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Senior wide receiver Travis Brown carefully prints an important message on his wrists before every game.

When the game gets tough or his teammates aren't playing their best, he flashes his wrists.

The right one says, "With all my heart."

The left one says, "And with all my soul."

And together, they spell out why Brown is certain the Lobos (2-1) won't suffer a big letdown this week against Division I-AA Sacramento State (0-2).

The Lobos are riding high after pulling off a 29-27 upset at Arizona on Saturday. It was a huge win for the UNM football program, which hadn't beaten a Pacific-10 Conference team since 1979.

"We're a team that plays hard and plays with a lot of heart," Brown said. "When I get tired and want to take a play off, I look down at my wrists and know I can't let up. The same is true for the rest of the team.

"We have been overlooked before. We have been the underdogs and upset a lot of people on the road. We know better than to ignore anyone. This victory isn't as sweet if we don't play our best the next time out."

Ugly memories may keep the Lobos in check this week.

UNM was brimming with confidence when it opened the season at home last year against Division I-AA Portland State.

The Vikings stunned the Lobos, handing them a 17-6 loss at University Stadium.

"If there's a positive coming out of losing to Portland State last year, this might be the positive," UNM coach Rocky Long said. "Our players should be smart enough to realize what's up."

If the Lobos managed to forget last year's trouble, Division I-AA Appalachian State's high-profile win over Michigan and a slew of other college football upsets should get their attention.

"Oh, there's no way we're overlooking anyone this year," junior running back Rodney Ferguson said. "That really hurt last year. We'll celebrate beating Arizona for a little bit, but then Sacramento State will have our full attention."

The Lobos do have loads of momentum after beating an athletic but erratic Arizona team.

UNM's offense continued to improve, blazing a trail in the pivotal second half and finishing with 421 yards total offense.

The defense improved during its second straight week facing a spread offense, breaking up 11 passes and generating three key turnovers.

"They think they are bigger and badder in the Pac-10, but we beat them and BYU beat them, so I guess they aren't as hot as they think they are," said sophomore Frankie Solomon, whose interception ended Arizona's final drive of the game. "This proves the Mountain West Conference is tough, and we're a tough team."

Senior kicker John Sullivan hit three field goals, including a career-best 44-yarder to help UNM pull off the victory.

"This is the best moment of my football career," Sullivan said in the locker room moments after the game.

It was a quick turnaround for Sullivan, who suffered the greatest agony of his career two weeks ago when he missed two field goals during the Lobos' 10-6 loss at Texas-El Paso.

"I like this feeling a lot better," Sullivan said. "We all enjoy this and want to build on it."

Good warmup: The Lobos say they aren't looking ahead to BYU, UNM's foe after Portland State, but the Cougars do run the same spread offense. Long said the practice against New Mexico State and Arizona should be valuable.

Injury report: Two UNM starters left the Arizona game with injuries, but Long said they don't appear to be serious.

Offensive lineman Sylvester Hatten left the game after suffering a back injury. Long said Hatten appeared to be feeling better during UNM's plane trip back to Albuquerque.

Cornerback Jerome Jenkins appeared to have suffered a concussion and missed part of the fourth quarter. He also seemed to have recovered on the team plane.

UNM trainers will examine both players and determine when they will be able to resume workouts.