However unlikely it seemed at the beginning of the season, New Mexico is just three wins away from earning a spot in the Mountain West Championship game.
All UNM has to do is win its remaining three games of the season against Boise State, Colorado State and Air Force — the latter two are at home — to secure a spot. The Broncos are 30-point favorites over the Lobos when the teams match up this Saturday in Boise, Idaho.
“I thank God every day that we can be in the hunt. That was a goal of ours from the get-go: a Mountain West Championship,” quarterback Lamar Jordan said. “We just have to keep going and keep fighting. We can’t look forward to nobody, and concentrate on Boise State.”
The Lobos’ 14-13 win over Utah State last weekend gave Boise State a second chance. If UNM hadn’t defeated USU, the Aggies would’ve made the championship game by virtue of their Oct. 17 win over Boise State. USU, which lost to San Diego State earlier in the season, would have had the tiebreaker if it finished tied with Boise State.
Air Force (6-3) and Boise State (7-2) are currently tied atop the Mountain Division standings with identical 4-1 conference records. The two teams will meet each other on Nov. 20, meaning one team will end the season with at least two conference losses.
If the Lobos are able to finish the season 6-2 in Mountain West play, they’ll finish no worse than in a tie for first place. However, with wins over every division opponent, UNM would earn the berth into the conference championship game.
The most likely opponent for UNM is SDSU (6-3, 5-0), because the Aztecs own a two-game lead in the West Division with just three games (Wyoming, UNLV and Nevada) to play.
The title game will be held on the home field of the division champion with the higher College Football Playoff Selection Committee ranking. If neither team is ranked by the CFP, a composite of selected computer rankings will choose the host. In all likelihood, SDSU would host UNM for the Mountain West Championship game.
“We understand the challenge, but we’re not conceding anything,” head coach Bob Davie said. “We’re going to try to be better this week than we were last week. If we do that, we’ll have our opportunities.”
With UNM in contention for its first bowl bid in almost a decade, Davie said he would like to see more support.
Through five home games, UNM is averaging just 23,484 fans. The only time this season the Lobos have had more than 30,000 people was when they beat New Mexico State on Oct. 3.
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UNM finishes the season with a pair of home games against Colorado State and Air Force.
“When I first came here, I talked a lot about for us to get six or seven wins we need people to come out and help us grow, not wait until we get six or seven wins to come out,” Davie said. “We still have some deficiencies, but we play really hard. I think we’re fun to watch and we have some good teams coming into this stadium.”
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
