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