To Eck With Mendenhall; Turquoise-Laden Lobo Football Team Dominates Utah State
Jaxton Eck (6) and Brett Karhu (45) celebrate after a safety sack in the first half on Saturday, Oct. 25th at University Stadium against Utah State. Photo: Chris Rodarte/Game Pass Media
There’s an All-Points Bulletin out for the University of New Mexico football team. Last seen wearing turquoise, last known direction – bowl bound; wanted for animal cruelty:
Beating up a defenseless Bronco.
The Lobos put on their best display of the Jason Eck era, pummeling former UNM coach Bronco Mendenhall and the Utah State Aggies 33-14 before 20,097 fans on a perfect Saturday afternoon at University Stadium.
Not only did the game put UNM (5-3, 2-2 Mountain West) on the verge of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016, it closed the book on the Mendenall-returning-to-his-own-scene-of-the-crime saga on the New Mexico South Campus.
“We kinda got dumped, you can say,” said Eck, who picked up the Lobo program that Mendenhall deserted, about the game’s subplot. “You want to make sure the next time you see that person who dumped you, you don’t look all disheveled and look like a mess and stuff. I think we did a good job of showing that wasn’t the case today. We’re looking pretty good.”
Offense, defense and special teams all scored in a dominant performance, harkening to the 2016 season when UNM went 9-4 and won the New Mexico Bowl.
Much-critiqued quarterback Jack Layne outplayed his counterpart, Utah State’s Bryson Barnes. Layne completed 17 of 22 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. Most important: no interceptions.
D.J. McKinney (4) and Dorian Thomas (7) celebrate after a big play. Photo: Chris Rodarte/Game Pass Media
Barnes was 13 of 23 for 164 yards and a costly interception in the end zone that ended a red-zone possession. Coming in, he was USU’s second leading rusher at 51.9 yard per game but was held to four yards against the Lobos.
New Mexico broke out another tight end weapon in freshman Cade Keith, who had seven receptions for 104 yards and a 40-yard TD reception that gave the home team a 26-7 lead just before halftime.
UNM scored a first-half safety on a Jaxton Eck tackle in the end zone after Lobo punter Daniel Hughes pinned the Aggies (4-4, 2-2) on their 1 – a theme Hughes would replicate throughout the game.
The only drama on Saturday came when Utah State overcame a third-and-14 on their 9 and marched 87 yards to cut the Lobos lead to 26-14 with 12:49 left in the game. On their ensuing possession, the Lobos faced a fourth-and-1 on their 34 when the ever-aggressive Eck called a fake punt reverse with Deshaun Buchanan making an Aggies defender miss and running 14 yards for the first down.
UNM sealed the game later on the drive on a 41-yard Damon Bankston touchdown run for a 33-14 edge with 8:29 left.
Mendenhall guided the Lobos to a 5-7 campaign in his first and only season as UNM head coach in 2024. Also a former defensive coordinator at New Mexico from 1998-2002, Mendenhall escaped the Land of Enchantment faster than you can say “Rocky Long.”
Enter the high-risk, high-reward Eck, who was as aggressive Saturday as Mendenhall was passive.
And on this day, fortune favored the bold.
Trailing by 19 on three different drives, Mendenhall opted to punt on fourth-and-4 at the UNM 41 before the half, on fourth-and-4 at midfield early in the third quarter and on fourth-and-9 at the Lobos 38 later in the third.
“They were pretty conservative,” Eck mused. “There were a few times I thought they should’ve went for it and they punted, it surprised me. … Whatever they want to do.
“Coaching your team should be a reflection of your personality and how you approach things. I want to be an aggressive team, I want to be a team that’s not afraid of making mistakes.”
Except for a Miles Davis 64-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, the Lobos played flawless football in the game’s first 30 minutes in all three phases.
D.J McKinney gave the Lobos special teams a spark, returning a punt 49 yards for the game’s first score.
The defense rode safety CJ McBean’s first-half interception in the end zone and Jaxton Eck’s safety-inducing tackle of USU running back Noah White – all contributing to UNM’s 26-7 halftime edge.
The Lobos won the turnover battle for the first time this season, 1-0.
In retrospect, Mendenhall leaving could have been the best thing to happen to a New Mexico program who won its first four home games of the season for the first time since 1962.
“Like (his dad) said, I’m grateful Bronco left and we got to be here,” Jaxton Eck said. “I knew some guys on the team took it kind of personal. It was a really big win.”
Added Keith, “I think coach Eck has done a great job since he got here just embracing Albuquerque and embracing the community, making Albuquerque his. He said from the beginning he is going to make this a football school, and that’s exactly what he’s done.”
Which makes that community say, thanks for leaving, Bronco. UNM got an Eck of a deal with your departure. Not sorry for the horse-kicking.
