New Mexico Game Notes | New Mexico State Game Notes | Mountain West Weekly Notes
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Bob Davie said it best right after the Wisconsin game ended, in the media room. “The reality for us is this is where our season starts, next week in Las Cruces”. UNM, 1-1 after a win over FCS Incarnate Word and a loss to No. 5 Wisconsin, heads south on I-25 to take on the New Mexico State Aggies at 6:07 p.m. in Aggie Memorial Stadium. The Lobos will be looking to end a two-game losing streak to their neighbors to the south, and they will be trying for a third win in Las Cruces in the last four meetings.
The game can be heard in the Lobo Radio Network, flagshipped at 610 AM/95.9 FM in Albuquerque with Robert Portnoy and newly minted Hall of Honor inductee DonTrell Moore on the call. The game will also be available via Eleven Sports with NMSU’s Adam Young and Danny Knee. Eleven Sports is carried on DIRECTV (Ch. 623), Verizon Fios (Ch. 597), Spectrum (Ch. 414), AT&T U-verse and NCTC, and OTT services Twitch, FuboTV, Sony Vue, and iGol.
It’s a rivalry that is well older than the actual state of New Mexico, as the first meeting was in 1894, and the state didn’t become a state until 1912. The rivalry is older than bottled soda, the radio, cotton candy, the paper clip, crayons and the Tower Bridge. Norman Rockwell wasn’t even born yet when the first Lobo-Aggie game was play. The United States was almost as close to the Civil War (29 years in the past) as World War I (23 years in the future). The game of basketball was invented laess than three years before the first Lobo-Aggie football game. It’s a really long-standing rivalry.
This year’s meeting is the 109th meeting between the two, and UNM has had the upper hand with a 70-33-5 mark. Bob Davie is 4-2 against the Aggies, and the series is actually 5-5 over the last 10 years. UNM is trying to prevent a third straight Aggie win, which would be tied for the second-longest Aggie win streak in the series (NMSU won four from 1965-68). UNM on the other hand won 18 straight from 1938-58.
The Lobos will be looking for a win behind third-string quarterback Sheriron Jones, who will get the start after injuries to Coltin Gerhart in game one and Tevaka Tuioti in game two, and in this regard, there are some similarities to last year and UNM’s last Division I win, which was again Tulsa. UNM went with third-string quarterback Coltin Gerhart in that game after injuries to Lamar Jordan and then Tevaka Tuioti in the previous games. Like Gerhart, Jones got a chance to get about 2 1/2 quarters of reps against a nationally-ranked team, Gerhart vs. Boise State in 2017, Jones vs. Wisconsin in 2018, both leading touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. Jones will be looking for an identical outcome as Gerhart did, which was a win on the road to put UNM one game above .500 for the season.
The Lobos are coming off a yeoman’s effort against No. 5 Wisconsin. UNM struck a huge opening blow with an 87-yard touchdown drive, becoming the first team to do that against Wisconsin since 2014, giving UNM bragging rights over other Wisconsin opponents in that time frame, a list that includes Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Michigan State, USC and Auburn. UNM was down just 10-7 midway through the third quarter before an interception at the 2-yard line ended a potential go-ahead drive, and Wisconsin slowly and methodically pulled away.
While Wisconsin was ranked No. 5, New Mexico State, despite sitting at 0-3, presents a huge challenge. The Aggies have played a blistering schedule, one that features two of the Mountain West’s better defenses in Wyoming and Utah State, and also a Big Ten road game on a short week in Minnesota. The Aggies, the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl champs of a year ago, are a dangerous side despite their record, with plenty of play makers on both offense and defense.
Going into the game with a third-string quarterback isn’t ideal for any team, but Davie noted that Sheriron Jones isn’t a typical third-string quarterback. “He’s not your typical third quarterback. I think he was the third quarterback because he wasn’t here in the spring,” said Davie. “He had a hamstring injury that took away a good two weeks of camp. We have all week to prepare, and he has all week to prepare, so we are excited about it.”
Regardless of whether UNM’s quarterback is Jones, Tuioti, Gerhart, or even true freshman Trae Hall, who is officially the back-up for this week, Davie knows what’s ahead. “We know the challenge. We’ve lost two in a row, we lost by one point down there two years ago, we turned the ball over a couple of times, they made some plays on us and beat us. Last year they beat us by two points, we were down 30-5 in the fourth quarter and came roaring back, went for two-point conversions three times, made one of them and turned the ball over four times.,” said Davie. “It should be a heck of a game, it’s a great challenge and a great opportunity.”
While practice has been on-going, the fun for the fans starts Wednesday night with Lobo Talk at Rio Bravo Brewing, and then it really gets going with Red Rally, Thursday night at Johnson Field. Red Rally will once again feature a DJ, Pep Rally, Lobo Football players and the burning of the Aggie. Festivities for Red Rally start at 8 p.m. at Johnson Field.