DESERT STORM: UNM Has Dominant Second Half in Rivarly Win
Lobos flex muscles on both sides of the ball against Aggies in front of raucous crowd
UNM defensive lineman Brett Karhu sacks NMSU quarterback Logan Fife in the Lobos’ 38-20 win over the Aggies on Saturday at University Stadium. UNM sold out University Stadium for the first time since 2007. Chris Rodate/GamePass
The buzz was tangible.
But could the performance live up to the hype going into the 115th meeting between UNM and NMSU on the gridiron?
In the second half, it did for the Lobos.
The UNM football team dominated the second half against its in-state rival, shut the Aggies down and rolled to a 38-20 win.
“I thought in the first half they played harder than us,” UNM head football coach Jason Eck said. “It was the Lobos beating the Lobos.”
The Lobos walked into the locker room down 17-14.
The second half was a different tale.
UNM outscored NMSU 24-3 in the second half.
“That’s on me and I’ve got to do a better job getting these guys better for a rivalry game,” Eck said. “I thought we corrected that in the second half.”
Transfer quarterback Jack Layne played another efficient game in his short stint with UNM.
He was 23-of-30 for 303 yards and four touchdowns.
The dagger was an eight-yarder to running back Scottre Humphrey with 5:09 left in the game. It put UNM up 18.
“A lot of our explosive passing plays this year have been a lot of runs,” Layne said. “And today it was good to get some of those explosive plays in the pass game. If teams are going to test us (in the run game), we have to get it down the field (in the pass game), which we did today.”
Wide receivers Keagan Johnson and Shawn Miller and tight end Cade Keith all caught touchdown passes today.
All firsts as a member of the UNM football program.
Despite suffering from some injuries that sidelined him earlier in the year, Johnson stepped up big against NMSU. He had five receptions for 118 yards and one touchdown.
Eck said that if teams load the box with eight or nine defenders, they will use Layne and throw the ball.
“We’ll continually do that,” Eck said. “If we can hurt (opponents) over the top and get big plays in the passing game.”
With 11:37 left in the game and with the lead for the first time, Eck and offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner finally went to a trick play.
A wide receiver pass.
Michael Buckley hit Johnson from 41 yards out and the Lobos jumped to a 31-20 lead.
“The trick play was – that was designed more to go to Cade Keith (rather than Johnson),” Eck said. “But the (NMSU defender) covering him kind of recognized it was a trick play and went to cover Cade and left his own guy wide open.”
While the offense was at maybe its best this season, the defense was as well.
Led by another Idaho transfer that followed Eck to Albuquerque, edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby.
James-Newby had 2.5 sacks on the day and helped the Lobos’ defense to nine sacks of NMSU quarterback Logan Fife.
The nine sacks on the day tie a school record and mark the fifth time it has occurred in program history.
“This is what I needed from my boys,” James-Newby said.
UNM held NMSU to 15 total rushing yards on 30 attempts.
UNM is on a short week.
The Lobos will head to San Jose State on Friday for the teams first Mountain West Conference game of the year.
