Bowl Bound Lobos Take Down UNLV 40-35 in Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — New Mexico never trailed until there was 6:35 left in the game, and like it has done all year long, the Lobos responded, delivered, and now UNM is bowl eligible for the first time in nine years. Down 35-34, Keagan Johnson caught three passes for 19, 25, and 15 yards to set up D.J. McKinney’s 13-yard touchdown with 2:57 to go as New Mexico beat UNLV 40-35 at Allegiant Stadium.

The win pushed UNM to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West, while UNLV dropped to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the Conference.

The winning score came after UNLV finally took a lead, coming all the way back from a 21-0 second quarter deficit. The drive was set up when UNM had a first down negated by a penalty, and was forced to punt from its own 3-yard line. The Rebels opened the go-ahead drive at the Lobo 34 and were able to convert a fourth-and-4 at the UNM 28-yard line. Two plays later, Anthony Colandrea hit Nik Elksnins from 14 yards out for a 35-34 lead after Ramon Vallela hit the extra point.

Down for the first time, UNM, and Keagan Johnson went to work. Facing a quick third-and-12 after a sack, Layne hit Johnson for a 19-yard gain and a first down. Two plays later, Johnson was interfered with and still came down with a diving 25-yard catch on the sidelines to put UNM on the fringe of field goal range.

After a short run, Johnson again made a wild, leaping catch near the sideline for a 15-yard gain to the Rebel 13-yard line. That set up McKinney for the game-winning 13-yard run with 2:57 to go.

UNLV couldn’t cross midfield and turned the ball over on downs with 1:56 to go, but UNM couldn’t quite kill off the clock. Daniel Hughes punted from the Rebel 38 to the 2-yard line, where McKinney raced to down the ball. UNLV eventually was forced into a lateral play, which Ky’Won McCray recovered for UNM’s third fumble recovery on defense, and that ended the game, sent the UNM sideline into bedlam, and moved UNM into official bowl territory.

The first half was a wild affair that saw UNM bolt to a 21-0 lead, only to see UNLV tie the game before UNM scored the final 10 points to take a 31-21 lead into the locker room.

The Lobos got the scoring started after a turnover on downs, as Jack Layne found Damon Bankston on a wheel route for a 30-yard touchdown pass. After UNM’s Brian Booker recovered a fumble, the Lobos got a 58-yard run by change-up quarterback James Laubstein to move into the red zone at the end of the first quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Laubstein threw a touchdown pass to a wide-open Simon Mapa for a 12-yard score and a 14-0 lead. After a punt to the Lobo 16, Layne found Bankston on a screen pass and Damon did the rest, racing 84 yards for a 21-0 lead.

The Rebels, however, came right back. First, Anthony Colandrea scrambled and found Daejon Reynolds from seven yards out to make it 21-7. After a punt, Keyvone Lee finished a drive with a 5-yard run to cut the lead to 21-14.

Layne then threw a pick-6 two plays later to Quandarius Keyes of UNLV for a 25-yard touchdown, and it was suddenly tied. With all the momentum on UNLV’s side, Layne bounced back, finding Keagan Johnson for an 80-yard touchdown pass, and UNM had the lead back at 28-21. UNM then recovered a Colandrea fumble and turned that into a season-long 46-yard field goal for Luke Drzewiecki. Drzewiecki missed his first attempt off the right upright, but UNLV had called a timeout to nullify the miss.

From the desert to December 🐺🎳 The Lobos are BOWL BOUND.

Get your tickets for Colorado State 11/15 at https://t.co/puMu0VaS6f #golobos pic.twitter.com/Ue5YtRZnXI

— New Mexico Lobos (@UNMLOBOS) November 1, 2025

POSTGAME NOTES:

This was the 28th meeting between the two teams.

UNLV now leads 15-13

The series is now tied in Las Vegas 8-8
UNLV leads the series in Albuquerque 7-5

UNM now has a one-game winning streak in the series, ending UNLV’s three-game streak.

UNM now has a one-game winning streak in the series in Las Vegas.

Starting lineup changes for UNM from the published two-deep

Offense: Richard Pearce started at RG for Jaymar Tasi. DJ McKinney started at RB for Damon Bankston. TE Cade Keith started for WR Zhaiel Smith.

Defense: Frankie Edwards III started at CB for Abraham Williams. Ky’Won McCray started at safety for Caleb Coleman.

*New Mexico’s captains were Richard Pearce, Gabe Lopez, Austin Brawley, Keyshawn James-Newby, and Jaxton Eck.

*New Mexico’s David Murphy carried the state flag of New Mexico onto the field, and Deshaun Buchanan carried the United States flag.

*New Mexico won the toss and elected to receive. UNLV defended the north goal.

TEAM NOTES:

*New Mexico had an offensive stretch in the game with four touchdowns in 12 offensive plays.

*The pick-six against UNM was the first since Wyoming’s Wrook Brown scored on a 29-yard pick-six on November 2, 2024.

*UNM never trailed until UNLV’s 14-yard touchdown pass with 6:35 to go in the game.

*New Mexico’s longest run by a running back before the 13-yard touchdown run was a 4-yard run by Damon Bankston. UNM’s quarterbacks had four 10+ yard runs.

*After having zero fumble recoveries on defense over the first eight games, UNM had three on the day.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

*Luke Drzewiecki broke Jason Sanders’ career extra point record with his 112^th, which came at 14:52 of the second quarter. He eventually tied a career-high with 10 points.

*Brian Booker recorded the first fumble recovery of his career, and the first by the Lobo defense this season, when he recovered an Anthony Colandrea bobbled snap in the first quarter.

*Ky’Won McCray had the first forced fumble and the first fumble recovery of his Lobo career.

*Jack Layne’s 84-yard pass to Damon Bankston tied for the eighth-longest pass in school history, and it was the longest since Delane Hart-Johnson caught a 92-yard touchdown pass against Arizona in the New Mexico Bowl on December 19, 2015.

*That 84-yard touchdown reception was the second-longest reception by a running back, behind only an 88-yard catch by fullback Sam Scarber against UTEP on September 21, 1968.

*Damon Bankston became the first Lobo running back with over 100 yards receiving since September 29, 2007, when Rodney Ferguson had 105 yards against BYU.  His 122 yards receiving was the most ever by a Lobo running back in a game, topping Sam Scarber’s 119, which was in that same UTEP game.

*Jack Layne became the first Lobo quarterback ever to record two 80-yard touchdown passes in the same game. The only other time a Lobo quarterback ever threw two 80-yard touchdown passes in the same season was in 2015, when Lamar Jordan hit Delane Hart-Johnson for a 92-yard touchdown against Arizona in the New Mexico Bowl and also Hart-Johnson for an 86-yard touchdown against Utah State.

*Jason Eck improved to 21-5 in day games in his career.

*Keagan Johnson’s 158 yards receiving was a career-high, and it was the first 150-yard game by a Lobo since September 24, 2011, when Deon Long had 209 yards in what ended up as the final game for Head Coach Mike Locksley. It was also the 18^th-most in school history.