New Mexico rallies to top Utah State and win third straight game

LOGAN, Utah — In a game with too many big moments to count, Dimitri Johnson claimed one for himself with 1:04 left at Maverik Stadium.

The senior linebacker knew exactly what he saw: On 2nd and 10, Utah State quarterback Spencer Petras was looking downfield “for a while” as wide receiver Otto Tia ran a low crossing route in from the boundary.

“And usually when it’s a low crosser, that means there’s something right above it coming from the same side or the backside,” he said casually in a postgame press conference. “I (knew) I had to get some depth.”

Johnson dropped about 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and saw wide receiver Kyrese White move in his direction toward the hash. Petras’ eyes moved to White, the second layer of the play. Johnson didn’t lunge or leap when the ball was released, with Petras stepping back to watch his throw.

Instead, he took two steps in the pass’ direction and tumbled down with it — ballgame. Johnson bounced up and headed toward the sideline as teammates swarmed him, an indescribable feeling at the end of a simple, easily dissected play.

“I don’t even know,” he said with a grin. “I still don’t know what’s going on.”

After trailing for all but one minute, Johnson’s pick sealed New Mexico’s wild, come-from-behind 50-45 win against Utah State on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Lobos (3-4, 2-1) have won three straight games in a season for the first time since 2016.

UNM snapped a seven-game losing streak to Utah State (1-6, 0-3) by overcoming two separate double-digit deficits with a 21-point fourth quarter, a strong day from quarterback Devon Dampier and a rushing attack that outgained the Aggies 205-99 in the second half.

But it was Johnson’s interception and a key 4th and 1 stop in the fourth quarter that put the Lobos in position to win — one that made head coach Bronco Mendenhall visibly emotional.

“Couldn’t help it,” Mendenhall said after wiping away tears during a postgame press conference. “I love these kids and there’s nothing easy coming to them, me, this program, what we’re trying to accomplish. And it’s freaking hard.

“So when you try hard and you actually have a tangible result, it feels good.”

1,000 yards of offense

Dampier completed 17 of 27 passes for 272 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, and led the Lobos on the ground with 105 yards and two scores. Running backs Javen Jacobs (52 yards) and Eli Sanders (75 yards) each accounted for two touchdowns, with Sanders’ 12-yard run in the fourth quarter serving as the go-ahead score.

Wide receiver Luke Wysong tied his career-high in receptions, catching 10 passes for 156 yards, while wide receiver Ryan Davis hauled in four receptions for 77 yards and one touchdown. UNM scored touchdowns on five of its final seven drives.

Utah State quarterback Spencer Petras completed 32 of 47 passes for 360 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Jalen Royals hauled in a career-best 11 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown.

The teams combined for 1,055 yards of total offense.

Utah State goes up 17-0

As strong as the Lobos finished, they couldn’t have started much worse.

Dampier was picked off by cornerback Avante Dickerson on the Lobos’ fourth play of the game, setting up a 14-play, 58-yard scoring drive capped by Petras’ lone rushing touchdown.

Utah State went on to grow its lead to 17-0 off running back Rahsul Faison’s six-yard score and Tanner Cragun’s 38-yard field goal as UNM struggled to gain 27 yards in its first three drives.

“I didn’t think they would race out to that big a lead that fast – mostly because I thought our offense would be matching them,” Mendenhall said. “And that was probably the most startling thing, how well they played defensively at the beginning. That kind of rocked us back on our heels a little bit.”

One play changed everything. At the start of the second quarter, cornerback Noa Pola-Gates dove on wide receiver Kahanu Davis’ muffed punt, setting UNM up deep in Utah State territory.

“It was giant and really was instrumental in the game at that time,” Mendenhall said of Pola-Gates’ recovery, “which seems like a whole other game.”

Three plays later, Dampier hit a wide open Jacobs on a short pass for a 21-yard touchdown and tight end Trace Bruckler ran in a direct snap for a two-point conversion, making it 17-8. UNM drew within two on its ensuing drive, courtesy of wide receiver Davis’ 16-yard receiving score.

But a costly mistake followed. Facing 4th and 6 in UNM territory, Utah State lined up for a field goal and drew nose tackle Devin Brandt-Epps offsides. Wide receiver Otto Tia converted 4th and 2 with a 13-yard reception and scored a few plays later with a five-yard receiving touchdown to set up a halftime score of 24-15.

Comeback in second half

Two plays into the second half, Petras found Royals for a 59-yard gain to set up Faison’s nine-yard rushing score to make it 31-15. UNM stemmed the bleeding with Dampier’s 33-yard rushing touchdown down the sideline.

Down 31-23, the Lobos managed to force a punt, but muffed a return of their own as Aggies wide receiver Tate Kjar came up with the recovery. Utah State went ahead 38-23 on Royals’ 13-yard receiving touchdown before the Lobos closed to 38-29 on Jacobs’ 15-yard rushing touchdown.

On UNM’s next possession, cornerback D.J. Graham nearly dealt the backbreaker, turning on a ball intended for wide receiver Nic Trujillo to pick off Dampier at the end of the third quarter. But the Lobos’ defense forced a stop deep in Utah State territory, and running back Eli Sanders scored a 21-yard rushing touchdown to make it 38-36 with 10 minutes left.

The Aggies extended its lead to 45-36 off running back Herschel Turner’s 43-yard run, only for Dampier to answer with a five-yard score of his own. Nursing a 45-43 lead, Utah State opted to go for it on 4th and 1 near midfield with a quarterback sneak and ran into a wall of UNM defenders — no good.

With UNM now in field goal range, Utah State let up on defense and allowed the Lobos to go ahead with Sanders’ final touchdown. With a little over a minute remaining, the Aggies took the field for one final drive, Petras threw an incompletion on first down and Johnson knew what was coming next.

“You could just say that was the game,” Mendenhall said. “After alllll the other plays, you could just say the fourth down stop and the interception was the game. And you could probably say that about, I don’t know how many other plays, too.

“I don’t know. It’s just gratifying. It really is.”

The Lobos comeback from 17 points down was the sixth-largest in school history, but the comeback from 16 points down after halftime was the largest second-half deficit overcome in school history.