New Mexico Lobos 38, New Mexico State 35
Up Next: 6 p.m., Friday – Lobos vs. Fresno State – Branch Field
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Number three turned out to be the Lobo charm.
Freshman Lamar Jordan, the third quarterback to be thrown on the turf at Aggie Memorial Stadium by Coach Bob Davie, hit tight end Reece White on a 5-yard scoring pass with 27 seconds to play.
That pulled the Lobos out of a 35-31 hole and into a 38-35 win. It was Davie’s third straight win over New Mexico State and the 1-2 Lobos’ first win of 2014
“It was gut check. It was a flat gut check,” said Davie. “Getting on that bus feels a lot better right now than what the consequences could have been.”
The game was an offensive thriller as billed as nether defense had much luck stopping the opposing defense. The Lobos pounded out 432 yards on the ground and totaled 499. The Aggies’ Tyler Rogers threw for 333 yards going 32-of-47 with two TD passes. The Aggies amassed 507 yards as they added 174 yards on the ground.
“We’re just hanging on a thread on defense,” said Davie.
The Lobos’ final 65-yard drive was a nail-biter. The Aggies had taken a 35-31 lead with 4:41 to play on a Rogers’ pass in the corner of the end zone that Joshua Bowen muscled away from a UNM defender.
There wasn’t any reason not to think the Lobos’ pistol would drive down the field. The Lobos had been doing it all night. But would the clock be a factor?
“We knew we could run the ball right at them,” said Davie.
The Lobos cut it close. A huge play for UNM was an underthrown pass by Jordan in the back of the Aggie end zone that hit the Aggie defender in the back. However, he had been beaten and obviously interfered with UNM’s Jeric Magnant. That gave the Lobos a first down on the NMSU 8-yard line and two plays later Jordan hit White.
“We weren’t going to flinch one bit,” said Davie. “The good thing about winning one game is you have a chance to go out and win two.”
The Aggies held a 28-24 lead going into the fourth quarter. NMSU used a New Mexico turnover to aid the home team into the lead with 15 minutes to play. The Lobos had lost two fumbles over three quarters and Rogers had given up two interceptions to the UNM defense. The first pick, by Dakota Cox, probably stopped a NMSU score.
If things didn’t change, the outcome of the game probably would come down to which defense could make a stop – which offense would quit shooting itself in the foot – or which offense had the ball with enough time on the clock to do something.
The Lobos did the last two things in that game-winning scenario.
The Lobos got a massive game from their front line which made the push that produced those 432 rushing yards. Crusoe Gongbay had a gaudy 134 yards rushing on 15 carries for an 8.9-yard average. Jhurell Pressley had 77 yards and Cole Gautsche, who did not play in the second half, had 53 yards on six carries.
Jordan went 3-of-3 through the air with the biggie that 5-yard floater that just cleared the hands of a leaping Aggie linebacker to fall gently into White’s sure hands. UNM went 8-of-14 passing for 67 yards.
The UNM defense got a career-high 18 tackles from Dakota Cox.
The Lobos converted 62 percent of their third-down plays (13-of-21) and NMSU converted 58 percent (7-of-12). The Lobos also got a touchdown off a fake field-goal attempt — a 27-yard scamper by holder Quinton McCown — and on an 18-yard David Anaya halfback pass to Jeric Magnant. The TD pass came after a pitch to Anaya rolling out of the backfield to the right side. Magnant was all alone in the end zone.
The pattern going into the final frame revealed two offenses that were highly productive moving the ball. The Lobos were doing it by land and the Aggies mostly by air.
The Lobos took the 31-28 lead with 8:53 to play on a 13-yard scamper by Crusoe Gongbay and a Zack Rogers’ extra point. The Aggies came back and marched, eventually scoring on a pass into the corner of the end zone – into coverage – but NMSU’s Bowen muscled the ball away from a UNM defensive back. NMSU had a 35-31 lead.
The Lobos started their final drive with 4:41 to play and the ball on the UNM 35-yard line. Jordan was in command of the UNM huddle as Gautsche did not return for the second half.
Another key play on that drive came with 3:22 to play with UNM looking at second-and-16. UNM ran the ball twice with Jordan going around the left side for seven yards to move the chains.
The Lobos next open Mountain West play on Friday at 6 p.m. at University Stadium against Fresno State.
“I told them to enjoy this until they got to Socorro and then start thinking about Fresno State,” said Davie.