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UNM Football: Hungry Lobos ready to feast on BYU
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What went wrong vs. Sacramento State
Lackluster start: The UNM offense looked sluggish in the first half. The Lobos went one-of-seven on third-down conversions and settled for three field goals after stalling in the red zone.
Plenty of penalties: The Lobos were saddled with five penalties for a loss of 35 yards. UNM has 25 penalties for a loss of 205 yards in its first four games.
Light turnout: A paltry crowd of 27,023 watched the Lobos thrash Sacramento State. Rival Texas-El Paso also was facing a former Division I-AA team in the rain Saturday night and attracted 35,336 fans.
What went right vs. Sacramento State
Dominant defense: The Lobos allowed one first down in the first half. Sacramento State finished with an abysmal 104 yards total offense, six first downs, three turnovers and one injured quarterback.
Rumbling Rodney: Junior running back Rodney Ferguson is the Lobos' best option, rushing for 129 yards and a career-high four touchdowns on 18 carries.
Mental edge: UNM coach Rocky Long lauded his team for treating Sacramento State as a serious threat. "After two emotional wins our team showed maturity (Saturday) by coming to play and staying focused," Long said.
Quarterback Donovan Porterie is willing to heap on the pressure.
He is willing to step up and say the Lobos' showdown with BYU Saturday is the biggest game of the season.
"If you look back at this year, I think you'll definitely look at the game against BYU and say it was a big turning point for us," he said. "This is our chance to do something really big this season. If we beat them, we are on our way to something big. If we don't, we put ourselves behind in conference."
The Cougars (2-2, 1-0 in Mountain West Conference) have long been the Lobos' (3-1, 0-0) measuring stick.
"They're defending conference champions until someone steps up and knocks them out," Porterie said. "It doesn't matter how many wins we have going in or whatever obstacles they hit along the way. They are the team to beat. And beating them could change our season."
The Lobos enter conference play riding a wave of prosperity.
UNM is on a three-game winning streak, the best run in the conference.
The Lobos' latest victory was a 58-0 thrashing of Sacramento State (0-3) on Saturday at University Stadium. UNM also tied the best start in Lobos coach Rocky Long's 10-year tenure.
"It's always good to have the wins on the board, but it doesn't mean anything if we don't focus and improve every week," junior running back Rodney Ferguson said.
The Cougars have faced ups and downs this season.
BYU fell 55-47 at Tulsa and 27-17 at UCLA, but the team also owns a 20-7 home win over Arizona and a 31-6 home win over previously undefeated Air Force.
On defense, BYU has a strong enough front line to put major pressure on any team in the conference. Long said it will be a challenge to run the ball well against the Cougars.
On offense, the Cougars will throw yet another spread attack in UNM's face. BYU also happens to throw in a few two-back sets that should keep the Lobos' defense guessing.
"I'm not sure that they really have any weaknesses," Long said.
Smith rallies: Marcus Smith's voice is always sure and smooth.
He is the Lobos' vibrant team captain whose biggest problem is knowing when to stop talking.
But Smith faltered Saturday night.
He searched for the right words and his eyes brimmed with tears when he was asked what it meant to take the field against Sacramento State.
Smith's mother, Sheila, died last week and he is dedicating every moment of this football season to her memory.
"It was a very hard week," he said. "But I got through it because I had all my brothers around me. This game meant a lot to me because it was my chance to play for her."
He easily could have coasted against the Hornets, but Smith finished with seven catches for 69 yards. He also took a direct snap, rushing for a 2 yard gain.
Long said he isn't surprised Smith turned in a strong performance against Sacramento State.
"One of the great things about athletics or competition (is) for awhile those things can be put in the back of your mind, so it's kind of an area of relief," Long said.
