Story by
Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Takeaways: Turnovers fuel New Mexico's lopsided win over UTEP
- Story byAlbuquerque Journal, N.M.
- Takeaways: Turnovers fuel New Mexico's lopsided win over UTEP
The night before New Mexico played New Mexico State, Jason Eck dreamt that safety Austin Brawley would return an interception for a touchdown.
Right idea, wrong game.
"My dream," Eck said Saturday, "was a week early."
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With Brawley's 65-yard pick six leading the way, UNM scored 31 points off five turnovers en route to a dominant 61-7 shellacking of UTEP on Saturday at University Stadium.
For comparison's sake, the Lobos (4-1, 1-0) scored 54 points off turnovers last season.
"The number, how many points we had off of turnovers (Saturday)," Eck said, "I don't know if I've ever seen a number like that."
Three of UNM's takeaways were interceptions, boosting the Lobos' season total to 12. Brawley's led to UNM's first pick six since 2022, when linebacker Reco Hannah returned a pass 22 yards for a score in a 27-10 win over … UTEP.
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"I saw the quarterback (Raymond Moore III) kind of went like this (in the third quarter)," said Brawley, raising his arm up, "and (Moore) just kind of lofted the ball up into the air. I knew I had to attack it and make a play, and the rest was history."
Did Brawley know that he was bringing Eck's dream to life?
"He told me (about the dream) before the game," he chuckled. " … We ran up to each other (after the play) and we're like, 'it was one week too early.'"
Beyond Brawley's pick six, cornerbacks Ormanie Arnold and Jahmir Torres both notched interceptions that led to scoring drives. Defensive tackle Jake DeVos also recovered two fumbles, returning the second 53 yards in the fourth quarter to score the game's final touchdown.
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DeVos was listed as questionable for Saturday's game after suffering a shoulder injury in practice.
"(DeVos) is a really well-respected guy on the team … He's tough and was able to come back and, you know, you get rewarded when you're tough," Eck said, "because you end up getting a touchdown."
All of which helped fuel UNM's 4-1 win over UTEP in the turnover margin and a lopsided 61-7 final score. The Lobos are now +18 on the season, even after quarterback Toa Fa'avae's second quarter interception ended UNM's four-game streak without a turnover.
"It's a really good sign that we had a turnover, and we had one turnover," Eck said. "It's not like, all of a sudden we had a game where we had four turnovers, because that shows recklessness. But I think we've done a good job protecting the ball.
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"If you have one turnover in five games, I mean, you're doing pretty good. So I'm not too worried about it. It'll be a good learning thing to watch on tape."
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
