For a few short minutes it looked like
Trailing 14-7 in the middle of the first quarter, UNM let a couple of mistakes – a fumble and a missed tackle – allow USD (0-1) to gain an upper hand. That score didn’t last long as the Lobos went on to score the next 28 points, taking control of a game that would end up being a 48-21 win Thursday night at University Stadium.
“I think it’s a credit to our team maturity-wise,” Lobos head coach Bob Davie said. “We then became pretty stabilized. I think as we went on we started playing better. I think that’s why you play these games.”
The Coyotes offense gave the Lobos fits, particularly on the first two drives of the game. Quarterback Chris Streveler had two long scoring runs of 42 and 55 yards that contributed to USD’s early 14-7 lead.
Linebacker Dakota Cox, who had a strip sack and an interception in the victory, said the defense just needed some time to adjust to Streveler and settle into the game.
“Sometimes that has to happen for us to really get into it and understand that we need to do our job,” Cox said. “We can’t go out there and slack around. Guys are really mature in that aspect. The coaches didn’t need to get on us. We just needed to go out there and perform.”
After that minor blip early on, it was all UNM (1-0). Teriyon Gipson tied the game up at 14-all with a career-long 84-yard touchdown run up the sideline. This came after Gipson had a 75-yard run on the first run of the game.
He finished with 181 yards on eight carries.
UNM’s next two scores came on touchdown throws from starting quarterback Austin Apodaca, who completed a career-high 12 of 16 passes for 172 yards.
Apodaca first hit Matt Quarells on a 62-yard bullet down the middle, then nailed Q’ Drennan down the sideline for a 26-yard score. Both receivers had to make a play on the ball in order to find the endzone.
“A lot of confidence,” Apodaca said. “Those were two great grabs, and just to have the confidence you can throw it and they’re going to get it is huge for a quarterback.”
Running back Richard McQuarley also had two touchdowns on the day and ran for 55 yards on 13 attempts.
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UNM had 615 total yards of offense – 428 of those coming on the ground – in the win, including four plays of 60 yards or more, suggesting this year's team could be as explosive as last year's.
Streveler ended up going 10 of 13 passing for 117 yards with one touchdown.
No
UNM didn’t play one of its two “starting” quarterbacks
against
David said signal-caller Lamar Jordan didn’t play a single snap in the win because the flow the game didn’t dictate it.
However, third string quarterback JuJuan Lawson did see some playing time and hit one of his two passes for 15 yards.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
