New Mexico Game Notes | Boise State Game Notes | Mountain West Weekly Notes
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Every time you win a big football game, it means another opportunity. That is exactly where The University of New Mexico Lobos are. UNM travels to Boise, Idaho to take on the standard bearer for the Mountain West, the Boise State Broncos on national TV on ESPNU. The winner of the game will have the inside track for the Mountain West’s Mountain Division championship and a spot in the Mountain West Championship game.
While UNM being in the title game discussion in mid-November might be a shocker to many fans and pundits around the Mountain West, there’s not a person in UNM’s Tow Diehm Football Offices that thought this couldn’t be possible. Remember, New Mexico was predicted to finish dead last in the Mountain Division. Now, not only is New Mexico sitting just one win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since the 2007 season, but the Lobos will go to the Mountain West title game if they can win their last three.
Of course, New Mexico isn’t the only team controlling its own destiny. With UNM’s win over Utah State, the Air Force Falcons and the Broncos both will be the division champions if they win out. All three teams play each other over the final three weekends, making for a fast and furious finish.
The Broncos and Lobos played a ridiculous game last year, with BSU winning 60-49, the third-highest scoring game in Lobo history.
The Game:
The University of New Mexico Lobos (5-4, 3-2 MW) will travel for its final road contest of the season as they take on the Boise State Broncos (7-2, 4-1 MW). The Lobos will be playing their first game in eight seasons for a shot at bowl eligibility. New Mexico is coming off a fine defensive performance, holding Utah State’s prolific offense to just 13 points and 294 yards after they had scored over 50 in three of its last four games. Boise State, which suffered eight turnovers in a loss to Utah State earlier this season, has won two in a row since that, including a 55-27 win over UNLV two weeks ago. Boise State is coming off a bye week.
The Coaches:
The University of New Mexico Lobos are coached by Bob Davie, who is 16-30 in his fourth season with the Lobos, and he is 51-55 overall in his ninth season. He spent his first five seasons as a head coach manning the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. For the Broncos, they are coached by Bryan Harsin, who is 19-4 with the Broncos. He is 26-9 overall, having gone 7-5 with Arkansas State in 2013. Harsin was previously at Texas and at Boise State for 10 years. He is the first Boise State alum to serve as head coach of the Broncos.
Series History:
The two teams have played six previous times, and all six have been won by the Broncos. Boise State leads 3-0 in Boise, with the last meeting in Broncos stadium on November 30, 2013, the final game of the season. That was a 45-17 BSU win. This will be the fifth Mountain West meeting between the two teams, with both other MW meetings in Boise being on the final week of the season.
Broadcast Information:
The broadcast will be national on ESPNU which is DISH 141, Direct 208, Comcast 281. Mike Corey will handle the play-by-play for the game with David Diaz-Infante.
The game will be broadcast on the Lobo Radio Network with Robert Portnoy and DonTrell Moore calling all the action, with Michael Carlyle serving as engineer. Scott Stiegler will host the post game call-in show. The flagship station is 770 AM KKOB out of Albuquerque. This feed will also be available via the TuneIn Radio App.