New Mexico Lobos Football – Branch Field at University Stadium
New Mexico Lobos 36, Wyoming Cowboys 30
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
There is no question that it was one of those last-man-standing types of games. The Wyoming Cowboys tried to stab out a touchdown in the final seconds and the New Mexico Lobo defense refused to bleed.
When the final Cowboy pass was bulleted harmlessly into the turf in the UNM end zone, the Lobos took a final snap and celebrated a special moment on Branch Field. The Lobos’ 36-30 thriller ended with a lot of Lobos hugging a lot of other Lobos, but one poignant embrace was shared between Coach Bob Davie and his defensive coordinator, Kevin Cosgrove.
The UNM defense had more than its share of bad moments in 2014. However, that Lobo unit had a special moment in the final minute Saturday when Wyoming had four chances to crack that defense, crack the Lobo end zone — and steal away the Mountain West victory.
The Cowboys couldn’t do it. The Lobos held. The Lobos won.
“There was enough in the tank. There was enough pride and coaching and resiliency to win that game,” said Coach Davie. “We kept playing. We found a way to win.
“A win like this can go a long, long, long way. I don’t’ want to get too dramatic, but it was much more than the fourth win for a team or the second conference win for a team. I hope people appreciate the fight of this team and I think that’s where the foundation is built.
“Ultimate gut check.”
As much as anything, it was a statement about the courage of Lobo hearts. This was a New Mexico team that took to the field deeply battered by injury. If you ignore the scoreboard and just look at the game stats, it does not look like a Lobo win.
“It just really shows that we have that strong character and that our guys are always going to fight no matter what the situation is, no matter who the opponent or how bad we can be playing, we can still turn it around,” said Lobo center LaMar Bratton.
The Cowboys had 541 total yards to 382 for the Lobos. The Cowboys ran 94 plays to 39 plays for the Lobos. Wyoming had 29 first downs to 10 for the Lobos. Wyoming was 12-of-23 on third down and UNM was 0-of-7. UNM was 0-of-2 on fourth-down attempts.
But the Lobos averaged a school record 9.8 yards per play to 5.8 yards per play for the visitors from Laramie. Also, UNM’s defense allowed just three touchdowns on those 94 Wyoming snaps.
The Lobos helped themselves on the scoreboard with two touchdowns that didn’t come from the UNM pistol offense. Lobo Cranston Jones returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown that helped UNM go up 7-3. Carlos Wiggins ended UNM’s scoring with a 97-yard kickoff return for a score. That 36-30 lead came with 1:53 to play in the third quarter.
“The guys dug in there, particularly on defense,” said Davie. “We hung in there and found a way to win the game. As frustrating as it is (with the UNM defense), and today it was frustrating again, that was a huge game for this football program.
“We had hit rock bottom in terms of (injured) personnel, but we found a way.”
The win gave Davie his first season as a Lobo with two Mountain West wins. It also was the Lobos’ first home win of 2014 as the other three wins came on the road. UNM ends the season 4-8. There is no postseason, but there is a postseason high.
“I think we have a chance to be pretty good next year,” said Davie. “I’m happy for our seniors. We are all spent right now. We are all exhausted. I was happy for our fans. You can see what this place can be.
“But let’s not take for granted the effort shown today by both teams. Wyoming played their butts off.”
The Lobos got 101 yards rushing from Jhurell Pressley, who averaged 9.2 yards per carry thanks to a 69-yard explosion. Quarterback Lamar Jordan had 76 yards with an 8.4 average. Teriyon Gipson added 50 yards.
The Wyoming defense obviously was concerned with the UNM option attack and Jordan took advantage going 6-of-7 through the air for 141 yards. He threw a 75-yarder to Tyler Duncan.
The Cowboys got a monster game on the ground from freshman Brian Hill, who ran for 163 yards on 29 carries. Wyoming quarterback Colby Kirkegaard went 21-of-43 for 366 yards and one aerial score. He had eight receivers catch his 21 completions. He was sacked six times by the UNM defense.
The scoring was a see-saw affair with the biggest lead of the game going to UNM at 21-10 off Pressley’s 69-yard run. Wyoming closed to 21-20 at the half.
The Cowboys went up 27-21 on a 23-yard run by Hill, but UNM came back with a 15-yard scoring burst from Romell Jordan to take a 28-27 lead. Wyoming went up 30-28 on a field goal which led to the kickoff that Wiggins ran back 97 yards. UNM went up 36-30 off a two-point conversion run by Pressley.
“To get this return was probably one of the biggest plays I’ve made, of course, this season and my lifetime,” said Wiggins. “It was a great feeling. I thank my special teams guys who were blocking for me. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have made that return.” That return was his fourth career kickoff return touchdown, setting a new UNM and Mountain West record.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former national award-winning Sports Columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.