Thoughts on the Lobos

Some thoughts regarding the New Mexico Lobos’ 62-30 opening-night victory over Incarnate Word on Saturday:

1. The talent gap that exists between UNM and its next opponent, Wisconsin, is greater than that between UNM and Incarnate Word. Next Saturday’s game at Camp Randall promises to be the every bit the bloodbath one would expect. 
2. Of course, giving up 30 points to an FCS team that went 1-10 last year is cause for grave concern. Yet, UNM’s defensive performance was not as bad as those 30 points — and even the yield of 566 yards —might suggest. After UIW kicked a field goal to trim the Lobos’ lead to 28-16 with 1:01 left in the second quarter, UNM held the Cardinals scoreless for the next 20:51. During that span, UIW managed just 44 yards on 18 plays. The Cardinals’ last two touchdowns, and 161 of those yards, came against a UNM defense populated almost totally with backups. You like to get your backups experience, though you might wish they’d played better than they did. And, even in the early going when UIW scored those 16 points, we didn’t see opposing receivers running wide open in the UNM secondary. As different as UIW’s Mike Leach-style offense is from the triple option that the Lobos have run for the past six years, it is aimed at accomplishing the same thing — compensating for personnel disadvantages through scheme. Cardinals quarterback Jon Copeland made some good throws to receivers who made good catches. The Lobos’ biggest defensive failure, by far, was two missed tackles that enabled UIW running back Ra’Quanne Dickens to go 90 yards for a TD that made the score 28-13 midway through the second quarter.
3. Lobos quarterback Tevaka Tuioti had a nice game, and his overall performance was encouraging. But he did have two turnovers — an interception and a fumble — and got away with some of those wishing-and-hoping throws that got him into trouble last season. He also needs to make better decisions on the read option and be more decisive on the give vs. the keep. I liked what Sheriron Jones did when he got his opportunity in the fourth quarter.
4. It remains to be seen whether the Lobos have a game-breaker in the backfield, a la Kasey Carrier, Jhurell Pressley, Teriyon Gipson and even the Tyrone Owens of two seasons ago. That guy certainly isn’t Zahneer Shuler, who had UNM’s longest run of Saturday’s game — 67 yards — but looked as if he had two pianos on his back for the final 20 or so. Owens, Shuler and Ahmari Davis are at the very least useful running backs, and Daveon Vigilant and Clovis walk-on Micah Gray may be as well. But if there’s a big-play guy in the mix, we haven’t seen him yet. 
5. I find it interesting that, of the junior-college offensive lineman UNM brought in as part of the 2018 recruiting class, only one — center Kyle Stapley — is starting. Jarred Sylvester and David Zavala weren’t signed to be backups, but they’ve been unable to beat out incumbents Charlie Grammel and Chris Estrella. Does that simply mean Grammel and Estrella are better and stronger players than they were last year? The Incarnate Word game certainly offers no proof.

6. What an opening game of this sort actually means often can’t be sorted out until mid-season — if it even turns out to mean anything. Likely, the same thing can be said about the next Saturday’s body-bag adventure at Camp Randall. In a very real sense, the Lobos’ season opener will come on Sept. 15 in Las Cruces.  

1. This probably should have been thought No. 5, but it does appear the Lobos have some game-breakers at receiver. We knew that about Jay Griffin IV from last year, but the move of Elijah Lilly from cornerback to slot receiver has already paid major dividends. I wish I could identify which of his fellow wideouts threw the terrific block that sprung him on his 51-yard TD catch, but I’ve been unable to see the number. And there’s no question that Magee’s scheme will make the outside receivers — Delane Hart-Johnson, Patrick Reed and hopefully Q’ Drennan, if his nasty-looking injury Saturday proves not to be season-ending, far more a consistent threat than in the past.