New Mexico Lobos Football on The Mountain West Road
Colorado State 58, New Mexico 20
Up Next: Wyoming at New Mexico (1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29)
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Bob Davie was a bit philosophical after New Mexico’s 58-20 Mountain West loss at Colorado State on Saturday, but the Lobo coach also was realistic.
He wants to talk to his young team about what happened and try to learn from the hard lessons.
Then put a whole lot of effort into winning the final game of the 2014 season this coming Saturday against Wyoming on Branch Field.
The Lobos have something to shoot for when the Cowboys come to town. They can notch their second league win of the year. Better yet, they can end the season on a high note and produce that feel-good walk away that always comes with winning.
“The only good news from this game is we have another game,” said Davie, whose Lobos dropped to 3-8 and 1-6 in league play. “We have another chance to go home and play.
“In another situation, you would say ‘Let’s just burn this one (game film) and go on to the next game.’ But we can’t do that because we are so young and we still have some teaching to do.”
The Rams handed out some lessons Saturday in Fort Collins on Senior Day. Dee Hart, a transfer from Alabama, ran for 230 yards and five touchdowns behind a dazzling average of 11.5 yards per carry.
CSU quarterback Garret Grayson performed as billed tossing for 389 yards and three scores. He went 23-of-29 throwing the ball. Rashard Higgins, maybe the No. 1 candidate as the nation’s top receiver, hauled in 10 passes for 167 yards and two scores.
It was that trio that the Lobos had to stop in order to have a chance at a stunning upset. The Lobos could not do it.
The Lobos also got off to a horrible start when Ridge Jones fumbled the opening kickoff and CSU took it in for a quick 7-0 lead.
“Nobody tries to make mistakes,” said Davie. “The wheels just came off. It kind of unraveled on us. Obviously, the opening kickoff was a major setback. We gave them their first touchdown.
“It was the worst-case scenario against a really good football team.”
You simply can’t afford to give the Colorado State offense anything. They take enough as it is. The Rams are ranked No. 22/25 in the nation and likely to jump up the polls. CSU is now 10-1 overall and 6-1 in Mountain West play. They are playing for a major postseason bowl and the New Mexico score added a few style points to the CSU resume.
The Rams totaled 698 yards on the UNM defense with 292 coming on the ground and 406 coming via the aerial route. CSU had 32 first downs to 15 for the Lobos, who had 356 total yards and 301 yards rushing.
The Rams had 18 first downs by passing to one for the Lobos. CSU was 6-of-8 in red zone scoring. The Lobos were 3-of-3, but simply could not crack that area of the football field enough times to hang with CSU on the scoreboard.
The Lobos were led on the ground by Jhurell Pressley with 109 yards for a 15.6 yard average per carry. Teriyon Gipson had 86 yards and a 6.6 average per tote. UNM went only 3-of-11 through the air and Lamar Jordan gave up two interceptions.
“We were up against it,” said Davie. “But give Colorado State a lot of credit. Their quarterback executes and executes. He’s a heck of a quarterback and we made a lot of mistakes on defense. We also turned the ball over four times today.”
The Rams have gone over 400 yards in total offense nine times this season and four times have cracked the 500-yard mark. Their win vs. UNM was the first time this season they broke the 600-yard mark and the Rams were only two yards away from reaching 700 yards in offense.
The Rams had control of this game at halftime when they marched into their locker room with a 37-7 lead. CSU added 21 points in the third quarter and had a 51-7 lead, but did not score in the final 15 minutes.
Kimmie Carson led the Lobos in tackles with 10 followed by Ryan Langford with nine and Tevin Newman with eight.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and Sports Columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him atrstevens50@comcast.net.