A look at UNM Lobos Football Schedule 2024

by Zach

The University of New Mexico is entering a new era of Lobo Football as Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall takes over after Danny Gonzales led the Lobos for the last 4 years. The Lobos are coming off a 4-8 season that saw the Lobos win 2 conference games, a road win against UMass, and a home win against FCS Tennessee Tech. Things will be different this year with the schedule for the Lobos, as we see a change in the Conference Schedule, three bye weeks, and the improvement of the FCS opponent. This season the Lobos will also only play 5 home games this year instead of the traditional 6 or 7 home games (we will dive into why this probably happened with this schedule later). Look at the schedule, quirks, and other odds and ends.

2024 Lobo Football Schedule:

August 24, 2:00 PM: Home vs. Montana State

August 31, 8:30 PM: Road at Arizona

September 7: Bye Week

September 14, 5:30 PM: Road at Auburn

September 21, 6:30 PM: Home vs. Fresno State

September 28, 6:00 PM: Road at NMSU

October 5: Bye Week

October 12, 5:00 PM: Home vs. Air Force

October 19, 2:00 PM: Road at Utah State

October 26, 3:00 PM: Road at Colorado State

November 2, 2:00 PM: Home vs. Wyoming

November 8, 8:30 PM: Road at San Diego State

November 16, TBA: Home vs. Washington State

November 23: Bye Week

November 30, TBA: Road at Hawai’i

Week-by-Week Look:

  • Week 0 hosting a Top 5 FCS Opponent in Montana State is a difficult place to start a new era of a program. This Montana State team is likely the best FCS team the Lobos have hosted with the possible exception being the Sam Houston team over a decade ago. The Lobos will be tested early and this non-conference slate is something the program can build off of for this year and the many years to come. If the Lobos can get past Montana State week 0, it may not look like it to most but this would be a great win to start the Mendenhall Era. I hope the attendance is good for this first game even though it isn’t a big-name opponent to start the season, trust Montana State is good! I expect an absolute battle with both programs fighting for the win.
  • Week 1 the Lobos will head to Tuscon and see a few familiar faces with Danny Gonzales on staff and star running back Jacory (Bill) Croskey-Merritt. This game will build off the tough first game the Lobos had against Montana State in Week 0. Arizona should be talented this season, especially on offense, if everything clicks for this Arizona team a possible bid to the New NCAA Playoff isn’t out of the question. This is a game where the Lobos will be looking to build off the positives and find out what they need to improve. This is a game that the Lobos could surprise some people with how far they are along during this first season under Mendenhall.
  • Week 2 the Lobos will enjoy their first bye of the season and will be looking to gear up for another big buy game for Week 3.
  • Week 3 the Lobos head to Alabama to play Auburn under the lights and look to be the second program from New Mexico to take a big check and a win from the Tigers (NMSU won last year 31-10). This won’t be an easy task to do what the Aggies were able to do last year, first off any road test will be difficult, throw in the fact that it’s a night game in an SEC Stadium, and it will also be Homecoming for Auburn. It’s been a while since the Lobos have been able to take care of a Power Conference Opponent on the road. This will be a good test before the Lobos start Mountain West Play.
  • In Week 4 the Lobos host Fresno State which was one of the programs the Lobos beat last season on the road. Fresno State is a program in flux with the late announcement that Coach Tedford would retire from coaching a few weeks before fall camp. This is a great test for both programs that will have new voices on the sidelines. The program that can put a stamp on this game could potentially see an uptick in potential wins this season.
  • Week 5 the Lobos head to Las Cruces to take on a new look NMSU Aggies program. The names people would recognize are no longer in Las Cruces and can likely be found in Nashville. I find this matchup extremely interesting because the Aggies did move past the Lobos the last few seasons with coach Kill leading the program, he is no longer there, and they handed the keys to Coach Sanchez. Can the Lobos pull off the win and only Football or Men’s Basketball game in Las Cruces this season? That question will be answered at the end of September.
  • Week 6 the Lobos will enjoy their second bye week of the season and will be using it to rest, recover, and prepare for a 6-game Mountain West stretch.
  • Week 7 the Lobos will host Air Force and the option, AFA will be looking to continue their good run in Colorado Springs. The option will always be something that you either do great at stopping or they can destroy you. This will be the first time the Lobos will see this offense under Mendenhall, but he does have plenty of experience coaching against it so it isn’t entirely new to him. AFA could be coming off a very intense battle against the Naval Academy, while the Lobos are coming off a bye week, could that change how this game plays out? Possibly.
  • Week 8 the Lobos head to Logan Utah to take on another team that had a late coaching change in Utah State. The name is familiar around these parts since he was the NMSU Aggies DC. Coach Dreiling will be the Interim Head Coach for the Aggies. This is the one week where no one knows where this Aggies program will be with the late change and the reason for that late change. The Aggies could be good or decent again this year, or things could fall apart and the program could be a mess.
  • Week 9 can the Lobos finally end one of the weirdest streaks in College Athletics? The Lobos head to Fort Collins to face Colorado State, the Lobos haven’t won a game since Mike Locksley was the coach for the Lobos and it was the lone win from his first season in 2009! If the Lobos are playing well there’s a chance the Lobos can finally be able to end this streak, this is also a huge year for CSU, they need to be good, they are one of the only teams that have a stable coach in place with talent around the field.
  • Week 10 the Lobos return home with a game against another team with a new head coach, this time it’s Wyoming who has entered an interesting time in the program’s history. Coach Craig Bohl retires after leading the program since 2014 with every year minus the 2020 season with at least a 500 record. This matchup will depend on where the Lobos are as a program in the first year under Mendenhall, and Wyoming under former DC Jay Sawvel.
  • Week 11 is the one non-Saturday game for the Lobos this season, as they head to San Diego to take on SDSU under their new Head Coach Sean Lewis. This will be the first that the Aztecs won’t be led by either Brady Hoke or Rocky Long since the 2009 season. It will be interesting to see how the Aztecs adapt to the new voice that hasn’t been around the program. Lewis was the OC for Colorado last year, so it will be interesting to see where the Aztecs are on offense after being a defensive-focused program over the last 15 years.  What will this game mean for each program come November 8th, is anyone’s guess?
  • Week 12 is the game that the Lobos will play against the 2 PAC conference, as they host Washington State for Senior Day. Washington State and Oregon State are in limbo at the moment, and it will be interesting to see how both programs handle this arrangement with the Mountain West. Washington State will likely be a heavy favorite heading into this game. If the Lobos are in a good spot heading into their 11th game of the season the Lobos could potentially make things interesting for the team from Pullman Washington. The goal for the Lobos heading into this game is to have people attending the games (which has been a problem most of the last decade), and hope that they are still in contention for a bowl game bid, which would be a great start for year 1 of the Mendenhall Era.
  • Week 13 is the final bye week for the Lobos. With just one game remaining for the Lobos, this could be the most interesting one to see how they attack it.
  • Week 14 is the final game of the regular season for the Lobos as they head to Hawai’i. Hawai’i is the other Mountain West program the Lobos took care of last season. This is an important season for Coach Chang as he enters year 3 for the program where he starred as a Quarterback. Hawai’i has improved every year under Change and this could be a game that decides who goes to a bowl game or not.

Quirks:

  • The Lobos will only play 5 home games this year, mostly because they are playing two buy-games this season, instead of the one they have been playing in recent years. The Lobos could have opted to play another home game to get to 13 games which is allowed with the visit to Hawai’i. I think it was the correct call from a program standpoint not to play the 13th game. This is one of the most difficult non-conference schedules the Lobos have played (especially if you include Washington State).
  • Having 3 different bye weeks is interesting and I like where they fall for the most part. Being able to regroup after 2 games and then having the second after 3 games before Mountain West play could help this program in year 1.
  • There are so many new coaches around the Mountain West, and with the Lobos being one of the teams with a new coach while also playing a good number of teams with new coaches, it will be interesting to see how much our thoughts on programs change during the year.

Odds and ends:

  • If things are clicking for the Lobos there are possible wins on the schedule. If the Lobos want a decent chance at a bowl game, they have to go 2-2 against Montana State, Arizona, Auburn, and NMSU.
  • Can the Lobos build momentum with the new leadership of the Program and only need to make it a big deal for 5 weekends this year instead of the 6 or 7 the Lobos normally have? While the Football Program makes the money due to the media deal, these next few years are extremely important for the University with the ever-changing landscape of College Athletics happening in front of our eyes.