Back when Bob Davie was an analyst for ESPN, there was one aspect of the job that he disliked: making predictions.
Davie, entering his fourth year as head coach for New Mexico, said he wasn’t fond of acting like he knew what was going to happen five months into the college football season. Davie was paid to give his opinion much in the same way that he gives his opinion as a head coach.
Well, the time for making predictions is over.
New Mexico begins its season with a home opener against Football Championship Subdivision member Mississippi Valley State on Saturday at University Stadium.
The Lobos enter the season with more optimism than they’ve had in previous years. The team and its fans are expecting to fight for its first bowl game appearance since 2007.
“It’s ‘are we good enough?’” Davie said. “I know we’re going to play close games and I know we’re going to compete. It’s ‘can we go win? Can we go win?’ That’s the next step in it.”
There may be more positivity surrounding UNM, but there are still plenty of questions left to be answered. The main question that haunts the Lobos is whether their defense can stand strong enough to win games.
UNM is transitioning from a 3-4 defense to a 3-3-5, featuring one more defensive back, in order to combat up-tempo, spread offenses. The Lobos will face their first test on Saturday as MVS runs a spread offense.
“I think we’re better prepared. We’ve been going against a lot of tempo this whole fall camp just to keep us conditioned,” junior linebacker Dakota Cox said. “When it gets around to that game time it’s easy. I really think, going into the season, we’re better equipped to go against a fast-tempo team.”
Another question facing UNM regards its offensive line. The Lobos lost their starting center Toye Adewon on Aug. 19 to an undisclosed injury that may keep him out for the rest of the year.
Adewon’s replacement is junior college transfer Tevita Fonua, who hasn’t played the center position much in his career.
“You’ve got to be able to get that ball snapped in the game,” Davie said. “We’re going to have a new center playing the game who hasn’t practiced a whole lot.”
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Then there is the argument about quarterback. UNM brought in redshirt junior transfer Austin Apodaca to push redshirt sophomore incumbent signal-caller Lamar Jordan at fall camp. Apodaca has shown flashes of his talent, but was unable to usurp Jordan’s starting position.
Both quarterbacks will be given a chance to play against the Delta Devils this weekend, but there’s no guarantee after that.
“We’re still trying to work through that. I think they’re both going to play. A lot depends on the flow of the game,” Davie said. “Both of them have earned the right to play, but Lamar is the starter. As the week goes by we’ll make a decision on that.”
The passing game for the Lobos had always been an afterthought because of how good their running game has been. UNM enters this year with expectations of its offense being more balanced.
Davie said he’s excited by the possibility of having a good air game, but he knows how important the ground game is to the Lobo offense.
“We talk about the passing game and everyone wants to see it,” Davie said. “To be what we want to be we’re going to have to run the football. Are we going to be able to run it? I don’t take that for granted.”
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
