Notre Dame, the No. 7 football team in the country, hung 66 points on the Lobos Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium. Nevertheless, the final score probably isn’t indicative of how the game unfolded – especially early on.
The University of New Mexico football team hung with the Fighting Irish for the better part of a quarter and a half. Saga Tuitele, who filled the role of UNM head coach in Bob Davie’s absence, said turnovers, bad angles on tackles, penalties and other miscues allowed the Fighting Irish to pull away for a lopsided 66-14 victory.
New Mexico’s defense was put in some tough situations and had to go to work right away after Notre Dame returned the opening kickoff into Lobo territory. The defense got a stop, despite the Irish converting a fourth down earlier in the drive.
“There were some flashes, absolutely,” Tuitele said. “You saw our defensive line getting some pressure there and in the run game, so there were some positives there.”
Even though the defense held, New Mexico’s first drive started from their own 2-yard line. UNM starting quarterback Sheriron Jones helped the Lobos overcome the poor field position and move out near the 30-yard line on what looked like a promising drive.
Then the first mistake of the game occurred — and it proved to be a costly one.
Jones’ third down pass was deflected and intercepted by Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton, who turned the error into a pick-6 for his first career touchdown.
New Mexico committed a total of three turnovers in the first half — all interceptions thrown by Jones. Tuitele defended his starter, saying the mistakes weren’t on him, but Jones shouldered the blame when asked about them in a postgame interview.
“They happened, so of course, it’s going to be on me,” Jones said. “I take full responsibility for it.”
The Lobo defense continued to hinder the Irish offense, surrendering zero points and preserving the 7-0 score through one quarter of play.
New Mexico actually had longer, more sustained drives that covered more yardage over the course of the first 15 minutes, but gave up more ground when it allowed a touchdown on fourth-and-goal early in the second quarter.
The Lobos still appeared to be in good position though, trailing just 14-0, driving again and penetrating Irish territory for the second time. As UNM approached scoring range, a Jones pass attempt was intercepted again. He tried to pick up some yardage over the middle, but his intended receiver never looked back and the pass went right into the arms of the defender.
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The Irish took advantage immediately.
Whether it was the Lobos getting rattled, the Irish coming to life or perhaps Notre Dame’s “Touchdown Jesus” simply wanting to see more scoring – the floodgates opened.
On the ensuing play, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book found Avery Davis on a swing pass that went for a 59-yard catch and run to go up 21-0 with 6:34 remaining in the half.
After the next Lobo drives stalled prior to passing midfield, the Irish struck again – needing just two plays to cover 80 yards as Book found Javon McKinley for a 65-yard touchdown as he waltzed into the end zone thanks to several missed tackles.
The problems compounded as the Lobos tried to get to the halftime whistle without sustaining more damage, but the third interception of the day came on a third down pass in their own territory.
Notre Dame cashed in right away, scoring again on the next play to blow the game wide open and move out in front 35-0 with 2:01 remaining.
Three Notre Dame touchdowns came in approximately four and a half minutes on the game clock – on drives that took just four plays and a combined 49 seconds.
New Mexico had been decimated by the big play but broke through with one of its own after Bryson Carroll got free and sprinted down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown run just before the half.
29 seconds was just enough for Notre Dame to strike again and tack on a field goal as time expired to take a 38-7 halftime lead.
Tevaka Tuioti entered the game as quarterback for UNM in the second half. After going three-and-out on the opening drive, he engineered two long drives that went deep into Irish territory. The first one stalled when the Lobos failed to convert a fourth down attempt and the second failed to produce points after a botched field goal.
Still, Tuioti seemed to play well in the second half – despite much of the work taking place after the outcome was presumably decided. He ended the day with 132 yards on 6-of-11 passing but saw the Irish pull away as they scored touchdowns on their first four possessions of the second half.
Book’s day ended after the second Irish touchdown of the second half – a 20-yard TD toss to McKinley a little over midway through the third quarter. It marked his fifth passing score of the game – a career best – to go along with his 360 yards passing. The senior quarterback also picked up 46 yards and another touchdown rushing.
New Mexico outgained Notre Dame on the ground for the game, rushing for 212 total yards – Carroll led all rushers with 69 yards on the ground.
The Lobos relinquished nearly 600 yards of total offense against the Irish and committed a total of four turnovers compared to zero tallies for the Irish.
UNM senior linebacker Alex Hart said he was proud of the team’s effort and how they fought to the final whistle. Hart had four solo tackles against Notre Dame – including one sack and two tackles for a loss.
He said they will take the lessons they learned on Saturday to prepare for their next game, when the Lobos host in-state rival New Mexico State Aggies.
The Lobos and Aggies will face each other on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Dreamstyle Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
Robert Maler is Co-Sports Editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers basketball and baseball and contributes content for various other sports as well. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Robert_Maler
