Lobos Pack: Maine Takeaways

The New Mexico Lobos opened the 2022 season with a 41-0 thrashing of Maine on Saturday night in Albuquerque. Here are some takeaways from the game as we head into week two.

Offense looked shaky, then got better:

In the first quarter of play the offense was looking rough. Quarterback Miles Kendrick threw an interception on the team’s first drive of the ball game. Then, after going 10 plays and 30 yards on their second drive, the Lobos turned the ball over on downs, and the game was scoreless after one quarter.

Things changed in the second quarter as the Lobos put together an 11-play 60-yard drive for a touchdown. The offense would put two more first half drives in the endzone, along with three more in the second half.

Once the offense got going in the second quarter, it was tough to stop. This game did exactly what it was supposed to do for the offensive side, and that was to work the bugs out. New Mexico ended with 267 yards rushing with 10 players getting carries. In an extension of the running game, the Lobos also had a ton of pop passes, many to their speedster Luke Wysong, who took two of them for touchdowns. The flow of the offense looks really good.

Defense came ready to play.

Without a doubt the best unit on the field Saturday night was the Lobo defense. The Rocky Long coached crew allowed just seven first downs, 118 total yards of offense, forced two turnovers, and came up with three sacks.

The Lobos defense was just as strong as advertised in fall camp. The question will be can they keep it up during contests with more talented teams. Fans should be really excited about the defense, and chances to slow down more high-powered teams.

Boise State comes calling.

Week two gets underway a little earlier this week, as Boise State will visit Albuquerque on Friday night in a nationally televised contest on CBS Sports Network.

The Broncos come off a 34-17 loss to the Oregon State Beavers on Saturday. In that game BSU quarterback Hank Bachmeier was benched after turning the ball over three times. Taylen Green came in off the bench and provided a little spark to the offense, including a 74-yard touchdown run.

A more detailed preview of the game will be coming Thursday.