LOGAN, Utah — In a game in which both offenses combined for 1,055 and 95 points, it was the Lobo defense that came up with arguably the two biggest plays of the game, getting a fourth down stop with 2:18 to go leading to an Eli Sanders go ahead touchdown, and then Dimitri Johnson picked off Spencer Petras with 59 seconds left to give New Mexico a wild 50-45 victory in Logan. The win was UNM’s third straight, its longest in-season winning streak in eight years, and it moved the Lobos to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the Mountain West, good for fifth place in the 12-team league.
The Lobos overcame a 17-point first half deficit and a 16-point second half deficit. The 17-point comeback tied for the sixth-largest in school history, and it was the largest since a school-record 21-point comeback against UTEP on November 23, 1974. The 16-point second half deficit was the largest second half deficit overcome in school history.
It was keyed by a 21-point fourth quarter for New Mexico with the Lobos trailing 38-29. After forcing a three-and-out that followed a Devon Dampier interception at the 1-yard line, UNM set up shop at their own 49-yard line. UNM kept the ball on the ground and Eli Sanders did yeoman’s work on the drive, carrying on five of the seven plays on the drive. He went around the end to cover the final 20 yards to make it 38-36. Utah State answered right back with a Herschel Turner 43-yard run for a score, and it was 45-36 with 7:43 left.
That’s when UNM went to work again, twice converting long third downs and getting a fourth down conversion as well. The first was on third-and-10, a 14-yard gain to Luke Wysong. On fourth-and-6, Dampier went deep to Ryan Davis, and he somehow made the catch between two defenders for an incredible conversion. Dampier than hit Trace Bruckler for a 10-yard gain on third-and-9 from the 14 before Dampier finished it with a 5-yard run.
Up 45-43 with 3:53 to go, Utah State got three straight three-yard gains to set up fourth-and-1 from its own 34-yard line. Petras tried to keep it, but a host of Lobos including Devin Brandt-Epps and Garrison Walker made the stop for no gain giving UNM the ball.
The Lobos needed a first down to force Utah State to use all its timeouts, which it got on a 15-yard run by Dampier with a 1:40 to go. UNM then took the lead with 1:13 left when Eli Sanders was basically allowed to waltz into the end zone untouched. That gave UNM a 50-45 lead, and two plays later Johnson snagged a pass over the middle for a game-clinching interception.
Nothing went right for UNM in the opening quarter as the Lobos were outgained 169-31 in the first quarter as Utah State raced to a 14-0 lead after one. After an opening drive for UNM fizzled, the Lobos got a fourth down stop in Aggie territory, but a facemask penalty as they were riding the rusher out of bounds gave Utah State a fresh set of downs, and they made UNM pay.
Quarterback Spencer Petras rushed in from two yards out for a 7-0 lead, and after a three-and-out and short punt, the Aggies again went down the field, as Rahsul Faison scored from the 6-yard line. The Aggies then made it 17-0 on the first play of the second quarter on a 38-yard field goal by Tanner Cragun.
UNM finally got the break it needed when it punted and Aaron Rodriguez’ 45-yard punt was fumbled and Noa Pola-Gates recovered at the Aggie 21-yard line. That led to a Devon Dampier to Javen Jacobs connection from the 21 and UNM trailed 17-6. The Lobos then run a trick play on the conversion to make it 17-8. After a long punt, UNM drove 90 yards in 10 plays with Dampier again finding the end zone, this time with Ryan Davis on the back-end of a 14-yard completion for a 17-15 deficit.
However, Utah State scored at the end of the half and on the opening drive of the second, to open up a 16-point lead in the third quarter.