There’s a hurricane warning this Saturday in Albuquerque.
Early reports indicate the eye of the storm is headed straight for University Stadium.
UNM will face Tulsa in its home-opener, but head coach Mike Locksley doesn’t want his team looking for vengeance from last year’s 56-14 beat down at the hands of the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane, said linebacker Clint McPeek.
“We would like to redeem ourselves,” he said. “Like the coaches have been saying all week, ‘Revenge isn’t a good thing to be thinking about, because it’s kind of negative. But it’s always in the back of your mind from that game last year.”
The Lobos look to make corrections after a 41-6 loss last week to much-improved Texas A&M.
Lobo offense only mustered two field goals from James Aho at the game in College Station, Texas, after an offseason of hype about how the Lobos would put points on the board in bunches.
However, the Lobos’ locker room still exudes plenty of confidence, and McPeek said the Lobos can get back on track this weekend.
“There is no doubt in my mind, the offense is really good,” McPeek said. “We see Donovan (Porterie) and the rest of the offense in practice every day. We, as a defense, know what they are capable of, and they can put up a lot of points on the board.”
UNM’s defense allowed 606 total yards against the Aggies, but they’ve put their troubles to behind them.
McPeek said the Lobos were full of enthusiasm, but things just went awry.
“Execution was a big thing that we need to work on,” he said. “We have been working on what happened last week, and we have put a big emphasis on it this week.”
Execution will be crucial to slow down the Golden Hurricane. The Lobos will have to be aggressive against Tulsa’s run-and-gun offense, safety Frankie Solomon said.
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“We just have to tackle better,” he said.
Last year the Golden Hurricane averaged an NCAA-best 569.9 yards per game. And they’re showing no signs of slowing down this year, in spite of losing quarterback David Johnson, who was responsible for much of Tulsa’s offensive success last season.
In last year’s game at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, David Johnson threw for 469 yards and six touchdowns against the Lobos. The Golden Hurricane outgained the Lobos by 290 yards.
In their season-opener, Tulsa handled Tulane University easily, 37-13.
But UNM is hoping to weather the storm and captivate the home crowd, McPeek said.
“I love it,” he said. “It’s always nice to play at home in front of your own fans. There is nothing else like it.”
