Every Kids Dream: An Option Run to The Top of College Football!

[TrophyKing80]

Stars Emerge For Rivalry Win, But Questions Linger

Lobos Sports Writer, Dylan Mack
Las Crices, NM -

This year's version of the Rio Grande Rivalry, between New Mexico and New Mexico State, was one for the record books, as both teams combined for 91 points and over 1,000 yards of offense. The visiting Lobos made it three-straight wins in the series, with a 49-42 win in Las Cruces, but it was hardly pretty. In fact, Lobos Head Coach, Joe Gould, was furious with the performance of both the offense and defense.

"Our wideouts couldn't catch. How can you be a D-1 wideout and not be able to catch the damn ball!", Gould shouted. "Our QB throws pick after pick, and while our defense made plays when they had to, they gave up 42 damn points!"

Gould wasn't lying, as the turnover bug bit Quarterback, John Williams, again, as he threw 4 interceptions and had a fumble as well. Williams, however, did set a new career high with passing yards in a game, tossing for 389 yards, two weeks after setting a personal best with 371 yards through the air.

It also did not help that through the first half, the Lobos had five dropped passes, a couple coming in critical spots.

"It's just ridiculous. You're here to catch the ball, so catch the damn ball!" Gould shouted as he left the podium.

While the Lobos offense did explode, with some of their best numbers in two seasons, including career highs for Running Back, Keith Wallace, who rushed for 131 yards and 3 TDs, and 137 yards receiving for Wide Receiver, Adam Pruitt, adding two TDs himself, the turnovers by Williams and the numerous drops were troubling. Factor in the defenses woeful performance, surrendering 42 points, and you can see why Gould is upset.

It should be noted that 7 of those 42 points came off a 71-yard Pick Six by Aggies defender, Kris Johnson, and Williams' fumble came on the Lobos side of the field, giving the Aggies great starting position.

Initially, it looked like the Lobos were running on all cylinders. The defense took the field first, surrendering a first down before forcing the Aggies to punt. Wallace's first touch would go for 23 yards on an option to the left. Then Freshman Fullback, Andy Owens, filling in for the injured Billy Fields, would rumble up the middle on an option, collecting a huge chunk of yards himself. The Lobos would face a 4th down, but on the Aggies' side of the field, converting it without much effort. Soon after, Wallace is sampering in for his first TD of the season.

The Aggies, however, would respond with a 12-play drive, capped off with a TD run by Atari Griffin. Theensuing drive saw Williams get sacked, fumbling the ball away. It was scooped up and ran in for a TD, however, a penalty brought the ball back out, but still in the hands of the Aggies. Griffin would end the short drive with a 2-yard TD.

On the next drive, the Lobos moved down the field, finding great success with their option run, picking up huge chunks of yardage per carry. But then Williams would drop back to pass, dump it to the flat for his safety valve, Wallace, who would be out-muscled for the ball by Aggies defender, Kris Johnson, who would sprint 71-yards for the pick six.

Suddenly down 21-7 to their rival, and already having 2 turnovers early in the game, the Lobos sideline looked dejected. However, the Lobos would fight back, with their next drive ending in the endzone from a 4-yard run by Owens, his first TD of the season and of his career.

On the next drive for the Aggies, they'd face a third and long, when Senior Linebacker, Josh Williams, collapsed on the pocket, taking Aggies QB, Marcus Allen, down with him. The sack, forcing the Aggies to punt, ignited the Lobos crowd.

Williams would led the Lobos down the field, finally finding Cliff Hagen on a slant, and a TD from 21 yards out. The extra point by Richard Mason, knotted the game up at 21, with only a minute left in the half. The Lobos defense would cave, however, allowing the Aggies to march down the field, scoring a TD pass from Allen to Max Wright from 30 yards out, as time expired. The Lobos were down 28-21 as the teams went to their locker rooms.

While the Lobos had 5 first half dropped passes, the rushing attack was doing extraordinary, with Wallace having 77 yards and Owens tacking on another 42. "This was the kind of results we had been looking for when we first implemented this offense, and when Wallace became our starter", Offensive Coordinator, Zach Moore, said following the game.

The Lobos took the second-half kick and produced a scoring drive, with Wallace running it in for the second time. The ensuing drive by the Aggies would be halted, as Allen would be sacked on a third down play again. The Lobos would receive the punt, and once again produce points, this time with a 5-yard TD pass to Pruitt. The score was now 35-28 in favor of New Mexico.

The next possession for the Aggies would go three and out, and suddenly it felt like the Lobos were going to own the second half and walk away with it. But then, Williams would throw an interception, this one being picked off by Aggies Cornerback, Dan Lawson. It took little time to make the Lobos pay for that mistake, as Allen found Marco Baker for a 11-yard TD pass. The extra point would miss, leaving the Aggies down by one.

The Lobos would drive, yet again, capping off the march down the field with a 1-yard TD run by Wallace, his third of the game. The Aggies would punt on their next drive, but then Williams would throw yet another interception, this time in the endzone, killing any opportunity the Lobos had at getting points.

However, the Lobos defense would stand tall again, forcing the Aggies into a three and out. Nursing a 42-34 lead, the Lobos would make one final drive, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Williams to Pruitt, his second TD reception of the day.

The Aggies weren't done, however, as they would make one final push down the field, scoring on a 5-yard pass from Allen to Griffin. The Aggies would go for 2 points and convert, making the final 49-42.

"While the offensive explosion we saw tonighht was great, and we saw some real stars emerge for us, like Pruitt, Wallace and even Owens, our inability to take care of the football is going to cost us games down the line, if we don't clean it up", Coach Moore said. "Five turnovers to none. Five to none...that's just a horrendous stat. We're lucky to have won that game", Coach Moore added as he shook his head.

Some positives can be taken from this game: the Lobos won despite the disparity in turnovers, and their running game finally clicked the way it was hoped to. Williams also threw for another career high, while Pruitt made it two-straight games with 100+ yards receiving. "We're not wanting to throw the ball that much. It's not how we practice and it's not our expectations, but it's nice to know that we have some weapons out there when we need them," Moore later added.

As long as they catch the ball.

PNM Resources

Presents the Players of the Game

New Mexico Lobos at New Mexico State Aggies
Sep 20, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
New Mexico Lobos (2-1)	7	14	14	14	49
New Mexico State Aggies (0-3)	14	14	6	8	42

Team Stats Comparison
	UNM	NMSU
Total Offense	688	330
Rushing Yards	299	63
Passing Yards	389	267
First Downs	33	16
Punt Return Yards	41	--
Kick Return Yards	104	59
Total Yards	833	389
Turnovers	4	0
3rd Down Conversion	6/7	8/17
4th Down Conversion	1/1	2/2
2-Point Conversion	--	1/1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	7-5-0	6-4-0
Penalties	4-27	3-30
Possession Time	21:20	11:53

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		UNM	NMSU
	(UNM) 1-Yard TD run by Wallace	7	0
	(NMSU) 4-yard TD run by Griffin	7	7
	(NMSU) 2-yard TD run by Griffin	7	14
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		UNM	NMSU
	(NMSU) Pick Six by Johnson for 71 yards	7	21
	(UNM) 1-yard TD run by Owens	14	21
	(UNM) 21-yard TD pass from Williams to Hagen	21	21
	(NMSU) 30-yard TD pass from Allen to Wright	21	28
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		UNM	NMSU
	(UNM) 2-yard TD run by Wallace	28	28
	(UNM) 5-yard TD pass from Williams to Pruitt	35	28
	(NMSU) 11-yard TD pass from Allen to Baker (PAT failed)	35	34
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		UNM	NMSU
	(UNM) 1-yard TD run by Wallace	42	34
	(UNM) 23-yard TD pass from Williams to Pruitt	49	34
	(NMSU) 5-yard TD pass from Allen to Griffin (2-pt conversion is good)	49	42

New Mexico Lobos PASSING C/A YDS TD INT John Williams 25/37 389 3 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Keith Wallace 14 131 9.3 3 Andy Owens 11 70 6.3 1 John Williams 7 35 4.9 Alex Williams 3 34 11.3 Chris Coleman 3 27 9.0 Anthony Barrett 1 2 2.0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Adam Pruitt 8 137 17.1 2 Keith Wallace 6 85 14.1 Lonnie Charles 3 76 25.3 Darrell Fuller 4 41 10.2 Cliff Hagen 1 21 21.0 Cam Waller 1 16 16.0 Alex Williams 2 13 6.5 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Mark Adams 3 Edwin Hill 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Adam Williams 7 Chris Meeks 6 Josh Williams 4 1 Mike Burks 4 Nathan Keller 4 1 Brandon Britt 4 1 Nick Britton 3 Corey Perkins 3 Tyler Roberson 3 Wayne Scott 2 Josh Miller 2 Xavier Bennett 2 Willie Roach 1 Sean Scott 1 Jayson Brown 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Richard Mason 7/7 7 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Quincy Fine -- KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Chris Meeks 3 57 19.0 Darrell Fuller 2 47 23.5 Adam Pruitt 1 0 0.0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Darrell Fuller 6 41 6.8

New Mexico State Aggies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Marcus Allen 21/40 267 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Atari Griffin 14 51 3.6 2 Marcus Allen 11 13 1.1 Clint Jackson 1 -4 -4.0 Damon Spence 1 3 3.0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Max Wright 7 113 16.1 1 Atari Griffin 4 18 4.5 1 Cole Humphrey 4 69 17.2 Orlando Anderson 3 46 15.3 Brent Barber 2 10 5.0 Marco Baker 1 11 11.0 1 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Barry Kiniry 3 1 Chris Wright 3 Alex Jenkins 2 Terry Johnson 1 1 Kris Malloy 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Johnnie Wilson 8 Stacy Newton 7 Stephen Robison 7 Claude Alford 6 1 1 Dan Lawson 5 2 Kris Johnson 5 1 1 Cameron Woods 4 Joe Cooper 3 Kory Davis 3 Dallas Roberts 3 Douglas Browne 3 Johnny Means 2 Joel Wilson 1 Todd Johnson 1 Mark Green 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Doug West 4/5 4 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Todd Johnson 7 305 43.5 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD A.J. Barnes 2 38 19.0 Max Wright 1 21 21.0

[Careless Whisper]

That's a good way to bounce back from the Week 1 shellacking. Really impressed with the win over Arizona State and getting them at the last second, then to turn around and overcome all the drops and interceptions to beat a rival is a nice momentum booster for the next part of the season. Keep it up!

[TrophyKing80]

Quote: Originally Posted by Careless Whisper

That's a good way to bounce back from the Week 1 shellacking. Really impressed with the win over Arizona State and getting them at the last second, then to turn around and overcome all the drops and interceptions to beat a rival is a nice momentum booster for the next part of the season. Keep it up!

Thanks, Careless. Yeah, Week 1 was horrific. In all honesty, I'd kinda given up late in the ASU game, but my defense managed to give me the ball back, so I was like, "Ok, we'll just wing it" and caught a lucky break. The rivalry game was definitely the most-frustrated I have been with the game in a loooong time. One of the drops was by Wallace on a beautiful wheel route, wide freaking open, and simply hits the kids hands, then the turf.

I gotta stop the turnovers, bad. I also may need to revamp my offensive line, as they're getting whipped with pass protection. Then again, I'm trying to target run-blockers.

[moose141]

I'm sure you won't complain with the record after three games, though the manner in which you got there may be a little unsettling for you! Tough start against Arizona, but a great bounceback in a tough battle with ASU and then a ridiculous rivalry game that you managed to pull out against NMSU. You've definitely been performing well offensively, but the turnovers nearly derailed you against NMSU. I like how you've stayed in area for the non-conference games, battling with some local rivals is always a bit more exiciting!

[TrophyKing80]

Quote: Originally Posted by moose141

I'm sure you won't complain with the record after three games, though the manner in which you got there may be a little unsettling for you! Tough start against Arizona, but a great bounceback in a tough battle with ASU and then a ridiculous rivalry game that you managed to pull out against NMSU. You've definitely been performing well offensively, but the turnovers nearly derailed you against NMSU. I like how you've stayed in area for the non-conference games, battling with some local rivals is always a bit more exiciting!

It's been ugly, that's for sure, and you're right, I'll take the 2-1 record, considering the play on the field. I was anticipating a down season, due to some lost talent and a ho-hum recruiting class.

We had a lot of turnovers last season, and Williams was actually slightly ahead in his TD to INT ratio this season, but is now even at 6 apiece. Not good. Also some misreads on the option have led to fumbles, which I knew was a risk when running that scheme, but it's been pretty brutal. The ASU win was miraculous, and the NMS game was just pitiful. That squad couldn't hold my guy's jock, yet we only won by 7.

As for the scheduling, Arizona is a rival, though they weren't scheduled for the season, so I stepped in. I'm trying to stick to what programs like New Mexico normally do, in regards to scheduling, and sticking to mostly western states for recruiting (Texas, Arizona, Utah, Cali). Not sure if you've ever noticed, but the state of New Mexico rarely has more than 10 recruits, with rarely a quality player among them.

Thanks for checking in.

[Tyro11]

Nice write up. Anytime you get a rivalry win it’s a little more meaningful. Anytime you win when throwing 4 picks is a blessing ha. But what a second half show you guys put on. Seemed like the defensive pressure was the best combatant to their QB’s pretty solid play. Obviously, game ball goes to your RB!

[TrophyKing80]

Thanks, Tyro. New Mexico State should have been an easy win, as their defense is awful, but I made some mistakes, keeping them in the game. On a side note, Arizona, who handed me my butt in Week 1, is 4-0, so that loss isn't looking as bad as I thought.

Game ball to Wallace for sure. He had a great game. Heck, anyone who tried carrying the rock did outstanding, with the lone exception being Barrett, who is actually a lineman, playing third-string fullback. If I can see more numbers like that, then this option attack can definitely bring in a lot of wins.

[Its2Eazy17]

Yo could Arizona be the real deal this year? I am glad you got past ASU and NMST but they were definitely shootouts, do you think your defense is having some internal issues? Great wins though setting you up for a good MWC season!