A record-breaking performance by Quincy Wright and a couple of big plays saved UNM from an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Weber State University Wildcats Saturday night at University Stadium.
Wright finished the night with the all-time single-game record for rushing yards with 267 yards on 27 attempts with three touchdowns.
The 38-24 final score gave the impression of a dominant Lobo victory over a Division I-AA team. But UNM didn't have full command of the game until the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
"We're not where we need to be," head coach Rocky Long said. "We're not a good football team. I was a little disappointed in the way we played, but we won. I would have been more disappointed if we had lost."
Early on it looked as if the Lobos would turn the game into a rout. On the first play from scrimmage, UNM recovered a fumble by Wildcat tailback Nick Chournos at the Weber State 34 yard line.
On the next play, Wright provided a glimpse of things to come as he scampered 34 yards to the end zone to give UNM a 7-0 lead.
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Wildcat quarterback Tate Bennett then drove 58 yards on 13 plays, continually exploiting the Lobos secondary as he completed three passes for 33 yards.
Weber State would settle for a field goal with 9:30 left in first quarter. On the drive, the Lobos dodged a bullet when an apparent touchdown pass from Bennett to wide receiver Scott Peery was ruled incomplete.
The Wildcats took their first and only lead in the second quarter at 10-7. Bennett continued to shred the Lobos' secondary on the 13-play, 80-yard drive, which ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Drew Dukeshire.
Bennett finished the game 33 of 52 for 345 yards and three touchdowns.
Wright continued his milestone night on the Lobos' next possession, a seven-play, 88-yard touchdown drive. Wright had four carries for 85 yards, including a breakaway, 67-yard touchdown run to give UNM a 14-10 advantage.
The Lobos held the momentum on defense. Defensive end Daniel Kegler sacked Bennett for a safety with 1:03 left in the half to give UNM a 16-10 advantage at the break.
The Lobo sputtered to start the third quarter, failing to make several key third down conversions while Wright continued to rack up the yardage on the ground.
The defensive line then provided the game-breaking play of the night.
The line constantly applied pressure on Bennett all night. It finally paid off in the third, when the Lobos' D.J. Renteria tipped Bennett's attempted pass at the line of scrimmage.
Bennett caught the tip only to have it wrestled away by UNM lineman Hebrews Josue.
Josue rumbled 42 yards down field before wisely pitching the ball to linebacker Billy Strothers, who sprinted the remaining 41 yards to give the Lobos a 23-10 lead.
Long said that the play was the turning point of the tight game.
"For all the troubles they (the defense) had, they also broke the game open," he said. "As much as the defense struggled, I thought they were the ones that turned the momentum of the game around."
The play seemed to revitalize the defense as they stood their ground and forced the Wildcats to punt on the next possession.
Wide receiver Dwight Counter returned the punt 63 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the third quarter to give UNM an unsurmountable 30-10 advantage.
But Weber State refused to give up. Bennett continued to find open receivers as he drove the Wildcats on an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to pull to 30-17 with 11:03 left.
Wright refused to let the Lobos victory slip away. The senior running back led the Lobos on another long drive, highlighted by a 48-yard run that gave UNM the ball at the Weber State 13-yard-line.
He capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to give the Lobos a 38-17 lead.
The Wildcats finished the scoring as Bennett had no trouble finding his receivers on a 76-yard scoring drive to shave the Lobos lead to 38-24.
Lobo quarterback Casey Kelley had a mediocre outing, finishing the night 12 of 16 for 93 yards and no touchdowns.
"We were running the ball well enough that we didn't have to throw," Long said, adding that he was pleased with the way the special teams played.
There were other bright spots for the Lobos, as the defensive line gave up only 106 yards rushing on 35 attempts and continually put pressure on Bennett.
That bodes well going into next week's game against the run-oriented Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Falcons opened their season Saturday by beating Northwestern University 52-3 Saturday in Colorado Springs.
Freshman Daniel Kegler and junior Billy Strothers anchored the defense. Strothers recorded five solo tackles and assisted on six more.
Kegler had six solo tackles, one assist and three sacks accounting for 22 yards.
"I'm nervous," Long said about next week's conference opener. "The Mountain West Conference is starting to be the conference in the country. And we have to play one (of the MWC teams) that just crushed a Big 10 team and that wasn't even close."
