Sick's Pack: Lobo football coaching openers to remember (good and bad)

You only get one shot at making a first impression.

Jason Eck's shot as University of New Mexico head football coach comes Aug. 30 — and it's a doozy. The Lobos' new mentor will start his tenure at one of the sport's storied venues, Michigan Stadium, better known as The Big House, against one of the nation's perennial football powers.

Talk about getting tossed into the fire. Eck's Lobos will be prohibitive underdogs in a paycheck game that was scheduled long before he arrived in Albuquerque.

Expectations for UNM's opener will and should be tempered. The Lobos' Sept. 6 home game versus Idaho State figures to offer a much more realistic appraisal than an August trip to Ann Arbor.

Still, there's something special about season-openers, especially for programs with first-year coaches, and Eck knows it.

"First games are important," he said. "They're not going to define your whole season, but you want to have some positives you can bring out of that game. We only get 12 games. It's not like (college) baseball where you play 30 or 40 — in the majors they get 162. When you only play 12 games, they're all important. You've got to take advantage of them."

Agreed. And as it turns out, 12 is a significant number for this particular Lobo football exercise. Prior to Eck, UNM has had exactly 12 football coaches in my lifetime (yes, this means I'm old).

So here's a quick quiz to go along with that 12-pack. And by the way, looking at the attached info box is cheating!

Q: How many of UNM's previous 12 coaches won their first-ever game?

A: Seven. Competition levels varied wildly, but better than I might have guessed.

Q: How many of UNM's previous 12 coaches had winning records in their first season?

A: None. Bill Weeks (5-5 in 1960) and Joe Lee Dunn (6-6 in 1983) were the only two to avoid losing records.

Q: Who was the last UNM coach to post a winning record in his first season?

A: Marv Levy (7-3 in 1958 — way before my time).

Levy set a positive tone for his two-year tenure at UNM with a 16-7 win over New Mexico State to kick off that 1958 season. Some of his 12 successors also got off to good starts but took longer to sustain success with the Lobos. Others stumbled out of the starting blocks and never really recovered.

For better and worse, UNM football coaches have had some memorable and tone-setting openers since University Stadium opened and I started watching back in 1960. The top six are the subject of today's Sick's Pack. Consuming a full 12-pack at one sitting is never recommended.

UNM football's most memorable coaching openers (since 1960)

No. 6: Utah 24, UNM 20 (1987): Dropping a close one in Salt Lake City didn't seem so bad at the time, but it was a portent of rough seas to come. Mike Sheppard's Lobos finished 0-11 that season and things never got much better. Luck rarely seemed to smile on Sheppard's teams, who lost a slew of close games over his five-year tenure. UNM went 9-50 overall under Sheppard, losing at home to Akron in 1988 (I was there) and getting mauled 94-17 by Fresno State in 1991 (glad I wasn't).

No. 5: Montana State 35, UNM 31 (2024): Entertaining, exciting and immensely frustrating for Lobo fans, this would set a perfect tone for Bronco Mendenhall's lone season as New Mexico head coach. UNM led 31-14 after three quarters but was undone by two dropped third-down passes, two missed field goals and a defense unable to stop the visiting Bobcats down the stretch. UNM bounced back impressively from the loss, even knocking off No. 19 Washington State 38-35 in its home finale behind the heroics of QB Devon Dampier. But the Lobos finished 5-7 — a win short of bowl eligibility —and that season-opening loss loomed large. Adding salt to the wound, Mendenhall bailed for a job at Utah State just days after the season finale and Dampier rode the transfer portal to Utah.

No. 4: San Jose State 38, UNM 21 (2020): Easily the strangest season in UNM football history kicked off Danny Gonzales' coaching era at his hometown school. Forced to relocate to Las Vegas, Nevada for practice and "home" games because of New Mexico's COVID restrictions, the Lobos started 0-5 before rallying to win their last two games. UNM showed considerable grit under adverse circumstances, but ultimately grit wasn't enough. Gonzales' Lobos struggled to find consistent offense and went 9-27 in his last three campaigns.

No. 3: UNM 38, Idaho State 9 (1998): Former Lobo QB Rocky Long's coaching opener went off with a bang, though the first three years of his tenure proved to be a rocky ride. After starting 2-0, UNM dropped eight of its last nine in 1998 and posted losing records in 1999 and 2000. Patience paid off for Lobo fans, however, as Long and his trademark defense would lift UNM to an extended run of success that included five bowl appearances in six years. With New Mexico standouts like Brian Urlacher, Hank Baskett and DonTrell Moore, the Lobos were consistent contenders though they never won a conference title. The peak may have come in 2007 when UNM went 9-4 and shut out Nevada 23-0 in the New Mexico Bowl.

No. 2: UNM 77, University of Mexico 6 (1960): Bill Weeks' debut was ever-so-memorable for numerous reasons — not counting a stunning blowout win over the mighty Pumas. First, it was opening day at University Stadium with a crowd of 24,085 on hand. Second, the win started a run of success under Weeks, who led UNM to a 5-5 season and later won three straight Western Athletic Conference titles from 1962-64. UNM hasn't won a football conference title since. Most significant, the Lobos' triumph came 34 days after I was born. (I think I might've messed up that box score a little).

No. 1: UNM 25, No. 19 BYU 21 (1980): Joe Morrison's curtain-raiser will be tough for any new UNM coach to top. The Cougars, quarterbacked by Jim McMahon, rolled into Albuquerque as massive favorites and would go on to finish 12-1 that season. BYU led 21-13 in the third quarter but UNM's defense stood tall, sacking McMahon four times and limiting the visitors to 197 total yards. Kicker Pete Parks booted four straight second-half field goals to give the Lobos the victory and I was among the fans celebrating in the stands. It was UNM's only win over a span of 25 meetings with BYU. Morrison's team went just 4-7 that year but finished a stellar 10-1 two years later (losing only to BYU).

UNM was snubbed for a bowl invitation in 1982 and had to settle for facing Tulsa (also snubbed at 10-1) in the fictional, computer-generated "Justice Bowl." That game-that-never-happened proved to be the end of Morrison's Lobo tenure. Weird finish? You bet.

But Morrison gets the trophy for Best Opening Performance by a UNM Football Coach — at least for now. Jason Eck will get his shot Aug. 30.