The Lobos traveled to the Bay Area this weekend to take on the San Jose State Spartans for what looked like a great opportunity. They had a chance to get to five wins for the first time in the Bob Davie era while moving into a tie for first place in the Mountain Division and to do so they needed to get a road win against a struggling team. Instead, they played a somewhat confusing game that sent them back to Albuquerque with a 31-21 loss. They are still only a game back in the division and they still have four chances to pick up the two wins they need for bowl eliibility, but this game may come back to haunt us.
Author: Jono
Football Game 8 Preview: San Jose State
The Lobos had their season on the brink last weekend, but a remarkable comeback victory put the team at 4-3 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. Amazingly, there is a non-ridiculous series of events that could happen this weekend that could put the Lobos in a four-way tie for first place in the Mountain Division, but that will have to start with a Lobo win on the road against San Jose State.
Quest for a Bowl Game: New Life
Just when it looked like the Lobos were going to have their bowl dreams shattered by Hawaii, a series of unexpected events allowed the Lobos to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and go on dreaming just a little longer. With that victory, the Lobos now are just two wins away from becoming bowl eligible with five games remaining. As Rick Wright pointed out yesterday, we’ve seen this exact situation a couple of years ago and the Lobos weren’t able to finish the season off. This week gives the team their first opportunity to prove that history won’t be repeated this year.
Cross Country: Wisconsin adidas Invitational Recap
This past Friday, the UNM men’s and women’s cross country teams headed up to Madison, WI for the Wisconsin adidas Invitational to compete against some of the top teams in the country. In the Men’s 8k, 28 of the 36 teams competing were either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls while in the Women’s 6k, 20 of the 36 teams were ranked. The men held their own, finishing 23rd in the stacked field while showing some positive signs for the rest of the season. The women were the real story of the day, giving an incredible, record-setting performance to dominate the field.
UNM Football: Lobos Shock Hawaii in Comeback Win
With a little over two minutes left in Saturday’s game, Hawaii lined up for a 22 yard field goal that would have put them up by nine against the Lobos, effectively ending the game and any hopes the Lobos had at a bowl game. I would be lying if I said I had much confidence at that point. In fact, I was already starting to formulate this post in my mind, thinking that it would basically be a eulogy for the team’s season. Instead, Hawaii’s kicker hooked the attempt to the left and the Lobos were back from the dead.
A Different Way of Looking at Basketball Team Strength
At last, our long national nightmare is over! Lobo Hoops is back! With tonight being the Lobo Howl, I thought that it would be fun to show some analyses that I’ve been playing around with that provide a slightly different way of measuring team strength and using that to look back at the last couple of Mountain West Conference seasons.
Football Game 7 Preview: Hawaii
After recording two wins against teams that are still winless, the Lobos had their momentum stopped in Reno, losing to the Wolfpack in a disappointing game. They have a great chance of recovering some of that momentum this weekend, though, when a struggling Hawaii team comes to town. And they will need to if they want to still have a shot at a bowl game. It’s the homecoming game this weekend, so here’s to hoping that the team puts on a good performance for the alums.
Quest for a Bowl Game: Two Steps Forward, One Leap Back
After a couple of momentum-building wins that put the team in a good position to become bowl eligible, the Lobos hit a wall against Nevada, damaging their bowl prospects. This week saw the biggest change in their probability of becoming bowl eligible that we’ve seen this season, so maybe it’s not so surprising that it seems to correspond with how down about the season some fans appear to be. This loss makes next week’s game against Hawaii a must-win scenario if the team wants to have a realistic shot at making a bowl game.
UNM Football: Lobos Go Bust against Nevada
The Lobo football team, fresh off of consecutive wins, headed up to Nevada in hopes of extending their winning streak against a team that was trying to regroup from an upset loss to an in-state rival. Unfortunately for the Lobos, Nevada was able to regroup, leaving UNM on the losing side of a 35-17 game. This loss puts the Lobos back even at 3-3 and searching for some ways to shore up some of their weaknesses.
Football Game 6 Preview: Nevada
The Lobos take to the road again this weekend for a lupine battle, as they head to Reno to take on Nevada in a conference match-up. A win on Saturday would put UNM just two wins away from bowl eligibility and mark the first time that the Lobos have had a three-game winning streak since 2007. Nevada is coming off a bad home loss against rival UNLV, so the Lobos should expect to be facing a slightly desperate, very motivated team.