ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Quarterback Levi Williams scrambled 13 yards on a broken play after dropping the snap in the second overtime to give Utah State a wild 44-41 win over New Mexico that will put the Aggies into a bowl game, spoiling a spirited comeback attempt by UNM, which finished its season 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the Mountain West.
While the ending was disappointing, the Lobos finished with their most wins since the 2016 season when the Lobos went 9-4.
UNM trailed the entire game but was able to come back from down 10 in the final minutes. After Utah State scored on a 15-play, 90-yard drive that killed off 6:36 of the fourth quarter clock, the Lobos found themselves down 31-21 with 5:30 left in the game, but UNM went to work on its own 25-yard line. Dylan Hopkins, who finished just 12-for-31 passing, hit Jeremiah Hixon for 28 yards and then on third-and-eight found him again for 14 yards to the Aggie 31.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who became the first player in school history to rush for back-to-back 200-yard games, broke away for a 21-yard run to set up UNM with first-and-goal. After a pass interference penalty in the end zone, Devon Dampier rushed the ball in from two yards out to make it 31-28 with 3:24 left.
UNM kicked off and forced a punt and took over at its own 9-yard line with 2:09 left, and got the benefit of three pass interference penalties on Utah State over the course of four plays, sandwiched around an 11-yard catch by Ryan Davis, moving the ball from the 9 to the Utah State 36. Those flags were part of a crazy night with flags as Utah State was penalized 13 times for 183 yards and New Mexico 15 times for 155 yards.
Croskey-Merritt rushed 20 yards to the 16, but an offensive pass interference penalty made it third-and-20, but Hopkins found Davis for a first down. UNM spiked the ball to stop the clock with 17 seconds left, and two incompletions into the end zone left it at fourth down, and Luke Drzewiecki hit a 22-yard field goal to tie the game with four seconds left.
In the first overtime, Utah State scored first when Williams rushed in from six yards out. UNM got the ball and Croskey-Merritt rushed twice to get the ball to the four before Dampier entered and completed the drive. UNM originally lined up for the win, but after a timeout by Utah State, tied it with Drzewiecki, sending the game to a second OT.
There, UNM looked to get a 6-yard rushing TD by Dampier, but a quick replay review put the ball just inches short of the goal line much to the chagrin of everyone watching the replay on the video board, which looked inconclusive at best in the stadium. On third down, Croskey-Merritt lost a yard and UNM kicked a 19-yard field goal.
That led to Utah State’s drive, which saw Rahsul Faison convert a 4th-and-one to keep its hopes alive, leading to Williams bobbling the snap and somehow avoiding a bunch of red jerseys for the win.