SAN JOSÉ, Calif. — In a game where New Mexico made plenty of mistakes, UNM defeated San José State 21-16 in a contest decided by the red zone. It was a historic win for the Lobos, their first in San José since 1969.

The red zone offenses, or really, the defenses, were the story, as New Mexico was a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone with three touchdowns, and SDSU was also a perfect 3-for-3, but with three field goals. That ultimately was the difference.

The Spartans, playing the part of a desperate team needing a win to remain in contention for a bowl, had their most sustained opening drive, driving for 13 plays and 56 yards over 7:45, with the first 12 plays on the ground. However, inside the 10, SJSU got held up by UNM’s national-leading defense, and it settled for a 25-yard Trajan Sinatra field goal.

UNM responded, taking a lead it would never relinquish. On the drive, UNM converted a fourth-and-1 at the 10-yard line with Kiefer Sibley, and then on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Scottre Humphrey bullied his way in for a touchdown.

After a stop, UNM scored again; this time it was Humphrey from six yards out, and the Lobos led 14-3. UNM forced a punt and took over with 3: 27 to go, and that’s when the end of the half went haywire. Toa Fa’avae threw a slant that was picked off, and San José State got to first-and-goal, but UNM’s stout defense held, and Sinatra hit a 24-yard field goal.

UNM’s next offensive play was an interception off a tipped pass, and the Spartans got a golden opportunity with a first down at the 2-yard line. UNM’s defense held again, forcing the Spartans backward and into a 28-yard field goal, and UNM led 14-9 at the half.

The Lobos took a 21-9 lead in the third on a wild, acrobatic end zone catch by Cade Keith and had opportunities for more, but couldn’t cash in. San Jose State went for it down 12 late in the third from the Lobo 21, but CJ McBean and Jayden Flaker dropped quarterback Luke Weaver in the backfield for a 2-yard loss.

UNM then drove into Spartan territory, but Fa’avae overthrew Miles Williams, and Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa intercepted the ball and ran it back 89 yards for a touchdown, making it 21-16.UNM went 3-and-out, but Jayden Flaker and McBean teamed up again. McBean broke up a pass, and Flaker intercepted it. It led to a 51-yard field goal attempt by Grant Glasgow, but it was blocked. San José State turned the ball over on downs, but UNM counted quite kill all of the clock. The Spartans got to the Lobo 34 after completing a 39=yard sideline bomb, but Austin Brawley picked off Weaver in the end zone with 11 seconds left to seal it for UNM, a fitting end for the game as UNM’s defense was brilliant throughout.

Postgame Notes

This was the 23rd meeting in the series

San José State now leads the series 16-6-1

San José State now leads the series 9-3-1 in San José.

New Mexico has won one straight in the series, and one straight in San José. The win ended SJSU’s seven-game winning streak and marked UNM’s first win in San José since 1969.

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Starting lineup changes for UNM from the published two-deep lineup

Offense: Scottre Humphrey started at RB for Kiefer Sibley; Tripp Walsh started as a second tight end for Bailen George.

Defense: CJ McBean started at safety for Tavian Combs; Kevin Longstreet started as a sixth DB for linebacker Jayden Flaker.

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*New Mexico’s captains were Jaxton Eck, Malik Aliane, Autin Brawley, and Mercury Swaim.

*New Mexico’s Michael Kern carried the state flag of New Mexico onto the field, and Marco Beltran, Jr. carried the United States flag.

*San José State won the toss and elected to defer, and New Mexico elected to receive. UNM defended the North goal.

TEAM NOTES:

*New Mexico is now 7-1, the fourth time in school history that the Lobos have won seven of the first eight games, and just the second time in 88 years (1982 was the other).

*UNM is 4-0 in Mountain West play for the first time ever, and it’s the first 4-0 conference start since starting 5-0 in the WAC in 1970.

*San José State’s opening field goal was a 7:45 drive, and that was the second longest in terms of time against UNM this season. New Mexico State had an 8:14 drive that ended in an interception.

*New Mexico answered with a 15-play, 82-yard drive, and the 8:45 time was the longest of the season. It was UNM’s third 8-minute drive of the season, and the first of those to produce a score, as the others ended in missed field goals.

*UNM’s 89-yard touchdown drive was the longest of the season, topping an 85-yard touchdown drive against New Mexico State.

*New Mexico allowed 16 points in the game, the 12^th consecutive game that the Lobos have allowed 20 or fewer, and UNM is the non-Power 4 team since Louisiana Tech in 1992 to accomplish the feat 12 straight games. It’s UNM’s longest such streak since the 13-game streak in 1963 (the last two games) and the entire 1964 season.

*The pick-six by Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa of 89 yards was the first allowed by UNM since Quandarius Keyes of UNLV had a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown last season.

*The Lobos won back-to-back games by the same score, 21-16. The last time that happened, UNM lost to Colorado and Texas Tech by identical 12-0 scores on October 17 and October 24. The next week was a 0-0 tie against Nevada, UNM’s only win or tie at Reno in our history.

*New Mexico record 10 TFLs, UNM’s fourth game of the season with double-digit tackles.

*New Mexico allowed just 48 yards rushing, the fifth time UNM has allowed under 100 yards rushing, and the third straight.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

*Scottre Humphrey’s two touchdowns in the second quarter were his 10^th and 11th of the year, and the 39^th and 40^th overall in his career. He had 25 at Montana State and 15 at New Mexico.

*Toa Fa’avae threw interceptions on back-to-back plays with under four minutes left in the first half.

*Kiefer Sibley had a career-high 102 yards rushing, becoming the third Lobo running back to break the century mark this season.

*Darren Agu had 2.0 sacks and 3.0 TFLs, the second straight road game he has had with 3.0 TFLs.