Beginner Dynasty

[nredfoot]

Another Rough Week for the Top Teams
- #22 Tennessee gives the #1 Crimson Tide all they can handle and more but still Bama prevails 21-13
- #8 Auburn takes #10 LSU to the woodshed in Death Valley, 38-10
- #16 Clemson ends #3 Hokies perfect season
- Arizona State notches their second upset win of the season this time over #7 Oregon
- Oregon State whoops up on #2 Stanford
- Vanderbilt’s dream season continues this time knocking off #13 South Carolina
- Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and TCU all join the top 25 at 23,24,25 respectively
- #25 Ohio State continues its struggles falling for the 2^nd straight year to Minnesota
- #20 Missouri pounds #24 Texas Tech
- Top 5 looks like this now after the weekend: Alabama, Michigan State, Boise State, Wisconsin, and Auburn
- Now Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins on top in Heisman Race
- Currently Michigan is #10 in the Big 10 standings and Ohio State #11
- Vanderbilt currently in first in the SEC East at 5-2 (3-1) but take on #1 Alabama this week

BCS Rankings
**I’ve been using the Coaches Poll for rankings in the Around the NCAA section; Here I’ll do weekly BCS Standings**

1.) Alabama 7-0 1.000 pts
2.) Michigan State 7-0 0.994
3.) Boise State 6-0 0.986
4.) Wisconsin 6-1 0.978
5.) Florida State 7-0 0.975
6.) Clemson 7-0 0.975
7.) Auburn 6-1 0.972
8.) Virginia Tech 6-1 0.956
9.) Georgia 6-2 0.956
10.) Miami 6-1 0.953

Recruiting News
Lost two recruits
WR (#69) Trevor Smith *** 6’0” 194 lbs Agua Fria, NM BALANCED (ARIZONA STATE COMMIT)

DT (#48) Jack Miller *** 6’2” 285 lbs Balch Springs, TX BALANCED (HOUSTON COMMIT)

Two recruits this weekend decided they would not be Lobos in 2012. Trevor Smith and Jack Miller committed elsewhere. Smith, the #2 player in the state of New Mexico, was a long time lean to the Sun Devils so this commit is not that surprising. He would've been a solid addition to a pretty deep position. Miller on the other hand had New Mexico and Houston in his top 2 for the past 3 weeks. With both Ellis and Uzodinma back next season DT is a place where some is immediately needed. However in 2013 that position will be wideopen as only 2 players (Calvin Smith FR(RS), Charles Watkins (FR)) currently on roster will be still be on roster. He could've redshirted and started developing before competing for a starting role

[nredfoot]

Quote: Originally Posted by Houndy

I love Dennis, he's a great running back. Looks good, keep it up

Thanks man! I'm having a blast doing it! This is my first time doing one of these things and it's definitely made it more fun to play. I think the fact my sliders have been dead on along with the fact that New Mexico is team you can build has really helped me keep going on.

And ya Dennis is the man! He has injury problems and gets knocked out of games sometimes but when he's healthy watchout! Also gotta say lookout for Myles Daughtry at the wideout position. He could turn out to be a beast there in the near future

[nredfoot]

I think I'm going to start doing game previews as well. They'll be short and sweet but seeing as starting the 2012 season a lot of names and things will be unfamiliar when today's 3rd stringers are starters and the in game recruits take over. The previews might help keep names familiar and so when i do the recaps I'm not throwing around a bunch of names no ones heard of

[nredfoot]

New Mexico 4-3 (3-1) at Colorado State 5-2 (2-2)

Where: Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium
Fort Collins, CO
When: Saturday on October 22nd, 2011 at 3:30
TV: Local Network
Dynasty Record: 1-0
History: 2010 - New Mexico 48 Colorado St. 28

Whose injured?
HB Raymond Carter Sr(RS) 85 OVR - 163 rushes 530 yds 5 TD
(Strained Back 6 weeks)
LOLB Mike Orakpo So 74 OVR - N/A
(Broken Vertebrae Out for Season)
ROLB Mychal Sisson Sr 90 OVR - 50 tackles 6 TFL sack INT FF
(Broken Hand 10 weeks)

Who to watch for?
QB Pete Thomas So 82 Ovr - 122-233 1594 yds 12 TD 5 INT 95 rushes 221 yds 2 TD
WR Byron Steele Jr(RS) 88 Ovr - 30 rec 427 yds 2 TD
TE Matt Weems So(RS) 68 Ovr - 36 rec 521 yds 6 TD
DT Curtis Williams So(RS) 71 Ovr - 29 tackles 15 TFL 6 sacks
ROLB James Skelton Jr(RS) 70 Ovr - 54 tackles 6 TFL 1.5 sacks INT 2 FR
SS Ivory Herd Sr(RS) 80 Ovr - 19 tackles 3 TFL 0.5 sacks

What to watch for?
Last season James Wright, in for the injured Demond Dennis, tore up the Rams defense on his way to a record setting rushing performance. This year Dennis is healthy and ready to give it a go himself. The Rams are missing their starting RB along with their 2 starting outside linebackers, but Curtis Williams has been a beast up front. The Lobo offensive line will have to somehow slow the sophomore down. On the offensive side of the ball Thomas returns for his sophomore campaign at QB. Last year he did not have much affect on the game going 9-15 145 yds TD and INT. This year he hopes to make a bigger impact. His topic target has surprisingly been his TE Weems. Over the past season and a half TEs have had success against the Lobos secondary. In last year's battle the Lobos got out to a quick lead before squandering it do to turnovers. However in the 4th thanks to Wright's outstanding rushing performance and a clutch goaline play by Carmen Messina, New Mexico left with the W. This year we should see a close contest with the difference coming down to which sophomore QB can establish enough of a passing game to allow their RBs to do damage.

[nredfoot]

New Mexico Hangs On To Win 4th In A Row

Demond Dennis Finds A Seam And Scores

Fort Collins, CO -- On a rainy day, dreary day the New Mexico Lobos 4-3 (3-1) were looking for a repeat performance from last years 48-28 win over Colorado State 5-2 (2-2). Coming into the game the Rams were suffering from the injury bug as 3 starter including starting tailback Mason and their stud linebacker Sisson. It was a tale of 2 halves but the Lobo's first half ended up being just better than the Ram's 2nd.

New Mexico set the tone early as they came out pounding the ball with Dennis. They opened the game with a 12 play 73 yd drive that ate up 4:10 of the first quarter. Eight of the plays were runs by Demond Dennis the final one being a 1 yd TD run giving the Lobos the early 7-0 lead. The Rams would give it right back to the Lobos on the next series. After picking up one first down, Colorado State would go to the air. Pete Thomas would look for talented WR Byron Steele on the in route. The senior New Mexico Lobo corner Anthony Hooks was ready though. Jumping just in front of Steele, Hooks would pick off his 2nd pass of the the season.

Anthony Hooks With The First Quarter INT

Austin and the Lobos offense would make Colorado pay for that mistake. At first though the Rams looked like they were going to force a three and out, however Coach Redfoot would elect to go for it instead of kicking the 48 yd FG. Austin would hit TE Lucas Reed on a drag route over the middle for the first down. A few plays later Austin would hit Ty Kirk on the slant route for the TD extending the New Mexico lead to 14-0.

Tarean Austin Finds Ty Kirk In The Endzone For 9 yd TD Pass

The New Mexico defense was lights out in the first half. The Rams offense didn't even make it into Lobos territory until the 3rd quarter. SS Bubba Forrest, CB Anthony Hooks, and LB Joe Stoner all one of the best games of their careers. They were flying around making tackles and preventing the Rams offense from getting anything going. New Mexico would put together one more drive this one even more impressive as they went 86 yds on 13 plays eating up around 3:42 of game clock. But the drive would stall and Aho would come through on the 21 yd FG. 17-0 Lobos. Colorado State would elect with little time remaining to just run the clock out and head into half.

The 2nd half however saw the disappearance of the Lobo offense and the emergence of Pete Thomas. An almost mirror image of New Mexico's opening drive, the Rams would start the 2nd half with a long drive of their own. 13 plays 78 yds and 3:33 later the Rams finally found the endzone on a 7 yd TD pass to Underwood. 17-7 New Mexico. New Mexico would drive just inside Rams territory before being held to another FG attempt. However, Aho hooked this one left missing the 49 yd attempt keeping the score where it is. With great field position the Rams offense would try and make another dent in the New Mexico lead. But the Lobos defense was ready forcing a 3 and out, ending on a Carmen Messina sack. The quarter would end with New Mexico facing a 3rd and 6 right after the Rams punt.

Messina Drags Down Thomas For His 2nd Sack Of The Year

In the 4th the Rams would make it interesting. Colorado State would hold on the 3rd and 6 and force a Ben Skaer punt. On the first play of the Rams next drive, Thomas would execute a perfect play fake and hit his fullback Jake Levin who was all alone in the flat. Levin would have no one in sight as he raced down the field. However again Hooks would make a big defensive play. Racing from the other side of the field the senior corner would catch the FB at the 35 yd line. But Hooks not only caught Levin, he stripped the FB of the ball. Deshawn Mills would come racing over and dive on it giving the Lobos the ball and ending a great scoring threat for the Rams.

Hooks Strips Levin After A Big Pickup

But the Rams defense had come to play in the second half. The Lobos were only able to get one first down before having to punt the ball right back. Coach Steve Fairchild of the Rams said their halftime adjustments on defense were to just focus on stopping the run and not getting beat deep. The adjustments worked to perfection in the final 16 minutes. The Rams this time on offense would hang on to the ball. Another long drive for Colorado State would end with another TD. It would take 10 plays to go 81 yds in just under 2 minutes ending with an 8 yd TD pass to TE Matt Weems drawing the Rams closer. 17-14 New Mexico.

Matt Weems Makes The TD Catch For The Rams

With just under 4 minutes the Lobos were hoping to not let the Rams see the ball again. Twice New Mexico would face a third down conversion and another time a 4th down one. On all three Austin would come through. For the 2nd straight week the sophomore QB would make a winning drive this time he didn't need points he needed to eat time. On the first 3rd down Austin would hit Myles Daughtry on quick out for conversion. Later on another 3rd down he would go the air again this time hitting Reed for the conversion. Then instead of kicking the 48 yd FG, Coach Redfoot would go for it and Austin would come through again. On the biggest down of the day, Tarean would scramble right find a hole and race through for the game winning conversion. A few Dennis runs later and the game was over

Final Score: New Mexico 17 at Colorado State 14

The win gave the Lobos their 4th in a row and keeps them in the conversation for winning the Mountain West. The Lobos moved to 5-3 (4-1) while the rams fell to 5-3 (2-3). After the upcoming bye week New Mexico returns home for their final game of the year against Utah. It will be senior day and 2011 senior class will be honored before the game.

Player of the Game: Anthony Hooks 4 tackles INT FF

Key Stats
(NM) Tarean Austin 14-26 158 yds TD 6 rushes 44 yds
(NM) Demond Dennis 24 carries 95 yds TD
(NM) James Wright 6 carries 16 yds
(NM) Ty Kirk 5 rec 40 yds TD
(NM) Lamar Thomas 3 rec 40 yds
(NM) Myles Daughtry 3 rec 39 yds
(NM) Lucas Reed 3 rec 39 yds
(NM) Bubba Forrest 7 tackles TFL
(NM) Joe Stoner 5 tackles TFL
(NM) Carmen Messina 5 tackles 2 TFL sack
(NM) Deshawn Mills 3 tackles FR

(CSU) Pete Thomas 17-25 181 yds 2 TD INT
(CSU) Tony Drake 14 carries 62 yds
(CSU) Byron Steele 5 rec 79 yds
(CSU) Jake Levin 4 rec 53 yds fumble
(CSU) Matt Weems 1 rec 10 yds TD
(CSU) John Skelton 11 tackles TFL
(CSU) Michael Kawulok 10 tackles 2 TFL
(CSU) Ivory Herd 6 tackles TFL sack

UP NEXT: BYE

[nredfoot]

Around the NCAA
- #1 Alabama beats #23 Vanderbilt 33-21
- #2 Michigan State stands tall against Minnesota
- #7 Georgia win on last second kick by Walsh against #5 Auburn 21-19
- Still no love for undefeated Clemson as they are #7
- Northern Illinois now in top 10
- Eagles of Boston College give the #9 Hokies their 2nd loss of the year
- #10 Miami asserts its dominance over #11 North Carolina with 37-13 win
- After awful start of the year Texas has rattled off 5 straight wins and are now back in the rankings at #25

BCS Rankings
1.) Alabama 8-0 1.000
2.) Michigan State 8-0 0.994
3.) Florida State 8-0 0.983
4.) Boise State 7-0 0.983
5.) Clemson 8-0 0.978
6.) Wisconsin 7-1 0.972
7.) Georgia 7-2 0.972
8.) Miami 7-1 0.961
9.) Auburn 6-2 0.953
10.) Northern Illinois 6-1 0.945

[nredfoot]

New Mexico's Recruiting 2011 Class
Week 1 Commits
C (#55) Nathan Kirk ** 6'3" 278 lbs BALANCED Stephenville, TX

TE (#45) Terrance Perry *** 6'6" 229 lbs BLOCKING Uvalde, TX

OLB (#54) J.D. Jackson *** 6'2" 198 lbs RUN STOPPER Clovis, NM

DE (#93) Morris Rogers *** 6'2" 230 lbs RUN STOPPER Allen, TX

Week 7
ATH (#17) Brian Curtis **** 6'0" 202 lbs ATHLETE University Park, NM

CB (#24) Gary Scott *** 6'0" 182 lbs HARD HITTER Las Cruces, NM

Week 9
TE (#23) Cameron Wesley *** 6'5" 225 lbs BLOCKING Azle, TX

QB (#49) Rodney Ross *** 6'3" 194 lbs SCRAMBLER Truth, NM

MLB (#61) Derek Triplett *** 6'1" 230 lbs BALANCED Fort Hood, TX

The Lobos added 3 more commits this past weekend but also lost out on 2 others. Cameron Wesley presents an interesting specimen. Just like fellow commit Terrance Perry, Wesley provides great size and is an outstanding blocker. However Wesley is a little quicker with slightly better hands. It will be interesting to see in the future which one these 2 emerge to fill Lucas Reed's role. For the 2nd year in a row Coach Redfoot has brought in the top (and only) QB in the state of New Mexico. Last year it was scrambling QB Kyle Dailey. This year it's another scrambler in the form of Rodney Ross. Coach Redfoot stated he likes more mobile QBs and so far he's backed that up in recruiting. Dailey redshirted this year and you can expect the same for Ross. Finally Derek Triplett joined the class. With Carmen Messina graduating, the New Mexico defense will only have 2 MLBs on roster (Toby Ball Fr(RS), Larry Gray Fr). Tripplett provides quality depth and could compete for the starting role as soon as next season.

On the not so happy side, New Mexico lost out on 2 of their top targets. Massive DE James Williams a three star out Belton, TX and compact MLB Joe Ryan a three star out of Abilene, TX. Both were hard fought recruiting wars. Williams a 6'6" 245 lb run stopping lineman chose the Baylor Bears over the Lobos. Ryan on the other hand joined Jack Miller in choosing the Houston Cougars over New Mexico. Both would've been excellent additions to the Lobo roster next year

[nredfoot]

Around the NCAA: BYE Week Addition
- #1 Alabama escapes another close one this time at Mississippi State
- Undefeated ACC foes #3 Florida State and #5 Clemson match up this weekend
- #9 Auburn rebounds from last week's loss with win over #23 Ole Miss
- #19 Virginia Tech loses their 3rd game in a row this time to #8 Miami
- Rutgers and Cal move into top 25
- #13 Iowa and #9 Auburn prepare to do battle this weekend
- Ohio State gets first Big 10 win against Northwestern, their record is now 3-5 (1-4)

BCS Rankings
1.) Alabama 9-0 1.000
2.) Michigan State 9-0 0.994
3.) Florida State 9-0 0.986
4.) Clemson 9-0 0.983
5.) Boise State 8-0 0.981
6.) Wisconsin 8-1 0.969
7.) Georgia 8-2 0.969
8.) Miami 8-1 0.961
9.) Auburn 7-2 0.953
10.) Northern Illinois 7-1 0.942