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The Santa Fe New Mexican
Defense helps Lobos to 21-16 win over San Jose State
- Story byThe Santa Fe New Mexican
- Defense helps Lobos to 21-16 win over San Jose State
The trick for the University of New Mexico football team's Houdini act in Saturday's 21-16 win on the road against San Jose State was continuing to find ways to win despite an offense stuck in low gear.
The growing concern over the floundering offense has been continuously wiped away by a defense that's among the country's best — and, arguably, the best in school history. The Lobos lead the nation in fewest points allowed and turnovers gained, not to mention among the best against the run and pretty darn stingy against the pass.
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UNM had three sacks and 10 tackles for a loss against the Spartans, holding them to 48 total rushing yards on 35 carries. Defensive lineman Darren Agu had two of those sacks, and three of his six stops were behind the line of scrimmage. Then there's safety Austin Brawley, who picked off a pass in the final minute to seal the win and continue to pad his remarkable postseason awards résumé.
"He's playing like the conference MVP right now," said Lobos coach Jason Eck. "He's making big plays, so that was awesome to see."
Not one opponent has scored 20 points this season.
If the defense's heroics for an ugly offense is the trick, the treat is a veritable smorgasbord of goodies. The Lobos are off to a 7-1 start for just the second time in the past 88 years, they remain alone in first place in the Mountain West Conference and, sometime around noon Sunday, might well find themselves in the Top 25 rankings for the first time ever.
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"I don't really know if we're one of the 25 best teams," Eck said. "I hope that we can keep getting better and I hope that maybe by the end of the year we can be one of the 25 best teams. It'd be great for our fans."
While the Lobos' defense is certainly worthy of that ranking, the offense is leaving a lot to be desired. Quarterback Toa Fa'avae managed to complete 9 of 14 passes, but he had only 101 yards and was picked off three times. His first two interceptions led to San Jose State field goals late in the first half while the last one was an 89-yard pick 6 that turned the game around in the fourth quarter.
Eck took the blame for one of his interceptions in the first half, saying he'd called a specific play that led to Fa'avae's errant throw. The coach also didn't rule out the possibility of exploring more options to solidify the position.
Fa'avae won the starter's job in the third week of the season, a move that has relegated Luke Moga to the bench for the better part of two months. Despite Fa'avae's struggles, Moga never got off the sidelines Saturday.
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Fa'avae did engineer consecutive touchdown drives in the first half as UNM opened a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. Scottre Humphrey capped both drives with scoring runs, the first of which came on fourth down from the Spartans' 1.
Humphrey and Kiefer Sibley stabilized UNM's offense, combining for 189 yards rushing. Fa'avae did throw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, finding big tight end Cade Keith on a leaping 20-yard catch in the end zone to make it 21-9.
Fa'ave had the Lobos driving into San Jose State territory on the next possession, but his pass down the right sideline on a rollout play was tipped and picked off by Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa, who returned it for the score with more than 11 minutes remaining. It put the onus on the defense to rise to the occasion once again.
Fa'avae attempted only one pass after that turnover as UNM had a field goal blocked and had two punts on its final three drives.
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"I mean, there was no worry in my mind that we weren't going to win that game," Agu said. "I was confident that we was going to come up with the dub."
NOTES
Ending some streaks: All the success the Lobos have had under Eck includes ending a few dubious streaks. Saturday's win snapped a 57-year winless drought against San Jose State, and the next game, Friday at Nevada, offers a chance to do something they've never done: Beat the Wolf Pack in Reno.
Stingy D: The Lobos have allowed just 101 yards rushing the last two games.
It was a good year: The 1982 Lobos finished 10-1 and famously did not get a bowl invitation. That was also the last time the team started a season 7-1.
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What's more, Saturday's win was the 16th under Eck, which ties the program record for wins over a two-year span — and the Lobos still have four season games and potentially two (or more) postseason games after that. The regular season Mountain West champion hosts the conference title game on Dec. 4.
