ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In front of a wild, boisterous Senior Day crowd of 30,575 at University Stadium, New Mexico capped one of its most memorable regular seasons in decades with a dramatic 23–17 double-overtime victory over San Diego State, securing a 9–3 finish and a 6–2 mark in Mountain West play. The win, UNM’s sixth straight, kept the Lobos perfect at home, but UNM didn’t get the help it needed from an old friend.
Utah State, which passed up a short field goal earlier in the quarter that would have given it an eight-point lead, lost 25-24 when Boise State capitalized on a failed fourth-down attempt in its own territory with 5:22 and scored the winning touchdown with 2:30 to go.
Now, UNM will wait, along with Boise State and San Diego State, and potentially UNLV if it beats Nevada on Saturday night, for the computers to spit out the two teams in the Mountain West Championship Game. UNM entered the weekend fourth out of four, with San Diego State first, Boise State second, UNLV third, and UNM fourth, but everyone was close. UNM should get a nice boost after the wild win.
After four quarters in which UNM struggled to move the ball and San Diego State was unable to capitalize on good field position, the game went to overtime, tied at 17. Austin Brawley opened the first extra frame with an interception after Jon Johnson broke up a pass, halting SDSU’s attempt to score on the first possession and setting up UNM for a win with a field goal. James Laubstein, who scored in the second quarter for UNM on a 40-yard run, got UNM to the San Diego State 4-yard line.
One play before a field goal attempt, Laubstein was stripped by Dwayne McDougle at the 3, and the game went to a second overtime. UNM’s offense didn’t waste its second chance. In the second overtime, Jack Layne found Cade Keith, who made a stretching, one-handed grab and raced into the end zone for a 23-17 lead. UNM converted the two-point conversion, but a penalty forced UNM to try it again, and it missed.
San Diego State needed to score to tie, but it never got closer than the 10-yard line. On first-and-goal, the Lobo crowd was rocking and forced three straight false starts to push the ball to the 25. After a short run, back-to-back sacks by Keyshawn James-Newby and Darren Agu made it fourth-and-goal from the 30-yard line, and SDSU’s Jayden Denegal overthrew everyone in the back of the end zone to set off the celebration.
New Mexico set the tone immediately, marching 55 yards on the opening drive before Luke Drzewiecki put the Lobos ahead 3–0 with a 37-yard field goal at the 7:25 mark of the first quarter. After a punt, UNM faced fourth-and-2 at the Aztec 40, and James Laubstein, bounced outside for his first career rushing touchdown, pushing the lead to 10–0.
San Diego State responded, putting together back-to-back scoring drives to take a 14–10 lead into halftime. Lucky Sutton powered in a 1-yard touchdown run before quarterback Jayden Denegal connected on a 46-yard pass to Donovan Brown in the final minute of the second quarter.
UNM’s counterpunch came quickly after halftime. UNM faced fourth-and-1 at its own 46, and lined up to go for it, and D.J. McKinney took a handoff, zipped outside untouched for a 54-yard touchdown, reclaiming a 17–14 lead.
SDSU tied the game late in the third with a 44-yard field goal one drive after a 52-yard miss, and from there is was a veritable war of attrition as San Diego State owned the field position battle but could never get in field goal range. Tavian Combs recorded 12 tackles, and Jaxton Eck added 11 af UNM limited the Aztecs to 355 yards of offense.
Offensively, Layne completed 14-of-25 passes for 127 yards and the game-winning score. The Lobos rushed for 181 yards and scored two touchdowns against an Aztec defense that entered the game ranked, having allowed just three rushing touchdowns. Laubstein posted 70 yards on 10 carries, while Damon Bankston added 56 on the ground.
In total, UNM produced 308 yards of offense and overcame seven sacks to grind out its most dramatic win of the season.
The victory secured New Mexico’s first six-win conference season since 2016 and preserved a perfect 6-0 home record—the program’s best since the 2007 season. On Senior Day, in front of 30,575 fans, New Mexico delivered a finish worthy of its remarkable 2025 season.