Cougars  24    Lobos  19

(22) B-Y-U (7-2) at New Mexico (0-9)

Sports Network | November 11, 2009

GAME NOTES: Once again the team with the nation's second-longest losing streak tries to work its way into the win column this weekend as the New Mexico Lobos entertain the 22nd-ranked BYU Cougars in Mountain West Conference action in Albuquerque.

Aside from Western Kentucky, no team in the Football Bowl Subdivision has been as inept as the Lobos this season. The skid is now 13 games and counting since UNM took care of San Diego State by a 70-7 score on October 18, 2008. The team has lost nine consecutive conference and road games and five in a row at home since the slide began.

Former New Mexico head coach Rocky Long, now a coordinator with San Diego State, opted to leave his post with the Lobos last season, which opened the door for new head coach Mike Locksley who has had his issues both on and off the field in his brief tenure.

Last week, Locksley saw his squad give up three touchdowns in the third quarter en route to a 45-14 loss against nationally-ranked Utah and all the coach could say afterwards was, "The momentum swing hit us."

As for the Cougars, they took a week off after being pummeled by TCU, 38-7, in one of the most anticipated MWC matchups in recent memory back on October 24th. Last weekend, BYU came back with a vengeance as it dropped a 52-0 decision on the Wyoming Cowboys to move to 7-2 on the season and jump a few spots in the national rankings. The win was the fifth in the last six games for BYU and head coach Bronco Mendenhall and was the second straight shutout for the Cougars over the Cowboys following a 44-0 thumping a year ago in Provo.

Last season, BYU posted a 21-3 win in the annual meeting with UNM, pushing the Cougars to a commanding 43-14-1 mark in the series.

On his way to being named a Co-Offensive Player of the Week in the MWC, quarterback Max Hall was nearly perfect in his dissection of the Wyoming defense in Laramie. Hall missed on just two of his 22 pass attempts, putting up 312 yards and four touchdowns in the onslaught. The rushing attack was equally effective with 231 yards and three TDs on 45 attempts. Receiver JJ DiLuigi turned his five catches into 94 yards and a pair of scores.

Obviously the defense for the Cougars was up to the challenge as it held the Cowboys to a mere 112 yards on the ground and just 113 yards through the air as Robert Benjamin, Karsten Sween and Austyn Carta-Samuels all tried to break the code against the BYU secondary.

While Hall was earning accolades for his efforts on offense, Jan Jorgensen was being named the MWC Defensive Player of the Week as he led the Cougars with his six tackles and 1,5 sacks.

"After watching the game film and just kind of verifying thoughts on the game, I think it was one of the cleanest games we've played this year," coach Mendenhall said of his team's effort at Wyoming. "In all phases; offense, defense and special teams, our team looked fast, we looked fresh and we played really physical."

Donovan Porterie and B.R. Holbrook both threw touchdown passes for the Lobos last weekend, but by no means was that nearly enough in the team's lopsided loss to 17th-ranked Utah in Salt Lake City. Porterie converted 15-of-32 passes for 186 yards, but he was also picked off twice, Holbrook adding a mere 66 yards in the outing.

The Lobos failed to get any real production from running backs as they finished with a meager 82 yards on 29 attempts, led by Kasey Carrier who posted 54 yards on 11 tries.

Even though the Utes ran just seven more offensive plays, somehow New Mexico permitted a whopping 557 yards to the home team, an average of more than seven yards a pop. Carmen Messina was yet again the top tackler for the Lobos with his 19 stops, nine of which were solo takedowns. Clint McPeek added 10 tackles and a fumble recovery, but it all made very little difference in the long run.

"All our losses have been tough and it isn't getting any easier," commented coach Locksley. "Somehow, we have to find a way."

But finding a way probably won't happen this weekend either because UNM has yet to really prove that it can put together a solid effort on both sides of the ball for 60 minutes and trying to do so against a ranked team like BYU almost doesn't seem fair.

At this point the Lobos are ranked eighth in the conference and 110th in the nation in rushing with just 92.8 ypg, some of which has to do with the fact that the offensive line has been rather brutal in its protection. After nine games New Mexico quarterbacks have been taken down behind the line an average of 3.3 times per contest, most in the MWC and 114th in the nation entering play this week.

If not for a minor scoring burst against Texas Tech, another team that tends to let defense be an afterthought, the Lobos would be even worse than they are in the scoring department which has them ranked last in the league and 117th in the country with just 15.3 ppg.

On the other side of the ball the Lobos are permitting a hefty 36.6 ppg, a number that has them again ranked ninth in the MWC and 112th in the nation and could easily expand this weekend given the propensity for BYU's offense to explode on weak opponents.

With his 14.1 tackles per game Messina continues to lead the nation in that department, but at some point he's going to have to catch a break and get his teammates to be involved as well.

"From about the middle of the third quarter on we had a chance to play so many other players that that really took some of the volume off our other players (starters) as well which is a positive thing," coach Mendenhall noted when commenting on not having any serious injuries to worry about following the Wyoming meeting.

Running back Harvey Unga, who leads the team with his 783 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, did tweak his ankle versus the Cowboys and sat out for a time, but even though he was cleared to return the score didn't warrant him going back in.

Having the ability to switch players like that has been crucial to the team's success this season, and perhaps nowhere is it more evident than in the receiving aspect of the game. Right now there are a total nine players with double-digit receptions and at least 100 yards through the air and all but one of them has ended up in the end zone. What's really amazing is that, with 22 touchdown passes this season, the Cougars have had nine players score through the air.

Clearly Hall has not been playing favorites this season, while converting 70.6 percent of his attempts for 282.6 ypg, which is just one other reason why this group can be so dangerous when it is on top of its game.

Although coach Mendenhall doesn't necessarily believe in running up the score, at this point in the season the Cougars might have to put up some more lopsided wins in order to swing voters to their side. Even if BYU isn't trying to pour it on Saturday afternoon, the results will still probably be similar anyway.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: BYU 49, New Mexico 7