HONOLULU, Haw. — In a game where seemingly nothing was going UNM’s way, the Lobos pitched a second half shutout and turned a 10-0 halftime deficit into a heart-stopping 21-10 comeback win, paced by Scottre Humphrey’s two touchdowns and 90 yards rushing in the first game after the sudden passing of his father, Scott.
The win pushed UNM to 5-1, and the Lobos sit alone in first place as the only unbeaten team in the Mountain West at 2-0. The Lobos host North Dakota State next week at 8 pm on The CW.
After a miserable first half that saw nearly everything go the way of the Rainbow Warriors, UNM mounted a comeback on the opening drive of the second half, and it took some trust in a true freshman. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Hawai’i 40, the Lobos dialed up a trick play. Bailen George took an end around and found quarterback Toa Fa’avae downfield for a 35-yard gain to the 5-yard line. Humphrey rushed the ball to the 1, and one play later he bullied his way in to cut the deficit to 10-7.
Hawai’i seemingly fended off the momentum, and after a Fa’avae interception at the Hawai’i 10 that effectively worked as an arm-punt, the Rainbow Warriors moved down the field and were sitting at the Lobo 8-yard line after a Micah Alejado to Josiah Fetui pass of 47 yards on third-and-8 as the third quarter ended.
Darren Agu tackled DeVon Rice for a four-yard loss, and then pressured Alejado into an incompletion. On third-and-goal from the 12, Alejado dropped back, scrambled, and had a clear path to the goal line. But on his way to the end zone and a 17-7 lead, Drew Speech caught him from behind and punched the ball out, and Mercury Swaim came out of the pile for a massive, game-changing turnover.
UNM took full advantage of the second life. UNM charged from its own 20 to Hawai’i’s 29, but rain and crosswinds made a game-tying field-goal attempt a dicey proposition. After a false start, Fa’avae hit Miles Williams for eight yards and a first down, and on third-and-5 from the 21, Fa’avae kept on a read-option and scored the go-ahead touchdown. Hawai’i punted on its next possession, and Humphrey scored from 49 yards out on the first play to finally give UNM some breathing room.
Tavian Combs then picked off a pass that Kevin Longstreet deflected, and UNM ran out the clock.
Nothing went right for UNM in the opening half, one that saw the Lobos commit 12 penalties, including several back-breakers, for 95 yards. One of those penalties was questionable, a hold on Malik Aliane that wiped out a 51-yard touchdown run by Toa Fa’avae.
UNM had just 108 yards in the first half, and UNM suffered two giveaways, one leading to Hawai’i’s opening field goal, and one leading to a missed field goal. Another penalty, a pass interference in the end zone on a third-and-goal play, gave Hawai’i a first down, and the Rainbow Warriors threw a 1-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left in the half to take a 10-0 halftime lead.
The Lobos stayed in the game thanks to their defense, which racked up nine tackles for loss in the half and forced Hawai’i into just a 2-for-8 performance on third down.