Oct. 29, 2008
Lobo Football
What: Lobos vs. No. 9/10 Utah
When: 7:36 p.m., Saturday
Where: University Stadium
Television: The Mtn (276 Comcast; 616 DirecTV)
Radio: 770 KKOB-AM
By Richard Stevens
Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The toughness factor has never been a problem for Rocky Long’s Lobos. It’s a part of their psyche; a part of the makeup necessary to play football at the University of New Mexico.
But that toughness factor probably has never been more of a requirement come Saturday when the undefeated and No. 9/10-ranked Utah Utes invade University Stadium.
The Utes will show up for the game in a team bus. A few of the Lobos probably ought to show up on a stretcher and be wheeled to their positions on the field
Amazingly, 19 of the Lobos’ 22 starters are nursing some sort of injury. Long says 14 of the injuries are serious enough to keep those starters on the sideline.
“It’s the worst since I’ve been here,” said Long. “And our trainer (Dave Binder) has been a trainer for 39 years and he says it’s the worst he’s ever seen.
“But that’s making excuses. There won’t be a (Lobo) who will walk onto that field Saturday, who is not ready to play. They’ll just be ready to play at different levels.”
The levels of that play are based upon the injury and/or a player’s ability to play injured. There are Lobos like senior linebacker Zach Arnett, who would play on one leg. There are Lobos like senior Ian Clark, who is willing to play with one shoulder. Clark goes into the Utah game with an injured shoulder. He probably shouldn’t play against the Utes.
“Ian plans on playing,” said Long. “They (injured) are all playing. That’s why this team, win or lose, no matter what our record is, is special. Most of our team is hurt and they are all suiting up to play and, in this day and age, that doesn’t happen very often.
“You always have two or three really tough guys, but we have 14 of them playing, who legitimately could say, ‘We’re not going to play,’ and nobody would say, ‘What?’ I’m proud of this team because they show a resolve to overcome pain and keep competing. To be able to go out there and be willing to play as hard as they can, well, that means you are special competitor. This team shows a competitor’s heart.”
The heart of a true warrior isn’t a part of Lobo football by accident. Long says that trait is something he and his staff look for in athletes long before they become Lobos.
They do that, in part, because at UNM you can’t always out-talent the team across the line from you. Sometimes you just have to outlast them, out-tough them, out-want them. That might be the case against the talented Utes from Salt Lake City, who come to Albuquerque thinking BCS bowl.
The UNM-Utah game will be a game of execution, turnovers, field position, special teams, etc., but it also will be a game of toughness vs. talent. The talent factor leans toward a Ute team ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West Conference in scoring offense and ranked No. 6 nationally on defense. But the Lobos like to think they take a backseat to nobody when it comes to playing tough to the very end: to the end of the game, to the end of the season.
“I don’t think we’ve ever quit in a game,” said Long. “I think that’s the makeup of the players we recruit. They come in with that attitude and they get with other players of that same attitude and it becomes a part of this team. It’s just not in our nature to quit.
“Even if we bring in a player not necessarily strong in that attitude, you surround him with other players with that attitude and they will adopt the same mental process.
“I think we have coaches who never give up, too, and that filters down. If a coach looks like he is giving up or that the team doesn’t have a chance, the players will feed off that. We always believe we can win.”
Long’s Lobos have a history of playing hard to the season’s end. The Lobos won 3-of-4 games at the tail end of the 2007 season; 3-of-5 in 2005; 5-of-6 in 2004; 7-of-9 in 2003, 4-of-6 in 2002 and 4-of-5 in 2001. Those late-season charges have sent the Lobos to bowl games in five of the past six seasons.
The Lobos need another such charge in 2008. The Lobos are 4-5 and need to win two of their final three games to become bowl eligible. The Lobos finish their season at UNLV and at CSU. That’s a tough ending for a team of walking wounded. It also won’t be easy to defeat the high-powered Utes, who see the Lobos as yet another hurdle between them and BCS glory.
“We’re not scared of them,” said Long. “Now, some of us might be worried about making it through the game because they have a bad knee or a bad shoulder. But we’re not scared of them.”
No, that’s not in the Lobos’ nature either.
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