New Mexico Lobo Football KO’s UNLV, Punches Ticket to Bowl Season
The Lobo Football team celebrates after defeating UNLV 40-35 in Las Vegas, NV., Satruday afternoon. The win secures bowl eligibility for New Mexico. Photo: Chris Rodarte/Game Pass Media
The University of New Mexico football team didn’t go to Las Vegas to gamble. The Lobos went to win a heavyweight bout and then go bowling.
D.J. McKinney’s 13-yard touchdown run capped a heroic 75-yard drive with 2:54 left in the game, in which quarterback Jack Layne and wide receiver Keagan Johnson loomed large, and the Lobos defense shut down UNLV’s last gasps to preserve a 40-35 win on Saturday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium.
UNM (6-3, 3-2 Mountain West), a team with the fewest returning players in the country and a new coaching staff to enter 2025, becomes bowl eligible for the first time since 2016.
“Just a lot of guys stepped up and played well," first-year Lobos coach Jason Eck said during his postgame radio interview. “We talked all week that this was going to be one of these title fights in Vegas. Two good teams with a winning record. We were going to have to keep responding, keep getting off the mat. I thought we did a great job of that, even when the momentum swung against us. We didn’t hang our head; we kept battling.”
The Lobos jumped out to a 21-0 lead and then wrestled for dear life against the high-octane Rebels (6-2, 2-2).
UNLV seemingly took control of the later rounds to take a 35-34 lead on a 14-yard Anthony Colandrea touchdown pass to tight end Nick Elksnis with 6:35 left in the game.
But showing the poise of their head coach, the Lobos again answered the bell, thanks to three Johnson catches, the last two incredible receptions for 25 and 19 yards that set up McKinney’s TD run and the 40-35 lead.
Winning the 12-round fight required several heroes from the cherry and silver corner.
Johnson finished with 158 receiving yards on six catches and an 80-yard TD in a wild first half that included 45 points in the second quarter and a 31-21 Lobos lead.
Layne overcame an awful pick-6 in the first half – helping UNLV rally with 21 straight first-half points to erase UNM’s big early lead – to finish with 342 yards on 17-of-22 passing with three TDs.
New Mexico quarterback, James Laubstein (#13) carries the ball against UNLV. Laubstein carried the ball eight times for 99 yards on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2025. Photo: Chris Rodarte/Game Pass Media
Running back Damon Bankston had five receptions for 122 yards and first-half scores from 30 and 84 yards.
The Lobos defense forced two first-half fumbles, winning the turnover margin 2-1 again the nation’s third-leading TO margin team. UNM safety Ky’Won McCray knocked the ball out of Colandrea’s hands late in the first half as the Lobos scored the last 10 points of the first half.
UNLV was plus-10 coming into the game. UNM then shut down the Rebel offense twice in the last 2:48 to seal the victory.
Linebacker Jaxton Eck was all over the field with 13 tackles, and he completed his first pass of the year on a 30-yarder to DeShaun Buchanan during an appropriate fake-punt gamble against Vegas.
Lobo fans celebrate with the Zia flags at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV. Photo: Chris Rodarte/Game Pass Media
Luke Drzywiecki connected on two field goal, including a season-long 46-yarder in the first half. And punter Daniel Hughes pinned the Rebels at their 2-yard line with no timeouts and 49 seconds left in the game.
“We had to show great resolve, and I knew UNLV would show great resolve,” Eck said. “I knew they weren’t going to quit, and they kept coming. But proud of the way we kept responding. What a great last touchdown drive and the defense getting two stops at the end of the game, the great pin punt by Daniel Hughes.”
