Lobos Open 2019 With Tough Sam Houston State Squad
New Mexico Game Notes | Sam Houston State Game Notes | Mountain West Weekly Notes
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Eight years ago, in 2011, the Lobos played their only game against the FCS Sam Houston State Bearkats, and it was a game that in large part shaped the current Lobos as the program stands today.
The Lobos lost that Homecoming matchup to the Bearkats 48-45, and that turned out to be the final game for Mike Locksley. UNM played out the rest of the year but before the season was even over, the Lobos announced a new head coach, a power five coach with a BCS Bowl appearance. That was Bob Davie.
Eight years later, UNM will open the season against another strong Sam Houston State squad in the season opener at Dreamstyle Stadium at 4:06 p.m. The game will be available on the Lobo Radio Network, and there will be an internet stream via the Mountain West Network that is paired with the audio.
While UNM has handled every FCS opponent under Bob Davie, none have been nationally ranked in the preseason FCS Poll like the Bearkats, who are No. 22. The game is the first for Sam Houston State against an FBS opponent since 2015, when the Bearkats lost 59-45 at Texas Tech. SHSU head coach K.C. Keeler has said that game was the end of playing FBS schools for a while. “No one wanted to schedule us after that.”
The game on Saturday stems from 2016, which was pushed back and moved due to a confluence of games needing moved (it’s the same movement that pushed UNM’s game in 2016 with USC to 2020, and got Rutgers added to the 2016 schedule). While that 48-45 loss featured a crazy comeback from UNM just to send it to overtime, Lobo fans, and Bob Davie hope it doesn’t come down to that.
“I just know when I look at teams, I go with experience, and Sam Houston State is an experienced team,” said Davie. On paper, the Bearkats do have more experience, and while UNM isn’t a young team in terms of age due to several JC transfers, they are a young team in terms of games played for the Lobos.
In terms of starts, UNM has four players on offense with more than six career starts, and three of those are on the offensive line (receiver Jay Griffin IV is the other). Defensively, Aaron Blackwell and Alex Hart have 32 career starts between them, and the rest of the defense has a grand total of 22, half of those by Nahje Flowers.
What’s exciting is the Zia pride that should be coming from the Lobos, not just from the entire team, but certainly from the in-state players. Listed among the starting 24 are four New Mexico natives in Teton Saltes (Albuquerque), Marcus Williams (Rio Rancho), Kameron Miller (Las Cruces) and Andrew Shelley (Albuquerque). Seven more New Mexico natives are also in the two-deep in Aaron Molina (Albuquerque), Hayden Wilson (Rio Rancho), Thomas Vieira (Albuquerque), Javohn Jones (Albuquerque), Micah Gray (Clovis), Blair Manly (Albuquerque) and Dylan Kelly-Romero (Las Lunas), giving UNM’s lineup a hometown flair.
In meeting with the media on Tuesday, and throughout fall camp, Davie has preached to anyone who would listen that he likes this team, and they have approached everything perfectly. Whether it was the three 80-play scrimmages, taking their off day and using it to beautify the Lobo campus, or scrimmaging in the hot sun and then hanging out for a few extra periods for APD/Lobo Football Youth Day, Davie has enjoyed the ride to get to Saturday.
“I really like this team,” said Davie. “They have done everything we have asked of them as students, as players and as citizens. These guys are fun to be around, but I just appreciate all that they have done to this point. Now it’s time to go play.”
The game also will serve as the debut of the new Howl Zone, located in the Stadium West Parking lot, and it will give tailgaters the Brew Pub experience with Rio Bravo Brewing on hand with a portable bar setup. The Howl Zzone will not only feature a stage with live music from H28 and Rio Bravo Brewing, but just like any great Albuquerque outdoor brewery, there’s food trucks as well as Fuddrucker’s is on hand along with Stuffed Lust Food Truck and Sanchez Tacos Food Truck.
Cumulus Radio, which is the home station for Lobo Athletics, will be throwing a big bash in the Howl Zone to celebrate the 25th birthday of 610 AM The Sports Animal with Jeff Siembieda on hand. J.J. Buck, Jeff’s morning show co-host, will be on the air for the game with Robert Portnoy but will also meet with the fans prior to the game.
The new Howl Zone will serve as a great way for fans to enjoy live music and great food and beverage in a casual relaxed atmosphere before heading inside Dreamstyle Stadium.