Lobos Head To Air Force for Final Regular Season Road Contest

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Game 11 - New Mexico at Air Force

ALBUQUEQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico Lobos will be looking for their first five-game winning streak since the 2016 season, and their first win at USAFA since 2000, as the Lobos head north to face the Air Force Falcons at 5 pm at Falcon Stadium. 

The Lobos are 7-3 on the season and 4-2 in the Mountain West, logjammed in a five-way tie for second place with Boise State, Hawai'i, UNLV, and Fresno State. San Diego State is 5-1 and in first place. For the Lobos, UNM can host the Mountain West title game in a couple of ways, the "simplest" being winning the final two games and having Boise State, Fresno State, and Hawai'i each lose one game. Air Force enters the game at 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain West, and is coming off a 26-16 loss at UConn on Saturday that knocked AFA out of bowl contention.

The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Chris Lewis and Randy Cross on the call. Robert Portnoy will be on the radio, calling the action, with DonTrell Moore providing analysis. J.J. Buck and Ned James, along with Skye McMillon, will have the radio call on the Lobo Radio Network.

GAME 11 INFORMATION

TV: Altitude Sports / Mountain West Network
• Play-by-Play: Chris Lewis
• Analysis: Randy Cross
• CBS Sports Network
• Stream: https://www.cbssports.com/cbssports

RADIO: Lobo Radio Network
• Play-by-Play: Robert Portnoy
• Analyst: DonTrell Moore
• Sidelines: None
• Online: player.listenlive.co/22401

SOCIAL MEDIA: #GoLobos | 🐺🆙
• X/Instagram/Facebook: @UNMLoboFB
• YouTube: @NewMexicoLobos
• Live Stats: golobos.com/FBStats

FAST FIVE

• Jason Eck has won seven games in his first season, and with one more win he will tie Gwinn Henry for the most wins ever by a first year head coach at UNM.

• New Mexico controls its own destiny to finish tied for second in the league by winning the final two games.

• Damon Bankston for UNM is the only player in the country with a 100-yard rushing game, a 100-yard receiving game, and a 100-yard kickoff return game.

• UNM is 7-0 this year when rushing for triple-digits and when outrushing its opponent.

• Austin Brawley and Luke Drzewiecki are the reigning Mountain West Players of the Week for defense and special teams.

 

New Mexico is looking to get to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the league. There are currently 4,096 different combinations for the final 12 games of the regular season, and according to PlayoffStatus.com, the Lobos have a 30% chance to make it to the Mountain West championship game and a 21% chance to host it.

Only San Diego State at 75% and Fresno State at 37% have a better statistical chance of getting into the title game. UNM's 21% chance to host is the second-best in the Mountain West.

The top two teams in the standings advance to the Mountain West championship game, with the No. 1 team serving as host.

The Lobos are riding a four-game winning streak, and UNM is looking at its first five-game in-season winning streak since the 2016 season. A win would also be the first five-game Mountain West winning streak in program history.

However, Air Force has been a tough nut to crack at USAFA, as UNM is just 2-15 all-time there, including losses in the last 10 meetings. In 2016, UNM beat Air Force 45-40 in a game moved to Dallas. UNM has had a few weird ones in Colorado against Air Force. In 2012, UNM lost 28-23 despite Kasey Carrier's school-record 338 rushing yards. In the next meeting, UNM lost 35-31 after settling for a red-zone field goal in the fourth quarter.

UNM also lost to Air Force in 2020, the only game in the last 31 seasons in which a team was shut out despite four field goal attempts. Nine of UNM's 11 drives ended in Air Force territory in that game.

While Air Force is just 3-7, it has three losses by three points on the year and has been in basically every game. Air Force lost 51-48 to UNLV, missing a last-second field goal.