Big Test Awaits as Lobos Head to Liberty

New Mexico Game Notes | Liberty Game Notes
 

Weekly Media Schedule:
TUESDAY
Bob Davie Weekly Press Conference: 12:30 MT via Facebook Live
WEDNESDAY
Lobo Talk: 7-8 pm, 610 AM/95.9 FM The Sports Animal Listen Live
THURSDAY
The Opening Drive: 7:30 am, Jeff Siembieda and J.J. Buck Player Interview Listen Live

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Lobos saw plenty of points put up on the board on Saturday afternoon as there were 107 total between the Lobos and the Aggies as New Mexico won a thriller 55-52.  Now UNM heads to the Eastern Time Zone for the second time this season, and UNM will go with some revenge on its mind as the Lobos take on the Liberty Flames at 6:06 p.m. Eastern Time, 4:06 p.m. Mountain Time.

The game can be heard on the Lobo Radio Network, flagshipped on the 50,000-watt juggernaut KKOB with Robert Portnoy and DonTrell Moore on the call.  The game will be available via subscription on ESPN+ with Matt Warner and Joe Jauch on the call, and Melanie Newman patrolling the sidelines.

The game is a rematch of last year’s wild affair that saw UNM down 42-10 at the break and nearly come all the way back.  UNM got it back to 49-43 with just three minutes left, but Liberty converted a third-and-six and eventually hit a game-sealing field goal for a 52-43 win.  That game also saw Tevaka Tuioti injure his collar bone, ending his season.  Sheriron Jones entered in relief and threw for 312 yards in bringing UNM nearly all the way back.

Tuioti is coming off a career game.  He threw for 355 yards against New Mexico State, tied for the 23rd-most yards in a single game in UNM history, and he racked up 414 yards of total offense, and that number was good for seventh in school history for a single game.  He threw for three touchdowns in the contest in his first full game against an FBS opponent in his career.

UNM had offensive numbers all along the watchtower as it were, with Jordan Kress catching three passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and Ahmari Davis rushing for 133 yards and two more scores.  While the defense allowed 52 points, it also scored seven on Jerrick Reed II’s 43-yard interception return, and special teams accounted for a huge field goal block by Devin Sanders.

The game also marks the return to the sidelines for Bob Davie, who is back and 100% full-go after a serious medical incident after the season opener sidelined him the past three weeks.  Davie was around for much of the week at practice and in the offices, and surprised the team with a pep talk prior to the game.  Davie’s counterpart Hugh Freeze also has dealt with medical issues, coaching the season opener from a hospital bed in the press box, the second week from a dentist’s chair in the press box, and then the last two weeks on a sideline raised platform to help alleviate the pain in his back.

The game isn’t just the return of Bob Davie, it’s the return to Lynchburg of UNM offensive coordinator Joe Dailey, who was served as Liberty’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.  Dailey was at Liberty starting in 2012 until last year.