New Mexico football collected another conference weekly accolade — the team’s third in the past six weeks.
Junior kicker Jason Sanders took home Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the second time this season, after having also been recognized after the season opener.
Sanders kept the Lobos within striking distance after the team fell behind 14-0 early in last weekend’s game at Utah State, and the eventual go-ahead score came off his leg.
Earlier, he put through a pair of field goals before the half, and the kicker said those makes helped him later in the game when he crushed the 40-yard game winner.
“I was just confident going in there — I think the previous two kicks played a big factor of giving me confidence,” Sanders said. “I just went out there knowing it was going to go in.”
The kick put the Lobos ahead 24-21, but the game was far from over. Utah State drove down the field and had chances to win or tie the game.
With 22 seconds remaining, Utah State ran a play that ended with an offensive pass interference call, erasing what would’ve been a go-ahead touchdown.
The Aggies ran another play with 16 seconds left that picked up good yardage. They could’ve spiked the ball to attempt a game-tying field goal, but some confusion with personnel caused a rushed attempt that fell short and New Mexico escaped with a win.
The kicker said he experienced a lot of emotions in the final 22 seconds, but was happy about helping lead the team to victory in front of some family.
He said he’d been asking his parents when they were going to see him in an away game. Sanders said his parents made the trip from California and were on hand for their first road game, and it looked like they picked the right one to attend.
Head coach Bob Davie said he wasn’t aware of it being the first away game for his parents, but joked they should get his family back out there for a few more games.
Davie said there’s something to be said for a player coming back from adversity to make progress. There is no substitute for actual experience, and the head coach said Sanders has used his to flourish as a weapon this season.
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“He’s another guy that has been through it — last year, things didn’t go his way,” Davie said. “He’s been able to resolve some conflict and he’s in a better place now.”
Sanders’ journey has been an interesting one. He was benched last season in favor of Zack Rogers, but the kicker said he has used that to improve his mental preparation. He said if he dominates the mental game, he can dominate on the field.
It has yielded results as Sanders has been virtually automatic this season. He missed a chip shot 30-yard field goal against Rutgers in the third game of the season, but that is the only kick he’s missed so far.
New Mexico’s other special team honorees on the season include Elijah Lilly for his 160 yards on kickoff returns in a 45-40 win over Air Force, and Corey Bojorquez for his best punting performance on the season, averaging 52.8 yards against Nevada in helping the team to a 35-26 victory.
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football and men’s and women’s tennis. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
