Salt Lake City, UT (My Sportsbook) - Suffering with the second-longest losing streak in the nation, the New Mexico Lobos try yet again to put a tally in the win column this weekend as they challenge 17th-ranked Utah in a Mountain West Conference bout at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
For the first time since 1987 the Lobos are sporting a record of 0-8, having now lost eight straight MWC outings. But the slide is really worse than that because New Mexico has now gone 12 straight games without the enjoyment of a victory. The last win for the program, now under the direction of head coach Mike Locksley, was October 18, 2008 when the Lobos blasted San Diego State by a 70-7 decision.
Last weekend the Lobos actually came close to putting it all behind them, but in the end the squad still came up short in a 23-20 revenge game for the Aztecs in San Diego.
As for the Utes, a team that has a 31-24 setback to Oregon as the only blemish on their record this season, they moved up the charts with their 22-10 win against Wyoming last week. The victory was the fifth straight for the team and at 4-0 in league play the Utes are currently tied with TCU for the top spot in the MWC standings.
The decision against the Cowboys also moved Utah up two posts in the BCS Rankings, the squad now checking in at 14, although that still trails the Horned Frogs who are at six again this week,
The Lobos fell in a 13-10 decision last year, allowing Utah to move out to a 31-17-2 advantage in the all-time series.
"I'm proud of them," coach Locksley said of his team after the narrow loss to San Diego State. "I'm proud of the team, but I'm especially proud of the seniors. Those guys have had every opportunity to give up. It's been remarkable the way they have been able to hang in there. The young guys will be able to look back at this senior class and see true leadership."
Locksley speaks of the three-point loss to an SDSU program that had been beaten in eight straight by the Lobos, but this time it was UNM that couldn't finish the job.
Quarterback Donovan Porterie threw one touchdown pass and ran into the end zone for the other TD, while kicker James Aho knocked through a pair of field goals to try and close the gap. Unfortunately, Aho also missed a 37-yard effort late in the first quarter, a kick that would have played a huge part in the outcome.
Porterie converted 27-of-52 passes for 277 yards, while the run game came up with just 109 yards on 37 attempts.
The defense for the Lobos could not slow down SDSU signal-caller Ryan Lindley who threw for another three touchdowns, giving him 12 TDs in the last three outings. Once again the leading tackler for New Mexico was Carmen Messina with his 11 stops, coming up with one of the unit's three sacks. Not only does Messina pace the Lobos and the entire Mountain West heading into the month of November with his 108 tackles, he also ranks first in the nation overall with an average of 13.5 stops per game. While that might be great news for Messina, what it really means is that there are far too many plays by the opposition that are getting to his level.
As Messina tries to do his job on the defensive side of the ball, the offense continues to flounder with just 94.1 ypg on the ground (109th in the country) and 306.4 ypg (109th) in overall offense.
Porterie has managed to complete almost 60 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns, but with the offensive line permitting three and a half sacks per game it is not always easy for the UNM signal-callers to complete plays down the field.
In the win over Wyoming last weekend, running back Eddie Wide became the fourth player in program history to register five straight 100-yard rushing games as he generated 135 yards on 24 attempts. While Wide was handling the load coming out of the backfield, the Utes had to turn to freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn in the second half to guide them back from a 10-3 deficit at the break.
Wynn, who finished the outing 9-of-14 with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Head coach Kyle Whittingham had been wanting to get Wynn into some games in recent weeks, but many were too close for comfort. Nevertheless, coach Whittingham picked this game to make a change and it worked out for the best for the Utes and Wynn as he stepped in for Terrance Cain.
Now the issue is which of his young signal-callers will coach Whittingham go with versus New Mexico. This would probably be a good game for Wynn to see more action, given how poorly the Lobos have performed this season, but Utah cannot take a chance on coming out flat by any means.
"We will name a starter on game day," Whittingham said of the impending decision during his weekly news conference. "With their skill sets being very different, it doesn't make sense to name that person until game day. I am not a fan of a two quarterback system, but we have to do whatever is best for the team. I don't think that is the direction to go, but never say never."
The passing offense has been merely adequate for a team that is ranked 17th in the nation at this point in the season. The group is averaging 214.3 ypg through the air, ranking them fourth in the conference and 64th in the nation.
Really, what has gotten this team to the next level is again the defense. Only one opponent (Oregon) has managed to come up with more than 17 points in a game this season, resulting in the Utes ranking 17th in the country with 16.8 ppg allowed at the moment.
The pass defense has been especially strong, permitting only 159.3 ypg to place seventh in the entire nation. Robert Johnson, fourth on the team with his 44 tackles, has himself accounted for seven gained turnovers with five interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries, so New Mexico would be wise to keep the ball out of his area of the field.
"On film, New Mexico looks like they have in the past," Whittingham acknowledges. "They have a talented quarterback, big and fast receivers and some guys on defense, but they haven't been able to put it all together this year. You have to prepare and be ready to go. We have enough to work on with our own deficiencies to keep us busy."
