Humphrey Stars Again — This Time FOR Lobos

Written By Ryan Tomari

New Mexico Rallies From Adversity, Deficit To Give Coach Jason Eck His First Lobo Win

UNM running back Damon Bankston runs along the sideline at University Stadium. UNM head football coach Jason Eck earned his first victory with the program on Saturday with a 32-22 win over Idaho State. Photo courtesy of UNM Athletics

If last Saturday was a moral victory, the first Saturday at University Stadium in 2025 was one of survival.

UNM head football coach Jason Eck and the Lobos fended off Idaho State, 32-22, with 15 unanswered points over the final 7:17 of the game.

It’s the first win for Eck - and new UNM athletic director Fernando Lovo - at the helm of their respective positions.

“We had some adversity and I loved the way we finished the last few series of the game,” Eck said. “A lot of stuff we need to improve on, though.”

The Lobos scored on one-yard touchdown runs from Damon Bankston (7:17 remaining) and Scottre Humphrey (1:48 left) to erase a five-point Bengals lead.

Humphrey - who transferred to UNM from FCS Montana State during the offseason - rushed 18 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns

Humphrey’s biggest play of the day was a 61-yard scoring dash with 7:34 left in the second quarter.

The third-longest rushing touchdown of his career put UNM up 14-3.

“It’s a great win for the guys, but it wasn’t the result we wanted with how close it was,” Humphrey said.

It was a bit of déjà vu for Humphrey, too.

A year ago, he led Montana State to a 35-31 win at University Stadium in the Lobos' season opener.

“I don’t try to look back on any other game I’ve had,” Humphrey said.

It would be tough to blame him if he did. Humphrey rushed for 140 yards on 19 carries and scored the game-winning touchdown last year.

On Saturday, UNM tight end Dorian Thomas was again his team's leading receiver. After 10 receptions, 71 yards, and two touchdowns last week against Michigan, Thomas led the Lobos had five catches for 54 yards against the Bengals.He also caught a floater from quarterback Jack Layne on a two-point conversion that put UNM up 25-22.

Layne, who threw the ball 47 times with three interceptions against Michigan, led a more run-oriented game plan from the quarterback position.

Layne went 13 of 21 for 155 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

“You gotta be able to throw it when people know you’re gonna throw it. That’s how you become a really good team, “Eck said. “And you gotta run it when they know you’re gonna run it.”

The UNM defense had the lone takeaway of the day.

ISU quarterback Davis Harsin was intercepted by Cleveland High School product David Murphy on a tipped pass at the UNM 2-yard line. The pick ended a time-consuming Bengals drive that ate up 63 yards and 6:13 on the clock.

“Thought it was great to see a guy from New Mexico, David Murphy, making a big play in the red zone to get that turnover,” Eck said. “We've got to keep getting better at creating turnovers.”

Idaho State played a pair of quarterbacks with its starter, Jordan Cooke, out against UNM.

Harsin and Jackson Sharman shared time and went a combined 28 of 39 for 265 yards.

“You just gotta stay calm; we didn’t panic or press when (Idaho State) got up,” linebacker Jaxton Eck said. “You just gotta keep trusting each other and keep playing hard.”

Eck had a game-high 15 tackles.

It’s a short week for UNM. It travels to Pasadena, Calif., to play UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Friday.

Ryan Tomari

Host of The University of New Mexico-centric sports show “The Pit Press Live!” and “The Pit Press Podcast,” Ryan Tomari wrote the famous prognosticating column that led to former UNM head coach Mike Locksley’s infamous blowup at ABQ Uptown Sports Bar. Tomari is equal parts New Jersey and New Mexico, although his tenure in the Land of Enchantment is more successful than 2-26. It took him a decade to get his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of New Mexico. Still thinking two plus two is five, he’s a statistics class away from a print journalism degree, but he doesn’t really need it after spending his college years at the Daily Lobo, the beloved and bedraggled independent voice known affectionately by students as “The Daily Low Blow.” Rising to sports editor, Tomari covered the failed Locksley experiment, New Mexicans’ jilted love affair with former UNM men’s head basketball coach Steve Alford and the abrupt retirement of former UNM women’s head basketball coach. He worked in media relations for the Albuquerque Isotopes. He spent a year with the Albuquerque Journal before returning closer to his family roots in Central New Jersey, where he worked for CBS Sports, cutting highlights and doing research during live broadcasts of NFL, college football and basketball games. Tomari loves the tortured New York Mets, and joyously took in David Tyree’s miracle-helmet catch and Mario Manningham’s toe-tapping “insurance” clutchness that aided the New York Giants’ blissful Super Bowl runs. A sports nerd, Tomari has an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball and still regrets not approaching baseball icon Tony Gwynn at Bandido Hideout decades ago. He misses his late father, Stephen, a Rutgers graduate who started his Ph.D. at Wichita State University before moving to New Mexico to take a job at Sandia Labs. And he enjoyed every moment of Wichita State’s magical tourney run in 2013. Tomari has a 7-year-old son, Aidan, who loves his home state because it’s “not that new and not that old,” prefers green over red chile and considers 1990s Homer Simpson the “best thing since sliced bread.” His radio personality is a little bit Jim Rome and a little bit Jay Mohr – sharp, comedic and endearing. He’ll never regret calling the new Lobo men’s head basketball coach “Rich” on air. Strike that Richard Pitino.

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ARCHULETA: Lobo Victory Over Idaho State Like Eating a Bowl of Vegetables