It seems UNM's football players and coaches would like to put the disappointment of last week's loss to New Mexico State University behind them and move on to the next game - Friday's nationally televised game against Texas Tech University.
But many fans and members of the media won't let them. They are still wondering why UNM would lose to the boys from downstate.
Last week UNM looked out of synch in a 24-13 demoralizing defeat to the Aggies.
In Rocky Long's five-year tenure as head coach, the Lobos are 2-3 against NMSU. Some - from fans to frequent Internet message boards to the city's sports writers and broadcasters - are beginning to wonder aloud why he has been unsuccessful in the inter-state rivalry.
There are technical reasons that UNM hasn't had a better record against the Aggies over the years - like being beaten in the final two minutes on a dramatic drive and being tricked by plays like the infamous halfback pass.
But this year, for the first time in Long's coaching career, the Lobos were outplayed on the field with relative ease and actually looked like the weaker team.
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Some expected that last year's 53-0 trumping of NMSU would allow UNM to come away with an easy win Saturday and improve its record to 3-2 for the first time under Long.
That did not happen, though. And people want to know why.
One reason that seems plausible is the fact that the Lobos only had two practices prior to Saturday's game, but at the weekly football luncheon Tuesday, Long said he didn't agree with that idea.
"I don't see a lack of effort in practice," Long said. "How they practice does not always necessarily relate to how they play. Last week I thought they practiced well. Thursday's practice was one of the best practices we've ever had."
So if lack of practice wasn't the problem, then what else could it be?
Another point that fans and media members have pointed to is a case of overconfidence.
UNM was coming off an impressive 23-0 shutout of Baylor. The Lobos has just earned their first win against a Big 12 team. Combine that with the fashion in which the Lobos beat the Aggies last year and one can make an easy assumption that the team thought that all it had to do to win was show up in Las Cruces.
But Long said lack of intensity is not something he feels the team did not have on Saturday.
"If you watch the tape like I do, you'll see that our kids are trying really hard," Long said. "They're flying around, chasing the ball."
The one thing that cannot be denied is the lack of execution by UNM on Saturday. It's been heard over and over again, but it still has to be said that the wide receivers and running backs need to step up and catch balls. Time and time again, passes that should have been caught were dropped against NMSU. Untimely penalties are another thing that has hurt the Lobos in losses this year - especially against the Aggies. Long agreed that mistakes have hurt the team.
"Did they miss tackles?" he said. "Yes, they missed tackles. Did they drop passes? Yes, they dropped passes. Did they get penalties? Yes, they got penalties.
"But did they not try hard? No. They tried hard. They wanted to win really bad."
Trying hard is something that cannot go overlooked. But for UNM to compete against Texas Tech Friday night, they will have to do more than just "try hard."
