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| Wednesday, October 4 New Mexico getting hot behind Caamano By Ed Graney Special to ESPN.com | ||||||||
The idea was to first be more competitive and hope it translated into
wins.
You know, like hoping more first downs means more touchdowns, like hoping your quarterback can operate the option without tripping over himself.
Like hoping you can be better than your history suggests.
New Mexico's football team began this season like it has many, which is
to say not very well. Three straight losses.
Handled at Texas Tech. Blown out by Boise State. Fell to Oregon State.
Then the Lobos managed to edge New Mexico State 16-13.
Then everything began to click.
Air Force The Falcons are in the conference race at 2-1, but on Saturday switch into Commander in Chief's trophy mode by hosting winless Navy. Air Force has won 13 CIC trophies, compared to six for Army and five for Navy. The competition ended in a tie four times. "It's a very, very important goal for our program each year," said Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry. "It's a very important game and objective." ... The Falcons still lead the conference in rushing with a 307.5 average, but managed just 219 against UNLV. "I'm not concerned," DeBerry said. "We got ourselves in position to score, but didn't get it done." ... DeBerry was most impressed with UNLV's defensive effort in his team's 34-13 loss. "Their secondary was a strength last year, but now they have linebackers who can really run and who play hard," DeBerry said. "They have exceptional athletes who are very active." BYU It's now Charlie Peterson's team. The junior takes over at quarterback after Bret Engemann separated his shoulder in a 42-14 loss at Syracuse. Engemann was scheduled for surgery Tuesday, will later have ankle surgery and is done for the season. Peterson is 59-of-108 for 657 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. "We have a lot of confidence in (Peterson)," said coach LaVell Edwards. "When he has played, he has played well. He'll do a good job for us." ... Saying things get easier for the Cougars now is like saying Edwards' career made an impact on the passing game. BYU played its first six games in 36 days against opponents that are a combined 18-8. The final six games are spread over 55 days and come against teams that are a combined 9-19. A winning record is required for a bowl game, so BYU needs five wins off a slate of Utah State, San Diego State, Wyoming, Colorado State, New Mexico and Utah. "We feel good about our chances," Edwards said. "But it's one thing to talk about it and another to go out and do it." Colorado State CSU is still the team to beat for a conference title, but its fortunes may depend on the health of speedy wide-receiver/kick returner Dallas Davis. The senior sat out CSU's 45-14 rout of Nevada and is suffering from a hip flexor and pulled hamstring. Davis played as a true freshman and has a redshirt season available, but the cutoff for qualifying for a medical hardship is three games. He sat out the fourth. "He's definitely not 100 percent," said CSU coach Sonny Lubick. "It's a tough situation, but I always leave the (option of redshirting) up to the player and doctors. He's still trying to get himself ready to play." ... Lubick is anxious to begin conference play after a non-league slate that included a second straight win against Colorado and a last-play loss at Arizona State. CSU still owns what many league teams lack ... an aggressive, opportunistic defense that finishes plays. "I want to see where we stack up against people in our league," Lubick said. "Maybe I'll feel differently after we get into it, but there is something about the conference that is very exciting." Especially when you have won or shared four of the past seven championships. New Mexico Just last week, a day after the Lobos struggled to beat Division I-AA Northern Arizona, the Web site FireYourCoach.com launched a page for Rocky Long. San Diego State coach Ted Tollner also has such a page in his honor this season. But consider: Long's three-year mark of 10-19 is just one victory fewer than former coach Dennis Franchione had after 29 games. In his fourth season, Franchione went 9-4 and advanced the Lobos to the Insight.com Bowl ... The Lobos defensively are yielding 311.5 yards, better than any New Mexico team coached by Franchione. New Mexico now has 24 sacks and is on pace to challenge the school record of 53 in 1982. UNLV UNLV 34, Air Force 13. "It's one of the biggest wins around here for quite some time," said UNLV coach John Robinson. "We did everything right. It opened the door a crack for us to become a force as a program. It certainly didn't push the door open, but it gave us a small crack. It was nice for us. It gives everyone here a chance to say 'Wow, this might actually happen.' " ... Our pick for conference MVP of the week: UNLV defensive coordinator Mike Bradeson. Holding Air Force to 219 yards rushing -- Wow. ... Much of the blame for the team's 10-7 loss at BYU two weeks ago was directed at the offensive line. But someone lit a spark under the large men up front, because much of the credit for 483 yards against Air Force goes to those players. "We had good concentration against their blitz and gave our quarterback time to make plays and be successful," Robinson said ... The Thomas Duo (no relation) did it again. Jason, the quarterback whose weekly play is drawing national attention, completed 16-of-22 for 259 yards and one score while running for 57 yards and another TD. Kevin, the cornerback, held Air Force junior and league-leading receiver Ryan Fleming to three receptions for 47 yards. San Diego State The Aztecs come off their bye and open conference play at Wyoming. Six of eight MWC teams have played at least one league game. Already, five have a loss. This is the kind of motivation you use when beginning a season like SDSU at 0-4. "This thing is up for grabs," said coach Ted Tollner. "If you want it bad enough and want to pay the price and not just talk about it, it's possible. It's all out there for everyone. It gives us a lot to play for. It's not like we have to create an optimistic situation. It's right there for us." ... A welcome sight for a reeling offensive line: Sophomore guard Johnathan Ingram has returned after missing three games with a knee injury ... Athletic director Rick Bay on the team's play: "I'm at a loss. We don't seem to be able to capitalize and give ourselves any momentum. I don't really understand it. I'm just disappointed. You look across the country and see a Toledo beating Penn State and an Ohio beating Minnesota. You would think we would get one of those. All you can say at this point is, thank God we have a re-start of sorts with the conference schedule." Utah If there is such a thing as a good 1-4 team (there is), the Utes qualify. Ron McBride's squad followed a solid effort against Air Force with its first win by spanking Utah State 35-14. The Utes now enjoy a bye before traveling to San Diego State on Oct. 14. "If we can keep playing this way, we'll be all right and things will take care of themselves in conference," McBride said ... It's no surprise as Utah looks more and more like the team picked to win the league last month, quarterback Darnell Arceneaux gets better each snap. The senior threw for 186 yards and ran for 82 more against Utah State and has improved his efficiency rating to 115.9, fifth best in conference. "We still have a long ways to go," Arceneaux said. "It's not like we have played our best football yet. But getting the first win helps." ... Adam Tate rushed 32 times for 136 touchdowns and three scores and can thank in part the blocking of a new tight end/H-back. Nick Morgan, who started the season in Utah's backfield, has been moved. "It's not the ideal position for me," Morgan said. "But if this is my role, so be it. I'm ready." Morgan's running back days were numbered following two key fumbles against Washington State. Wyoming First-year coach Vic Koenning joked after his team lost 45-10 to New Mexico that he might need to borrow a few bodies from Laramie High. Or maybe he wasn't joking. The Cowboys are a physical and emotional mess right now, having lost six starters for the season to injury and 18 other players for significant time due to sprains and strains. "There are no miracle cures," Koenning said. "There aren't many words to describe what has happened. We have to deal with it and go on. We can't forfeit. We can't just give up. We just have too many players who shouldn't be getting this much time at this stage of their careers." ... Nose guard Jeff Boyle (knee) is the latest to go down, leaving the Cowboys with a defensive front that resembles more a group of linebackers. "Our biggest lineman is now in the 255-pound range," Koenning said. "After that, we drop off to 235 pounds." Ed Graney covers college football for the San Diego Union Tribune and can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com | ALSO SEE Big East notebook Big Ten notebook Big 12 notebook Big West notebook MAC notebook WAC notebook | |||||||
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