New Mexico Football: Breaking down the Lobos Vs the University of Texas San Antonio

The Lobos will travel this week to San Antonio, Texas to face the University of Texas, San Antonio Roadrunners. Last year’s game slipped away from the Lobos as they allowed the Roadrunner to score 21 unanswered points to beat the Lobos in Albuquerque.  This year both teams come in winning just one game, and while both teams have showed flashes of improvement there has also has been lots inconstancy for both. This game is important for the Lobos as they are facing a beatable opponent on the road,a win would give them momentum going  in to the rest of the conference season.

WEEK 6: New Mexico Lobos vs. University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners

WHEN: Saturday, October 4, 2014 – 1:30 PM, MST

WHERE: The Alamo Dome; San Antonio, Texas

2014 SEASON: New Mexico 1-3 (0-1MWC), UTSA Roadrunners (1-3, 0-1 CUSA)

TV: My50-TV KASY (Albuquerque); American Sports Network

RADIO: New Mexico’s Albuquerque radio affiliate is part of the Lobo Radio Network, 770 AM (KKOB).

SERIES RECORD: UTSA leads the series 1-0

WEB SITES: GoLobos.com, New Mexico’s official athletic site, www.goutsa.com/ FSU’s official athletic site

What to watch – New Mexico:

Cole Gautsche: Cole is expected to be back from a hamstring injury after missing the last game and a half. Gautsche is still the team’s third leading rusher with 237 yards and two touchdowns. While Lamar Jordan has emerged in his absence, Gautsche is still the Lobos field general and while he will lose snaps to the freshman he should see plenty of playing time. Keep an eye on Gautsche’s hamstring while he started the New Mexico State game he was unable to finish the game.  The Roadrunners game may have the same result.

Crusoe Gongbay: Crusoe Gongbay has emerged rushing for 302 yards on 44 carries in the last two games. Gongbay has shown he can be the Lobos lead back Teriyon Gipson is expected to return which might cut in to his playing time but still look for him to get lots of work. Bob Davie trusts him and will continue to give him the ball if he’s getting the five plus yards a carry he’s has been the last two weeks.

Lobos in the Second half: The Lobos looked great in the first half of the Arizona State and Fresno State games. In both games the Lobos looked like they had a chance to win at half time. Their offense was clicking and it looked like they had their HI profile opponents on the ropes, but they lost momentum coming out of the locker room. In each game the Lobos were unable to move the ball on offense costing them the games. It will be important for the Lobos to play a complete game if they want to win in a hostile environment.

What to watch – University Texas San Antonio

1 Tucker Carter: Carter is a 6"3 senior quarterback he has 672 yards on 64 completions. He has a total of 32 yards on 31 attempts so he is not much of a threat to run and already has been sacked seven times this season. The Lobos have had trouble stopping good quarterbacks this year and while Carter is not a top tier quarterback he should still have a good game against New Mexico.

2. UTSA Defense Vs. The Pistol Offense: Defense is important for every team that the Lobos play because the type of offense they run is difficult to plan for. The Triple Option requires discipline and requires every player to stick to their assignments. There is a good reason New Mexico finished fourth in the nation in rushing last year and is currently fifth averaging 327 yards a game this year. Except for the Arizona game the Roadrunners have been good at stopping the run but their veteran defense will be put to the test against the Lobos.

Prediction:

New Mexico is improving every week and this is a winnable game against a UTSA team that has not found consistence this year. I look for the Lobos to finally put together a full game and win this one 35-14.