San Diego State 24, New Mexico Lobos 14
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
There were a lot of numbers Friday night on Branch Field that might have suggested the Lobos were on the good side of the 24-14 final that favored San Diego State.
The Lobos got four turnovers in the second half. The Aztecs had 10 penalties for 102 yards. The Lobos for the first time in the Bob Davie era had more passing yards than did the enemy.
But there also were some bad numbers namely San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey running for 246 yards including a 93-yard burst to score. “Number 19 (Pumphrey) made the plays for them tonight,” said Lobo Coach Bob Davie.
Here’s a shocker. Pumphrey had 246 rushing yards and UNM had 152 yards rushing. UNM totaled 263 as a team and the Aztecs had 470 total yards.
“We never got anything going,” said Davie, who saw his Lobos drop to 2-4 on the year and 0-2 in the Mountain West. “We became something we’re not. We tried to create plays. We did a lot of different things, but we really didn’t do anything (well).
“It was more a lack of overall execution. They challenged us to run the dive up the middle and we couldn’t and then we didn’t have many places to go.
“Offensively, we have to get back to what we are, who we are. We have to challenge our offensive line a little more. We have to get back to establish what we are.”
The Lobos’ bread is still buttered with the three-pronged option. But it wasn’t working Friday against the Rocky Long Aztecs. Freshman Lamar Jordan, who took over the huddle from Cole Gautsche, had 97 yards passing and 52 yards rushing. The Lobos’ next best rushing total came from Jhurell Pressley with 45 yards. UNM’s Crusoe Gongbay did not play, out with a foot injury.
The Aztecs got another 141 yards from Chase Price. Pumphrey averaged 12.3 yards per carry on 20 attempts and Price averaged 8.3 yards on 17 carries. That’s pretty much the ball game right there.
The Lobos’ defense created some turnovers, but it allowed the Aztecs to run the ball effectively and take pressure off the SDSU freshman quarterback Nick Bawden. The Aztec rookie went 4-of-13 passing, but SDSU did not need a passing game. The two Aztecs interceptions came from other arms.
The Lobos next game is a Mountain West visit to Air Force next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Davie said he thought Long’s defense might be more aggressive using numbers to disrupt the UNM offense. The Aztecs were aggressive, but did it out of a standard formation.
“We really expected a lot more pressure-type fronts, more looks, more blitzing,” said Davie. “It wasn’t that at all.
“We had our opportunities, but we didn’t make any plays. We really didn’t do much. Our defense fought and hung in there and kept fighting. We created four turnovers in a row, but it was on our end of the field when we were hanging by a thread.
“I give San Diego State credit. They beat us. But we also shot ourselves in the foot.”
As did the Aztecs. The Aztecs had several chances to widen the gap on the scoreboard, but instead turned the ball over. The Aztecs often were relying on their defense to stop the Lobos. UNM had only 263 total yards and converted 4-of-13 third-down situations.
UNM turned the ball over a single time, but the Lobos did not score any points off the four SDSU turnovers. The Lobos punted eight times and the Aztecs punted four times.
Second Half: San Diego State 14, New Mexico 7
The Aztecs and the Lobos did all their second-half scoring in the third quarter.
The Aztecs took a 17-7 lead on a Chase Price 27-yard run at the 11:23 mark of the third quarter. The Lobos quickly answered going 75 yards in 13 plays with Teriyon Gipson concluding the drive with a 1-yard burst off left tackle.
The Aztecs were even quicker with their answer. Donnel Pumphrey went 93 yards on SDSU’s second play from scrimmage and the Aztecs were back up by ten points: 24-14. Pumphrey had 226 yards at that point in the game.
The Lobos went three-and-out and the third quarter ended with SDSU on the UNM 46-yard line looking at a third-and-three. The Aztecs had 315 rushing yards moving into the final 15 minutes.
The Aztecs’ drive ended at the UNM 14-yard line where Cranston Jones intercepted a pass by wide receiver Chase Favreau on what was set up to look like and end-around run. UNM failed to move and SDSU started at the UNM 44-yard line looking at a short field with 12:02 to play.
Another SDSU touchdown probably would put the game out of reach. Instead, the Aztecs fumbled the ball on third-and-one and Dakota Cox recovered at the Lobo 31-yard line. UNM had less than 11 minutes to cut into that 10-point hole. The Lobos put themselves into another hole with a quick 15-yard penalty for a chop block. The Lobos never recovered and punted away with 9:32 to play.
The Aztecs now needed to cut into the clock while trying to tilt the scoreboard more in their favor. The smart move would be to keep the ball on the ground. SDSU threw it and UNM’s Donnie Duncan got the pick. UNM had the ball at its 19 with 9:19 to play.
The Aztecs got some payback with an interception of a Jordan pass at UNM’s 24-yard line. Would the Aztecs now keep the ball on the ground? They did, but SDSU turned the ball over for the fourth time in the half (and for the third consecutive offensive play) on a fumble on the first running play.
UNM’s Markel Byrd forced the fumble inside the 10-yard line and UNM recovered at the 1-yard line. UNM was 99 yards away from SDSU’s end zone. The Aztecs’ stopped UNM on third down, but a penalty by SDSU gave UNM a first down at its 20-yard line. The Aztecs weren’t exactly playing good football, but the clock was slowing winding down on their 24-14 lead.
A holding penalty helped the Aztecs force UNM into a punt with 5:33 to play. A 61-yard Zack Rogers punt gave the Aztecs the football on their 30-yard line with 5:22 to burn. At this point, the Aztecs probably would be happy with three-and-out and a punt.
The Aztecs got a first down on three rushing plays – and another on two rushing plays. SDSU had a first down at the UNM 33 and snapped the ball with 2:00 to play. The Aztecs finally had the clock and the score where they needed it to be. The Aztecs got one more first down and then ran out the clock taking knees.
First Half — San Diego State 10, New Mexico 7
The Aztecs got points on their first possession, but it was more a victory for the UNM defense as SDSU had a first down on the UNM 7-yard line, but had to settle for a field goal. The Lobos had a nice 31-yard run from David Anaya on their first possession, but lost the ball on downs and had to punt.
That 3-0 score held until Aztec Donnel Pumphrey went up the middle and broke a 49-yard run to make it 10-0 SDSU at the 11:37 mark of the second quarter. Lamar Jordan replaced Cole Gautsche on UNM’s next possession. Jordan threw two incomplete passes and then scrambled out of the pocket for 27 yards. Jordan ended that drive with a 45-yard pass to Carlos Wiggins. The Lobos had pulled to 10-7.
The Aztecs’ next drive failed, throwing long on 3rd-and-short. SDSU punted. Jordan used his scrambling ability on third down to get UNM out of a hole inside its 10-yard line. The drive stalled at the UNM 44-yard line, but UNM gained valuable field position. Zack Rogers’ punt died at the SDSU 2-yard- line to reverse the geographical advantage the Aztecs held a few minutes earlier.
The Aztecs still had time to drive and two plays later they had the ball at their 49-yard line. They stalled and a punt pinned UNM on its 4-yard line with 1:50 to play. The Lobos kept the ball on the ground and burned down the clock to halftime.
The Lobos had 176 yards in total offense with 117 coming on the ground. The Aztecs had 223 yards total with 160 rushing paced by Pumphrey with 119 yards. Jordan led UNM in the first half with 50 yards rushing (16.7-yard average) and 45 yards passing. His lone completion was the TD pass to Wiggins.