New Mexico has announced the signing of Stan Eggen as the newest member of Bob Davie’s football coaching staff. The day after Davie received a contract extension through the 2021 season, the head coach appointed Eggen as the defensive line coach.
New Mexico safety Markel Byrd’s talents will be missed on the football field, but his memory remains a prominent force in the college football community. After redshirting during the 2013 season out of high school, Byrd quickly became an integral part of the New Mexico secondary early in the 2014-2015 campaign. It wasn’t until this past season, Byrd’s redshirt sophomore year where he became a playmaker for the squad, and a major reason New Mexico garnered a bowl appearance.
New Mexico has taken notice of Bob Davie’s winning football season and bowl appearance, the first since 2007, and has locked up the head coach through 2021. Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs announced on Monday morning that Davie signed a two-year extension with UNM, the second extension during his tenure as a Lobo.
Trickery, fourth down conversions, and big-time plays fueled Arizona in a highly emotional 45-37 win over UNM in the 10th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Saturday night. Having appeared in four straight bowl games at the helm of the Arizona football program, Rich Wright is no stranger to what it takes to win a bowl game. The head coach said he knew New Mexico was going to try to throw some new looks and some trick plays at his squad before the opening whistle sounded.
New Mexico had enough effort and resilience to mount a comeback against Arizona.
It’s fair to say New Mexico has grown comfortable in the underdog role. The Lobos past three wins against Utah State, Boise State and Air Force were all as double-digit underdogs.
The Arizona Wildcats know exactly what will be coming at them defensively during the 10th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl tomorrow afternoon. However, New Mexico’s triple option has proven to be difficult to contain for the entirety of a 60 minute ballgame. It takes just one mistake, one missed tackle, one missed assignment, and a Lobo may be prancing downfield toward the pylons.
Two southwest teams sharing a boarder could not be in more different places in their respected programs. As the Arizona Wildcats and New Mexico Lobos gear up to play one another on Saturday, December 19, the postseason experience in the two programs is hard to overlook.
Head coach Bob Davie won’t be a fan at the Gildan New Mexico Bowl this year. After weeks of speculation, it was officially announced on Sunday that New Mexico will participate in the New Mexico Bowl for the first time since 2007. UNM will face Arizona from the PAC-12 in University Stadium on Dec. 19.
Even with a winning season and a bowl bid secured, only four New Mexico players earned All-Mountain West honors, tying for the lowest total in the conference. Wide receiver Carlos Wiggins had the highest award by being named to Second Team All-Mountain West. Linebacker Dakota Cox, defensive lineman Nik D’Avanzo and offensive lineman Eden Mahina were all honorable mentions.
Jhurell Pressley said he saw just one thing on his two early touchdown runs against Air Force Saturday night. “Green grass,” he said. “Green grass.” Well, technically, it’s field turf. But when Pressley rattles off two early TD runs of 50-plus yards, it’s still grass to him.
New Mexico secured its first winning season in almost a decade on Saturday at University Stadium. Several big plays and three key turnovers propelled UNM to a 47-35 upset over Mountain Division champion Air Force. The Lobos finish the regular season 7-5 (5-3 Mountain West) and will play in their first bowl game since 2007.
Irreplaceable.That’s the main word head coach Bob Davie used when describing this year’s senior class for New Mexico. It’s hard to find another word as appropriate because of what those seniors had to endure earlier in their careers.
The weight of New Mexico’s Mountain West title dreams rested on the shoulder pads of redshirt sophomore quarterback Lamar Jordan late in Saturday’s 28-21 loss to Colorado State. It was fourth down and 5 on the CSU 49, and UNM trailed by seven as Jordan dropped back to pass, running the Lobos’ two-minute offense. The scrambling New Mexico signal caller stepped up in the pocket and took off toward the first down sticks on the left side of the gridiron, easily picking up the first down and stopping the clock in the process.
New Mexico’s defense still doesn’t have an answer for Colorado State. For the third straight year, the Rams' offense overwhelmed the Lobos in a 28-21 loss at University Stadium Saturday in front of 21,642 fans. CSU racked up 485 total yards of offense, didn’t punt once, and all but one of the Rams' drives ended in UNM territory.
New Mexico has higher aspirations after earning its first bowl berth in nearly a decade. The Lobos next goal is a simple one: reach the Mountain West Championship game. That goal is well within reach for UNM after upsetting Utah State and Boise State in back-to-back weeks. UNM needs just two more home wins in order to earn a spot in the conference title match.
It’s no secret that attendance at New Mexico football games has been lackluster. In recent memory, the Lobos haven’t given fans much reason to show up to University Stadium. Not until this season, at least. With the Lobos two wins away from earning a spot in the Mountain West Championship game, UNM Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs wrote an open letter to fans imploring them to attend the final two home games of the season.
New Mexico linebacker Ryan Langford and punter Zack Rogers were named Mountain West Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week by the conference on Monday.
It’s not often that teams take group pictures after a win. However, New Mexico hasn’t had many victories like the one Saturday night in Boise, Idaho. UNM pulled one of the biggest upsets in program history by defeating heavily favored Boise State 31-24. The victory means the Lobos are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2007.
It takes more than one big win to change a team’s perception. Even after a big upset of Utah State last weekend, New Mexico is still considered a heavy underdog at Boise State on Saturday. The Broncos are a 30-point favorites over the Lobos in Boise, Idaho.
Solutions by The State News
