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Saturday, September 06, 2008

Lobo Football: Texas A&M Looks To Rebound Against UNM After Opening Loss

By Andre Coe
Associated Press
       DALLAS, Texas — There were a lot of long faces in Aggieland after new coach Mike Sherman and unranked Texas A&M lost their season opener 18-14 to Arkansas State last week.
    The Aggies look to rebound when they travel to New Mexico to take on the Lobos on Saturday. New Mexico enters the game with a 26-3 loss in its season opener against TCU and seeking its first win.
    Reggie Arnold shredded the Texas A&M defense for 145 yards.
    It was the Red Wolves first victory in 15 games against Big 12 opponents and snapped a 20-game winning streak in home openers for the Aggies.
    A&M entered the half leading 14-3 but came undone in the second half and turned the ball over four times, missed a field goal and blew several defensive plays.
    It certainly wasn't the opener that had been hoped for by Aggies quarterback Stephen McGee.
    "It seems like you work your tail off to get to a certain point, and then you start the year off with that game. It's really disappointing," McGee said. "But at the same moment, that's a part of life. You can't let it be a deflation of our team and where we want to go."
    Running back Mike Goodson said the team seemed to come out flat in the second half but couldn't pin down what led to the loss.
    Goodson rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns, but fumbled in the fourth quarter when the team could least afford another turnover.
    "People said we got cocky, we didn't respect our opponent," Goodson said. "I really don't know. I really can't pinpoint what it was. But I think we were a little flat the second half and maybe that contributed to it."
    The Lobos enter Saturday's game with a 3-3 record in its last six games against Bowl Championship Series opponents, but New Mexico coach Rocky Long has won only four times in 17 games against BCS teams.
    The Lobos are seeking to avoid an 0-2 start for the first time since 2000 but are 5-1 in their second games for the last six seasons.
    Sherman said the team has to take the loss in stride and move on against New Mexico.
    "This is one game out of our season," he said. "Our back is to the wall. We got to come out and we got to work like heck to get a victory."

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