SB Nation - Donovan Porterie

New Mexico Finally Gets First Win of the Year

Jeremy Mauss — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:35:03 -0000

Final - 11.21.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado St. Rams	7	7	7	6	27
New Mexico Lobos	7	10	6	6	29

Complete Coverage >

The New Mexico Lobos finally got head their first victory of the year and the first victory for head coach Mike Locksley. On the other hand Colorado State has lost eight in row and is now sitting at 3-8 on the year, with the Border War game against rival Wyoming this Friday. This game went back and forth the entire way, but it was New Mexico who was able to get a pair of field goals to hold of the Rams.

Colorado State benched QB Jon Eastman in favor of back up Grant Stucker and Eastman did not do too much as he was 9 for 12 with 145 yards with a score and a pick. Eastman did not need to do much as running back John Mossure had a career day with 177 yards and two scores but that was not enough for the Rams.

New Mexico was also lead by two running backs with Demond Dennis who had 133 yards and then Kasey Carrier who had 87 yards. Even with the rushing game leading the way QB Donovan Porterie almost gave away the game in the fourth quarter with a 97 yard interception returned by Colorado State which gave the Rams a late fourth quarter lead. The Lobos did not roll over and their kicker James Aho who had a very bad week last week against BYU came up big with two fourth quarter field goals for the win and three field goals for the game.

The Rams were able to hold the Lobos to 14 third down attempts but New Mexico was able to make plays on third down as they were able to convert six of those, plus they three for four on fourth down conversions. The last drive started for New Mexico on their own forty-five so the distance for a potential game winning field goal was not far off. New Mexico did convert on a crucial fourth and two to keep the drive alive, and then RB Kase Carrier had a 22 yard run on the following play which set up the game winning field goal.

New Mexico Hosts Colorado State as Both Teams Look for a Win

bhsmarine — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:15:10 -0000

Next Game

Colorado St. Rams
@ New Mexico Lobos

Saturday, Nov 21, 2009, 3:00 PM PST
University Stadium

TV: The Mtn HD

Complete Coverage >

New Mexico (0-10, 0-6) look to get in the win column versus Colorado State (3-7, 0-6). Good news for one team is they will get their first win in a long time, bad news is one team will keep an ugly losing streak alive. For all intents and purposes this is New Mexico's last shot at a win this year as they travel to #4 TCU next week. CSU is in a seven game skid and this is their best chance to get out of it. Catch the rest after the jump...

For Colorado State Grant Stucker has kept his job as the starting quarterback. What remains to be seen is if Steve Fairchild has any confidence in him what so ever to pass the ball more then 5 yards. Luckily they have emerging running back Leonard Mason and a bye week to prepare for the worst team in the MWC. Mason would be a more common name around the MWC had his emergence not come during a 7 game losing streak. Mason leads the Rams with 647 yards and has yet to fall below 4 yards per carry average in a game.

On defense CSU has been awful. From the play calling to the execution it has not been pretty to watch. This week they need to get back to fundamentals they got them wins early in the season. Stopping the run game should be the priority for the Rams so they can stick in this game.

New Mexico is the only team worse then CSU at converting 3rd downs and if they want to win they needs to change. Their running game will need to step up so QB Donovan Porterie is not stuck in 3rd and long situations. That job will fall to RB James Wright and his 6.5 yard per carry average. New Mexico out gained BYU last week in a close loss, they should try and build on that effort.

As I just mentioned New Mexico almost pulled off an upset last week over BYU. That was mainly due to two forced turnovers by the defense. If they can pick off Grant Stucker then they have a legitimate shot at their first win. Stopping the Rams running game should be the focus as the coaching staff has lost faith in Stuckers deep ball. The Lobos should be able to stack eight in the box and stop the Rams short game.

It might be an entertaining game just cause the teams are evenly matched. Great football? Not exactly, but watchable as two teams should be wearing each other out for a victory they both desperately want.

Making the Rounds: 11/19/09

Jeremy Mauss — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:55:00 -0000

MWC News: A potential Mountain West champ vs. WAC champ game on championship weekend? I think that is a terrible idea neither league benefits from that. So is a Western Football Classic featuring the champs from the Pac-10, MWC, WAC, then an at large. No need to bang out a monster piece on the pros and cons of either but this benefits no one but the winner in a MWC/WAC game, and does nothing for the Pac-10. Bill Hancock named first full time BCS executive director, so what does that mean for the MWC.

Air Force

Being overlooked is that this could be one of the best football seasons in Air Force Falcon history within the turnover margin. Do the Falcons play dirty, BYU thinks so?

BYU

The 2010 football recruiting class is gaining post season awards and the savior Jake Heaps tossed seven TD's in the opening round of the Washington state high school playoffs. Air Force columnist calls out BYU in big games this year.

New Mexico

Head Coach Mike Locksley has turned to Tony Dungy for assistance as a mentor. QB Donovan Porterie said the team had plenty of chances to beat BYU.

San Diego State

The football teams graduation rate is slipping. AD Jeff Schemmel resigns for trying to get reimbursed by the school for an affair he was having.

TCU

Head Coach Gary Patterson will not politic for a spot in the BCS title game. Give TCU more respect! How does TCU stack up against the Florida Gators.

UNLV

Not many people are surprised with the Mike Sanford firing. The replacements for Sanford is a large number. Runnin' Rebels come from behind to defeat rival Nevada-Reno in hoops. Dennis Franchione is also being considered for the UNLV job. This would be his third MWC school as he coached at New Mexico and TCU at those jobs he did a very good job.

Utah

What Ute team will show up against San Diego State on Saturday. How will the Utes respond after their first conference loss in over a year.

Wyoming

Defense is getting a new look for the TCU game, also this game gives the Pokes a great chance for an upset.

What We Learned From Week Ten In Mountain West Football

Jeremy Mauss — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:15:45 -0000

Air Force

The Falcons should be given an assist for putting the final nail in now ex-UNLV head coach MIke Sanford. All they did was rush 71 times for 431 yards for a 6.1 clip per play, and six touchdowns. Air Force wraps up their regular season against BYU next week in an effort to get to eight wins. Side not on the Falcons, all of their losses have by 7, 3, and 7.

Colorado State

They were on the bye week which was a must need for the Rams, and are geared up for a near shoe-in win when they take on the oh-fer New Mexico Lobos on the road. Maybe the Rams from week one through three will show up after a week of no games and regained their focus.

New Mexico

Sound! The! Alarm! the New Mexico Lobos almost won their game against BYU. If kicker James Aho could have made his missed field goal and extra point attempts the Lobos would have that ugly zero removed from the front of their record. Seriously, QB Donovan Porterie showed some life as they had multiple drives of moving and picking apart the BYU defense. Their last hope for a win is at home against equally bad Colorado State; that will be a toss up.

San Diego State

That fourth quarter must be making Brady Hoke steam, after giving up 24 fourth quarter points to lose by three. Aztecs were in a good position to go to a bowl game, but now they must beat Utah and UNLV both on the road. SDSU has improved, but that lapse could carry over for the rest of the season.

TCU

Dominate. That is all what could fit in this spot, but the Horned Frogs are legit and deserve a shot at the BCS title, but for that to go down they need help from the top three rivals. In Saturday's beat down over Utah the Horned Frogs had their first 100 yard rusher against an FBS opponent when redshirt frosh Ed Wesley went for 137 yards on 12 carries. TCU is dominant on both sides of the ball and looks to be the best team in Mountain West history -- even better then the 2004 Utah team that was very, very good.

UNLV

Fifth straight losing season and your coach gets fired all in the same weekend sums up a bad weekend for the Rebels. This team baffles everyone because they have an offense that has shown signs of being able to go toe-to-toe with the best in the Moungain West, but their defense is terrible. Sanford is coaching the season out, but lets see if the team quits with him.

Utah

Not as good as I thought. TCU ate them apart, and yet again the Utes lost a fumble from their return man not being able to hold onto the ball. QB Jordan Wynn did make a few good throws, coupled with WR David Reed bailing him out at times. The supposed tough rushing defense gave up over 300 yards on the ground and allowed TCU's first 100 yards rusher all season against an FBS team.

Wyoming

What a comeback, and to be lead by a true frosh QB Austyn Carta-Samuels. That win over San Diego State means a bowl berth comes down to the Border War on the road against rival Colorado State. The Pokes are doing the best job with a new head coach and could be going to their first bowl game since the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl where they beat UCLA.

BYU Should Send Thank You Cards to New Mexico Kicker

Jeremy Mauss — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:30:26 -0000

More photos » by JIM THOMPSON - AP

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Final - 11.14.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU Cougars	7	10	7	0	24
New Mexico Lobos	7	0	6	6	19

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Raise your hand if you saw this coming ... anyone... anyone... no one saw this coming; especially myself. The glaring obvious point to make is that the New Mexico Lobo kicker James Aho who missed three field goals, with one being blocked, and a missed extra point. Not going to say that New Mexico would have won even though ten points were left on the field.

BYU was out right terrible in this game, they beat Wyoming 52-0 then sneak by New Mexico? Who knows why BYU did not rush the ball enough, Harvey Unga only ran the ball 11 times for 49 yards and one of those was a 25 yard gain. Overall they rushed for 41 total yards.

Max Hall did have a solid game with 314 yards and two picks and was the man to leave the Cougars over New Mexico. The problem for BYU was their pass defense which was my opinion on the only that New Mexico would be able to stay in this game. Donovan Porterie kept finding players open and had 272 yards and zero picks. The Lobos seemed to be able to move the ball with ease while BYU only occassionally making a stop. The plus two turnover margin by New Mexico kept them in this game, but even those were unable to spark New Mexico to their first win.

Not sure if BYU was uninterested but how is it that they were not able to put away a team that is in the bottom 100 or worse in nearly every major offensive and deffensive statistical category. Expect a hit in the human polls, and even a bigger one in the BCS standings (Utah dropped like a rock in computer rankings after a big win against UNM)

The only great feat that came from this game is that it is the first time that BYU achieved a 6-0 on the road in 25 years. Besdies that BYU was fortunate to get a win against winless New Mexico. They better be careful against Air Force next week, because if they play like this in that game they will lose.

BYU Travels to take on Winless New Mexico

Jeremy Mauss — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:25 -0000

by George Frey - AP

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Next Game

BYU Cougars
@ New Mexico Lobos

Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 11:00 AM PST
University Stadium

TV: The Mtn HD

Complete Coverage >

So how excited are BYU fans for this presumed beat down over New Mexico? The BYU team that everyone that the team could be this year finally showed up against Wyoming in a 52-0 domination on the road in good ol' Laramie. So what is there to expect this week against a team that is much, much worse then Wyoming.

BYU could always use this game to get backups in or get star WR McKay Jacobson back in a groove since this is his second game back from a hamstring injury. This game will be the final tune up before they face pesky Air Force and then Utah in two weeks.

So what is left for New Mexico? They should be playing for pride and getting at least one victory on the year, and this is not the week for that to happen. New Mexico is 100th or worst in every major category and could drop even lower against BYU. The only thing that is a positive for New Mexico is that they throw the ball around to many receivers with five players with twenty catches or more. So, if QB Donovan Porterie can find his old self from 2007 and make this game close for a while.

The BYU corners are not great for them and is a weakness that New Mexico might be able make this game interesting, but that also means that New Mexico must hold off the BYU pass rush. Now, even if New Mexico does throw all over BYU and is succesful they will not be able to keep it up over the game.

There is one very important thing to look for in this game, and that is the Mountain West Sports Network is showing the rest of their games in high definition. That is what to watch for and see how good the HD quality is for The Mtn.

No. 14 Utah rolls against New Mexico 45-14

Michael Rueckert — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:06:56 -0000

More photos » by Colin E. Braley - AP

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Final - 11.7.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
New Mexico Lobos	7	0	0	7	14
Utah Utes	7	10	21	7	45

Complete Coverage >

The No. 14 Utah Utes -- in arguably their best performance or the year -- crushed the winless New Mexico Lobos 45-14. True freshman, Jordan Wynn, in his first ever start was impressive. Wynn completed 18/28 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns. The Ute offense has been struggling all season long, but in this game they rolled.

Eddie Wide broke a school record with his sixth straight 100 yard rushing game, as he ran for 145 yards, with 2 touchdowns, on just 20 carries. Wide wasn't the only Utah running back to rush for 100 yards. Sausan Shakerin rushed for exactly that, on just 16 carries.

Wynn showed us all night why the coaches promoted him to starting quarterback over Terrance Cain. He completed many passes down the field, and led the Utah offense into the endzone time after time. Wynn averaged a gain of 10.6 yards per pass, which is very different than the offense when Cain was the starter. The Utes used less screen passes and many more deep balls. The Utes had 557 yards of total offense on the game.

Jereme Brooks had a career game as well. He had 135 yards receiving on just 6 receptions averaging a staggering 22.5 yards per catch. Brooks caught quite a few of Wynn's downfield passes, and did a much better job this game in not dropping any. He had two touchdowns, one from a long pass, and one off a reverse.

New Mexico scored their first touchdown on a 59 yard pass play from Donovan Porterie to Ty Kirk. Their other touchdown came with just 17 seconds left in the game when the Utes unloaded their bench. The Lobos had a very difficult time moving the ball against the touch Utah defense. It doesn't get any better for the Lobos this season as they lose their 13^th straight game with TCU, and BYU still on their schedule.

The stage is now set for the TCU vs. Utah showdown. Both teams had blowout wins, and this match may be between two Top 10 teams, since four teams ahead of Utah lost today. ESPN's College GameDay may be on hand for what should be one of the biggest games in Mountain West football history.

San Diego State hangs on late against winless New Mexico 23-20

Sam (sdsuaztec4) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:39:27 -0000

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Final - 10.31.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
New Mexico Lobos	3	7	10	0	20
San Diego St. Aztecs	0	16	0	7	23

Complete Coverage >

Tonight, New Mexico was the one with the "moral victory," something San Diego State is all too familiar with, and the Aztecs with the actual victory. New Mexico dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball; Lindley had to rush his throws all night (which was what I said they needed to do to compete) and the Aztecs were not able to get much pressure on Lobo QB Donovan Porterie, who ran for a TD and threw for another. San Diego State was dominated in time of possession as well; early 3rd down conversions for New Mexico kept their offense on the field.

After sustaining 3 early drives in SDSU territory and coming up with 10 points to show for it, the Lobos held the Aztecs scoreless in the first quarter. After giving up an 18 yard TD pass to Alston Umuolo, the Lobo's punter, Adam Miller, muffed the snap in his own end-zone and was crushed for a safety. Ryan Lindley lead a successful two-minute drill which ended on Demarco Sampson's first TD catch of the day, a fade route to the back of the end-zone.

The Aztecs took a 16-10 lead into the half, but New Mexico still lead the time of possession battle by a long shot, and SDSU could not stop the Lobo running game. After another FG, the Lobos took a 4th quarter lead at 20-16 that was short lived. Aztec QB Lindley drove down 80 yards finishing with Sampson's 2nd TD catch of the game, a beautiful catch in the back of the end-zone over the heads of two Lobo defenders. After the Aztecs took the 23-20 lead, New Mexico had burned all of their time outs and were forced to go to the air, where the quick Aztec DBs were much better suited at stopping.

The game ended on a quasi-controversy when a long 4th down conversion appeared to be made, but replays showed that not only did the WR not come down with the ball inbounds, Porterie had stepped past the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball.

After early 3rd down conversions, the Lobos finished 9/20, which is well above their average but not good enough to win. New Mexico gained more total yards than the Aztecs 383 to 303. An early attempt at a onsides kick and many mistakes by the Lobos probably cost them the game. Porterie and Miller's inability to hold onto the ball cost them as well. Today San Diego State snapped an eight-game losing streak to New Mexico, dating back to Nov. 4, 2000. The Aztecs also claimed their first victory over the Lobos in San Diego since Nov. 4, 1995.

"San Diego State improves to 4-4, marking the first time the Aztecs have been .500 or better this late in the season since the Aztecs ended the 2003 campaign with a 6-6 record. San Diego State snaps an eight-game losing streak to New Mexico and a six-game losing streak at home to the Lobos. The Aztecs improved to 21-15 all-time against UNM. Under Brady Hoke, SDSU has won four times in eight games (4-4). That is the same number of victories the Aztecs had in the 19 games prior to his arrival (4-15)." Game notes via Go Aztecs.com

Preview: New Mexico @ San Diego State on Halloween 10/31

Sam (sdsuaztec4) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:04:49 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

3 months ago: San Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley (14) throws a pass with protection from teammate Brandon Sullivan (23) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Southern Utah Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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Next Game

New Mexico Lobos
@ San Diego St. Aztecs

Saturday, Oct 31, 2009, 4:30 PM PDT
Qualcomm Stadium

Preview: New Mexico @ San Diego State on Halloween 10/31

posted by Sam (sdsuaztec4) 16 minutes ago

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San Diego State defensive coordinator Rocky Long makes his first appearance against his former team, the New Mexico Lobos. San Diego State looks to move to .500 on the year as New Mexico is still searching for its first win of the season. Although the Lobos have yet to win a game this year, the Aztecs are taking them very seriously. Find out why after the jump.

The good news for the Lobos is that today, Coach Hoke has ruled star WR Vincent Brown OUT for the game on Halloween.

Series: SDSU leads 20-15

Time: 4:34 PST

TV: CBS College Sports HD (Yes, I can watch it!)

The Lobos have beaten the Aztecs 8 straight games, including the last 6 at Qualcomm and winning 70-7 last season at New Mexico. In fact, that was the last game the Lobos won.

The Aztecs will be looking to snap a bunch of streaks this week even after they snapped a bunch of streaks last week, where the Aztecs snapped a 10 game road losing streak, not to mention surpassed last year's win total. The Aztecs look to win back to back games for the first time since 2007 and look to reach .500 for the first time since finishing 6-6 in the 2003 season. With Vincent Brown out, the Aztecs will have to rely on Demarco Sampson, Roberto Wallace, Dominique Sandifer, and freshman Preston King. The Aztecs will once again try to get the running game going.

The Lobos will have coach Locksley back for the first game after his suspension, where he had a tough time away from football. They will also have to face former head coach Rocky Long, after he resigned last season. It should be an emotional game for both sides. Rocky Long has said he has not given any special information about his former team in preparation for this game. The Lobos haven't lost at Qualcomm stadium in 14 years and since the WAC days. As you can imagine at 0-7, not much is going right for the Lobos. The will have to stop the weak Aztec running game and force them to go to the air and try to get Ryan Lindley to make mistakes. SDSU has to contain quarterback Donovan Porterie. In the past four games, he’s scored six TDs and completed 60 percent of his passes. The defense of the Aztecs is definitely much weaker than the offense.

Wyoming Takes Out New Mexico in the Cold

Jeremy Mauss — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:49:39 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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Final - 10.10.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
New Mexico Lobos	7	6	0	0	13
Wyoming Cowboys	2	15	6	14	37

Complete Coverage >

The New Mexico Lobos look to be on their way to an 0-12 recordwith their sixth loss of the year, and their tenth straight loss. The first half was fairly close with Wyoming leading in the cold and snow 17-13, but it was the second half that the Wyoming defense stepped it up and shut out the Lobos.

New Mexico QB Donovan Porteriewas not terrible with 26/40 for 252 yards, a score, and two picks. The two picks occured during the terretrious second half where New Mexico went: punt, interception, punt, turnover on downs, punt, and interception.

The turnovers and the running game are what hurt New Mexico. They were only able to rush for 47 yards or 80 in true rushing yards once sack yards are removed. The top rusher was James Wright and was only able to manage 33 yards, and was tackled in the endzone for a safety. The Lobo offense is just a plain mess they managed to have seven drives that were four plays or less, one other that was eight, and then only five that were more then eight plays. All of those short live drives can be lead fro only converting three of fourteen on third downs. One odd offensive stat for New Mexico is that they had 23 first downs compared to 22 to Wyoming.

Wyoming had a good game plan and was able to have a balanced offensive attack. QB Austyn Carta-Samuels had a good day with three touchdown passed, 232 yards in the air, and then another 54 on the ground. The running game for Wyoming had no real star, but three players had fifty or more yards with a decent combined of 179 yards.

The receing game was similar to the running game that there was no real star with eight receivers getting the ball and the leader was David Leonard who had four catches. For a freshman quarterback it is very good for him to spread the ball to that many receivers and not lock on to a single receiver.

The key to this game going in favor of Wyoming was two third quarter drives that allowed Wyoming to get two quick scores:

New Mexico

08:42	3Q	01:48	UNM 22	4	14	Interception
04:05	3Q	02:19	UNM 30	4	-1	Punt

Wyoming

07:44	3Q	01:51	UNM 40	6	40	Passing Touchdown
04:05	3Q	03:52	WYO 33	9	67	Rushing Touchdown

Those two drives in the third quarter for the Lobos where short lived which then lead to two Wyoming scores. Both of Wyoming drives were quick strikes and after the second touchdown late in the third sealed the deal for a Wyoming win.

This gives Wyoming four wins and a real chance to get to their first bowl berth since the Las Vegas Bowl win over UCLA in 2004. The most likeable wins are all on the road against Colorado State, San Diego State, and Air Force. Those are three tough wins and on the road with San Diego State looks to be a game where Wyoming is favored, but the other two would be an upset.