
He wasn’t slowed by the illness, zigzagging 26 yards on his first carry and scoring on runs of 1 and 18 yards in the first half. But the Lobos kept Hall in check, considering he’d logged 592 yards rushing in the previous three games.
Sullivan, meanwhile, connected from 43, 20, 32 and 36 yards to break the school mark of 16 consecutive field goals by Vladimir Borombozin from 2000-01.
Sullivan’s 32-yarder tied it at 31 early in the fourth quarter, and his 36-yarder on New Mexico’s next series completed the scoring.
That possession started after Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney fumbled and Wesley Beck recovered for the Lobos at the Falcons 28. New Mexico scored 14 points off three Air Force fumbles.
A key swing came in the second quarter when New Mexico scored 11 points in 15 seconds. Sullivan’s 20-yarder cut Air Force’s lead to 21-13, and Ditmore recovered Ty Paffett’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff at the 12.
On the next play, Donovan Porterie threw a 12-yard TD strike to tight end Chris Mark, then found Mark on the successful 2-point conversion to tie it at 21 late in the first half.
Ferguson scored on a 3-yard plunge on fourth-and-1, putting New Mexico ahead 28-24 in the third. It was set up when Air Force’s Garrett Rybak had a New Mexico punt bounce off his leg and Ian Clark recovered for the Lobos.
The Falcons answered with a 65-yard drive, capped by an 8-yard TD run by Jim Ollis to give Air Force a 31-28 lead late in the third.
TWO YEARS AGO AT THE ACADEMY
Ryan Williams ran for 94 yards and a touchdown and Air Force turned two takeaways into TDs in a 24-7 victory. The Falcons gained 262 yards on the ground and limited the Lobos to 41 yards rushing.
Trailing 14-7, the Lobos went for first down on fourth-and-inches at the Falcons 41 late in the third quarter, but quarterback Chris Nelson’s sneak came up about an inch shy of the first-down marker. And in the span of 54 seconds, the Falcons put the Lobos away.
First, senior Zach Sasser kicked a career-long 48-yard field goal to make it 17-7 with 12:53 left. Then, Glover Quin mishandled the kickoff, which was recovered by the Falcons’ Aaron Kirchoff at the Lobos 20. Three plays later, Williams took it in from 2 yards out for a 24-7 lead.
The Falcons capitalized on two costly mistakes by the Lobos to take a 14-7 halftime lead. Air Force jumped ahead 7-0 on Shaun Carney’s 3-yard keeper less than three minutes into the game after cornerback Chris Sutton’s recovery of Rodney Ferguson’s fumble at the New Mexico 15 on the Lobos’ second snap.
The Lobos were driving later in the first quarter when Nelson overthrew an option pitch on third down to tailback Paul Baker, who smothered the ball at midfield after it had bounced 14 yards, taking New Mexico out of field goal range. Air Force capitalized when wing back Chad Hall took a pitch from Carney and ran 38 yards for a score to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead.
Ferguson atoned for his early mistake by taking a screen pass from Nelson 58 yards for the score that trimmed the Falcons’ lead to 14-7 and briefly quieted the crowd.
GROUND GAME PICKING UP STEAM
The Lobos enter the Air Force game 3rd in the MWC in rushing offense at 223.9 yards a game, but they have averaged 293 yards a game over the past 4 games. The current average of 223.9 would be UNM’s highest in a season since 244.7 in 1996. The best rushing average for a season under Rocky Long is 210.0 in 2003.
LOBOS KNOWN FOR STRONG FINISHES
The Lobos hope the 2008 season continues a near decade-long trend of them being a better team in the second half of the season. Since 2001, New Mexico is 31-11 in regular-season games played on Oct. 12 or later.
YOUNGSTERS MAKING PRESENCE FELT
A number of true and redshirt freshmen are really making a positive impact on the 2008 season:
K James Aho: 12-16 FGs and 20-20 PATs…tied school record with 5 FGs in Arizona win, 4 from 40 yards or more
QB Brad Gruner: 3-1 as a starter…averaging 6 yards per carry, including team-long 52-yard rush against Wyoming
OT Byron Bell: started every game at RT…1st freshman to start at OT since 1994.
NT Brett Kennedy: 1 interception for a TD and 1 caused fumble that resulted in a TD for Jaymar Latchison
DE Jaymar Latchison: 11 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 7 QB hurries and leads UNM with 2 fumble recoveries, one returned 28 yards for a TD
LB Carmen Messina: played in every game…19 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery
DE Johnathan Rainey: 7 tackles and 5 QB hurries in 7 games as a reserve end
WR Michael Scarlett: started 3 games…3 catches for 27 yards at BYU and a 40-yard pass completion against San Diego State
S Mica Williams: 14 tackles, primarily on special teams
TB James Wright: 313 rushing yards in 4 career games…6.8 yards per carry and a pair of 100-yard games on the ground
K Drew Zamora: Primary kickoff man
SAN DIEGO STATE RECAP
Rodney Ferguson scored four touchdowns as New Mexico beat San Diego State 70-7. New Mexico scored in bunches against the Aztecs and the Lobos’ 49 first-half points were the most since 1946, when the school began keeping such stats. That eclipses the previous high of 46 points against Northern Arizona in 1950.
The 70 points were the most ever given up by San Diego State, which lost to New Mexico for the eighth straight time.
Lobo cornerback Glover Quin intercepted a pass from freshman quarterback Ryan Lindley on the Aztecs’ first possession, and the Lobos needed just four plays to go 46 yards after Quin’s pick. Quarterback Brad Gruner scored from the 20, and the rout was on from there.
New Mexico’s first half scores included a pair of 4-yard TD runs, a 5-yarder by Ferguson and a 13-yard TD run by Gruner after linebacker Carmen Messina recovered a fumble by Mekell Wesley on a kickoff return. Gruner also threw a 19-yard scoring pass to tight end Chris Mark with 23 seconds left in the first half.
Ferguson tied his career high with four TDs, the final one coming early in the third quarter on a 35-yard run.
San Diego State gave up 419 rushing yards and 565 total yards. The Aztecs’ only score was on a 15-yard pass to Darren Mougay with 7:30 left in the third quarter.
SAN DIEGO STATE POSTGAME NOTES
New Mexico records its 10th-highest scoring game in school history…it’s the most points by UNM since a 72-8 win over Texas State in 2003…the Lobos now own the top-2 scoring games in Mountain West Conference history
UNM’s 8 rushing TDs tied a school and Mountain West Conference record…the Lobos had 8 against Utah in 1971, UTEP in 1972 and New Mexico State in 1982…Air Force had 8 rushing TDs against San Diego State on Nov. 17, 2007
New Mexico led 49-0 at halftime…since game statistics became official in 1946, that’s the most points UNM has scored in one half…the previous mark was 46 against Northern Arizona in 1950…the 49 points ties a MWC record for points in a half…BYU scored 49 against Tulane on Aug. 25, 2001
New Mexico has won 8 straight games against San Diego State…UNM head coach Rocky Long is 9-2 in his career against the Aztecs
This is the Lobos’ biggest win against San Diego State…the previous was 41-12 (29 points) in the first game of the series in Albuquerque in 1953
New Mexico had 419 yards rushing, the highest total for a Rocky Long-coached Lobo team and the most since 434 yards against New Mexico State in 1997
The Lobos had 565 yards of total offense, the most since 633 yards against Utah in 2003
UNM used 28 players on defense and 27 on offense…C Ben Contreras was the only Lobo to play the entire game, participating in 80 offensive snaps…normally the backup center, it was Contreras’ first game as a Lobo as he replaced starter Erik Cook, who was out with an illness
New Mexico had two players rush for 100 yards, Rodney Ferguson 149 and James Wright 110…the last time that happened was in 2005 against New Mexico State when Kole McKamey gained 152 and DonTrell Moore had 120
UNM scored on its opening drive for the first time this season: 4 plays and 46 yards culminating in a 20-yard TD run by QB Brad Gruner…the score was set up by Glover Quin’s 4th interception of the season
The Lobos had 3 takeaways (1 interception and 2 fumbles) and have forced 20 turnovers in the past 6 meetings against the Aztecs…UNM scored 21 points off San Diego State miscues
New Mexico is 15-1 in its last 16 games when scoring first
New Mexico’s average starting field position was its own 43-yard line..it was the San Diego State 48 in the 1st half
UNM came into the game having scored 31 points in the 1st quarter this season…the Lobos led 21-0 after one period
In the past 9 meetings against San Diego State, the Lobo defense has allowed an average of 13.1 points, 70.7 yards rushing and 263.8 yards of total offense to the Aztecs
UNM returned 4 punts for a 22.8-yard average…the Lobos came into the game leading the MWC in punt return average at 15.1 yards per return…the season average is now 16.7 yards
Senior RB Rodney Ferguson
MWC co-Offensive Player of the Week after 25 carries for 149 yards and a career-high-tying 4 TDs
posted his 14th career 100-yard rushing game
remains in 4th place all-time at UNM with 3,217 rushing yards…Winslow Oliver is 3rd with 3,332 yards, so he’s 115 yards away
tied with Stoney Case for 2nd place at UNM with 31 career rushing TDs and is 5th with 3,812 career all-purpose yards
3rd all-time at UNM with 708 career rushing attempts
Redshirt freshman QB Brad Gruner
7 carries for 42 yards and a career-high 2 TDs
also completed 8 of 11 passes for 92 yards and 1 TD
3-1 as a starter
Senior CB Glover Quin
4 tackles and his MWC-leading 4th interception of the season on SDSU’s opening series that led to a Lobo TD
broke up 1 pass to move into 4th place all-time at UNM with 27 PBUs; needs 2 to tie the school record held by Stephen Persley from 1998-2001
has 11 passes defended (7 PBUs, 4 INTs) on the season
Redshirt freshman TB James Wright
2nd career 100-yard rushing game with 110 yards on 16 carries
is averaging 6.8 yards per carry this season (313 yards on 46 carries)
Senior OT Sylvester Hatten
career-high performance grade (84%) for the second straight week
Redshirt freshman OT Byron Bell
career-high performance grade (84%) for the second straight week
career-high grade for technique (68%), meaning he had perfect execution on 40 of 59 plays
Senior FB Matt Quillen
7 carries for 41 yards and his first career TD from 4 yards
Sophomore TB Terence Brown
3 rushes for 62 yards, including a 37-yard TD on the second carry of his career
Redshirt freshman NT Brett Kennedy and redshirt freshman DE Jaymar Latchison
Kennedy forced a fumble that Latchison returned 28 yards for a TD
Latchison also had 3 tackles, 2 assisted tackles for a loss, a sack and a season-high 4 QB hurries
Kennedy had 3 tackles as well
Senior CB DeAndre Wright
started his 38th consecutive game
had 1 pass breakup, moving into a tie for 6th place on UNM’s career list with 25
has not allowed a long pass (15+ yards) in his last 4 games and just 3 all year
Junior lobo Ian Clark
2 punt returns for a 25-yard average, including a career-high 50-yard effort in the 2nd quarter
season average is now 21.2 (11 returns – 233 yards), which is 4th in the nation
Senior TE Chris Mark
caught a season-high 2 passes for 27 yards, including his 5th career TD reception
Senior LB Herbert Felder III
3 tackles and 1.5 sacks…leads the team with 5.5 sacks
Junior lobo Clint McPeek
set a career high for the 2nd straight week with 3 pass break-ups to go along with a team-high 7 tackles and 2 QB hurries
leads UNM with 64 tackles and 9 PBUs
Redshirt freshman WR Michael Scarlett
started his 3rd career game for New Mexico
completed a 40-yard pass to Roland Bruno