The University of New Mexico football team fought tooth and nail against the Utah State University Aggies on Saturday, Oct. 19. Despite a rough start for the Lobos, they were able to dig deep and defeat Utah State 50-45.
The Lobos found themselves in a hole early on in the first quarter. Their first drive was disastrous. Quarterback Devon Dampier threw a terrible ball into coverage, which resulted in an interception. The Aggies capitalized on the early turnover, converting it into points as they wound up in the end zone.
The next Lobo drive went nowhere and when the Aggies got it back, they found the end zone once again. The final seconds of the first saw the Lobos punting back to the Aggies. The Lobos trailed 14-0 at the end of one.
Early in the second quarter, it seemed that the Lobos were going to have a long day. The Aggies had taken 3 points on their following drive, and when the Lobos got it back, they were forced to punt again.
However, on the punt, Utah State muffed it, and it was swiftly recovered by the Lobos. This gave the Lobos a huge momentum boost. Following the muff, the Lobos got the ball in a great field position. They seized the opportunity as Dampier found a wide-open Javen Jacobs, which resulted in a 21-yard touchdown.
The Lobos went for two, and through some trickery, they were able to convert on it. The Lobos’ defense was finally able to stop Utah State and get the ball back to its offense.
The following drive, the offense found some points again, as Dampier threw a 14-yard dime to Ryan Davis for a score. Despite the Lobo surge, Utah State stole a touchdown before the half. Utah State was up 24-15 going into the half.
In the second half, both teams turned things up a notch, leading to an action-packed game. On the first possession of the third, Utah State came out scoring a touchdown, which promptly led the Lobos to respond.
On the first possession of the half for New Mexico, Dampier led the team down the field and rushed it in himself from 33 yards. The Lobos pulled more trickery as they got another successful two-point conversion.
The Lobos’ defense stopped Utah State on the following drive, but the Lobos then muffed a punt themselves, which was recovered by Utah State in New Mexico territory. With the defenses back against the wall, there was not much they could do as Utah State cashed in a touchdown off the Lobos’ miscue.
The Lobos’ offense got a score right back as Jacobs ran it into the end zone from 15 yards to keep the game close. The Lobos went for two again, but they failed this time around.
The Lobos’ defense held strong again, getting the offense the ball back down by 9. Marching down the field, Dampier threw an errant throw that got picked off again by Utah State. The Lobos trailed 38-29 going into the fourth and final quarter.
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To start the fourth, the Lobos’ defense made sure that the pick did not cost them as they forced a stop. It was back-and-forth action between both teams, but down 45-36 late, the Lobos’ offense needed to put something together.
On a fourth down with the game on the line, Dampier was able to connect on a huge chunk play to Davis. Dampier then rushed into the end zone, making it a one-score game with 3:53 left.
The Lobos then turned to their defense for a stop — a stop they would get. With just over two minutes left, Utah State went for it on a fourth down and one in their own territory. The defense read them like a book and arguably made the play of the game as it was able to stop Utah State.
After the two-minute warning, the Lobos’ offense took some time off the clock before scoring a go-ahead touchdown. When Utah State took the field, it looked to spoil the Lobos’ comeback. It wasn’t able to, as linebacker Dimitri Johnson sealed the game with an interception.
With this win, the Lobos now move to 3-4 on the season, riding high on a three-game winning streak. The Lobos will look to move their win streak to four and get to .500 on the season. On Saturday, Oct. 26, they will be on the road again against another Mountain West opponent — the Colorado State University Rams.
Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
