We’re only a few weeks into the college football season, but it’s already been an eventful season for the Lobos, particularly with two consecutive gut-punch losses heading into a break. With the team having a bye week this past weekend and conference play starting in earnest this weekend, I figured that it would be a good time to see where things stand for the Lobos and the conference, and look to see where they go from here.
Category: Lobo Football
Thoughts on Lobo Football’s Loss against Rutgers
The Lobos had a brunch-time matchup today with Rutgers, looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to NMSU and come home with a 2-1 record. For a quarter, it looked like that was going to happen, and comfortably, as they quickly jumped out to a 21-0 lead. Then, while playing one of the most disastrous quarters in recent memory, they allowed Rutgers to score 31 straight points, setting up a 37-28 loss.
Lobo Football at Rutgers Preview
After a surprising and devastating loss to their in-state rivals, the Lobos apparently decided to get as far away from New Mexico as they can. They’ll be in New Jersey this weekend, taking on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in hopes of rebounding from their loss to the Aggies. It feels like an opportunity for the Lobos to pick up a nice win while collecting a big paycheck, but they’ll have to overcome the absence of a couple of key players to do so.
Thoughts on Lobo Football’s Loss against NMSU
Yesterday, the Lobos headed down to Las Cruces to take on the Aggies for the 107th meeting between the two teams. Of the 106 previous meetings, the Lobos had won 70 of them, including the past four. On top of that, the Lobos are coming off a season where they won 7 games, made a bowl game, and have higher goals this year. The Aggies, on the other hand, have won 7 games over the past three seasons, haven’t been to a bowl game since 1960, and are in the process of getting kicked out of their conference. Because of all that, it would have been hard for the Lobos – and the Lobo fans – to not be confident heading into this matchup, thinking that too many things would have to go wrong for the Lobos to not move to 2-0 on the season. Welp.
Lobo Football at New Mexico State Preview
It’s time once again for the Lobos to head down south to take on the NMSU Aggies – as they have for 122 years – for another installment of the Rio Grande Rivalry. Admittedly, this rivalry has lost a little of its luster the past several years, as the Lobos have had to recover from one of the worst stretches in their program’s history while the Aggie program is just trying to stay afloat. However, these games tend to be close – or at least entertaining – as all good rivalry games should be.
Thoughts on Lobo Football’s Win against South Dakota
Thursday night, Lobo Football kicked off their season exactly how we thought they would: with a convincing win against the South Dakota Coyotes. Although a 48-21 victory against a FCS team doesn’t necessarily tell us a ton about this year’s team, I did come away from University Stadium with a few thoughts:
Lobo Football vs. South Dakota Preview
Aaaand… we’re back. After eight months of waiting and anticipation, we finally get to see how the Lobos are going to build on last year’s successful season. It all starts Thursday night, with – as it did last year – an FCS opponent. This time it’s South Dakota, a veteran team with a new coach who will certainly come here looking to pull off an upset. Still, I’m expecting some fireworks from the Lobos.
Scattered Preseason Football Thoughts: 2016 Edition
It feels so long ago that we were heading into the 2015 football season with program that hadn’t won more than four games in a season since 2007, looking at the schedule to try to see if we could squint and find a path towards bowl eligibility. There was certainly some optimism around the team last year, but it was a cautious optimism, and an optimism that seemed to rely on the Lobos winning specific games early in the season. For some, that optimism was crushed in just the second game, where they were outgunned by a Tulsa team that – although they ultimately made a bowl game – appeared to be one of the more likely wins on the schedule. For others, the optimism faded away when they lost a winnable game on the road to San Jose State, dropping their record to 4-4 going into the most difficult stretch of their schedule.
Instead of faltering down the stretch, however, the Lobos rose to the challenge, scoring big wins against Utah State, Boise State, and Air Force to not only secure bowl eligibility, but a winning record for the season. In fact, they were even in the hunt to win their division until late in the season. They were rewarded with their first bowl appearance in almost a decade, where they hung tight with a good Arizona squad before their comeback attempt fell short. Over 30,000 attended that bowl game and what they saw – what I saw – was a program reinvigorated. They are no longer the punchlines they were when Coach Davie took over, but a program that has earned the right to not just have optimism surrounding it, but actual expectations.
So with that, here are some thoughts about the team going into this 2016 season:
NM Bowl Recap: UNM’s Comeback Falls Short
The Lobos, after a 7-5 regular season, were given the opportunity to stay home to play in the New Mexico bowl, their first bowl game since 2007, and host an old rival, Arizona. With the Lobos coming off of a long stretch of mediocrity, meaning that there were still plenty of people out there who didn’t think that this team was for real, and the Wildcats coming out of the Pac 12, there was a general impression nationally that this game wouldn’t be much of a contest. However, this is not the same Lobo team that only won 3 games in 3 seasons, this is the one who marched into Boise to beat the Broncos on their blue turf, the one that was one win shy of winning the Mountain division, and the one that seemed to get better as the season went on. Sure, they lost the game 45-37, but they proved to the 30k people in the stadium and whoever was watching on TV, this program is for real and on the rise.
New Mexico Bowl Preview: Arizona
Here it is, everyone, the long-awaited return to postseason play for the New Mexico Football Team. As was expected, the Lobos were given the opportunity to stay home to play in the New Mexico Bowl, where they’ll fact a familiar face from the past: the Arizona Wildcats. Both teams feel as though they have something to prove in this game, so I’m expecting a hard fought game tomorrow.