Three takeaways from New Mexico’s closer-than-expected win over Colorado State

New Mexico leaned on its defense in a 20-17 win over Colorado State in front of an announced crowd of 27,526 on Saturday at University Stadium.

UNM (7-3, 4-2) led 10-0 at the half before one of running back Damon Bankston’s two third-quarter fumbles set up Colorado State’s first score of the day, a 3-yard touchdown catch by tight end Rocky Beers. The Rams (2-8, 1-5) tied it two drives later with kicker Isaiah Hankins’ 30-yard field goal.

The Lobos pulled ahead for good in the fourth quarter after quarterback Jack Layne’s 12-yard rushing touchdown and a 35-yard field goal from kicker Luke Drzewiecki.

Colorado State running back Lloyd Avant’s 41-yard catch and run for a touchdown cut UNM’s lead to three points and the Rams had a late opportunity to score, but couldn’t get past midfield.

The Lobos fumbled five times, losing four of them, but also intercepted three passes in the game.

UNM has now won four straight and clinched a winning record, both for the first time since 2016. The Lobos hopes for a Mountain West Championship appearance also remain intact.

Three instant takeaways from the Lobos’ closer-than-expected win:

1. The defense played great

If Saturday could be categorized as an overall defensive struggle, it was not, in fact, a struggle for UNM’s defense.

Consider: The Lobos limited Colorado State to 299 total yards (286 passing, 13 rushing) and 4.2 yards per play. They forced four three-and-outs (three of which came in the first half) and intercepted quarterback Darius Curry three times. They made nine tackles for loss (four sacks) and gave up only 5 of 16 third-down conversions on the day.

All those statistics pale in comparison to how this defense rose to the moment, though. When Colorado State went for it on fourth-and-2 in the first half, linebacker Jaxton Eck (11 total tackles) and safety Austin Brawley (three total tackles, two interceptions) came up with a tackle for loss — turnover on downs.

When the Rams crossed midfield down 10 in the fourth, Brett Karhu deflected a Curry pass high into the air. Brawley, making his return from injury, raced ahead, caught it for the interception and uncorked a 56-yard return.

“Wish I would have cut it back for a touchdown,” Brawley said in a postgame news conference, “but I was a little tired.”

And when UNM needed a little more breathing room late in the game, safety Caleb Coleman stepped in front of another Curry pass for the Lobos’ third interception. In turn, that play set up Drzewiecki’s final field goal for what turned out to be the winning margin Saturday.

“We might have been stuck on 10 points if the defense hadn’t made those two plays,” first-year coach Jason Eck said. “I’m so happy for them, because they kinda took a step as a defense.”

Indeed. UNM’s defense had some lapses later in the game, clearly worn out by the sheer volume of plays faced. But that was an awesome and (at times) dominant effort, the type that elevates good defenses into great ones.

“It may get overlooked a little bit, because the final score wasn’t a shutout or anything,” Eck said. “But I think that might have been our best defensive performance of the year.”

And to be clear, nobody’s mistaking Colorado State’s offense with UNLV’s or San Jose State’s. The Rams entered Saturday averaging 18.1 points per game, the second-to-worst mark in the league. And it was only last week that Colorado State scored its first points under interim head coach Tyson Summers, putting up double-digits in a 42-10 loss to UNLV.

But that was an excellent stuff from UNM’s defense, regardless of opponent. It would’ve been an absolute shame if it wasn’t rewarded with a win.

2. The Lobos need more from their offense

UNM has had some games this season where maybe the numbers didn’t tell the whole story. Particularly a few games in which some offensive statistics probably weren’t as impressive as what actually happened on the field.

That was not the case Saturday.

Because, yes, UNM outgained Colorado State 348-284. Yes, the Lobos won the rushing battle by over 100 yards. And yes, UNM generated five explosive plays in the passing game, usually a good sign for this offense.

But this was far from an inspiring offensive performance. Between Bankston, running back Scottre Humphrey and tight end Dorian Thomas, the Lobos lost four fumbles, actively keeping Colorado State in the game. The run game (3.3 yards per carry) was relatively effective, but far from explosive.

And while Layne (13-for-25, 226 yards) made some truly excellent throws on the run, he missed some routine ones, too. Even if the UNM doesn’t lose an inexplicable four fumbles, there were still plenty of issues on display for the Lobos to work through moving forward.

“Poor ball security, poor technique with the O-line, poor blocking,” Eck said, listing of some of the issues he saw Saturday. “ ... There were times where our counts weren’t good, we weren’t blocking the right guy. I thought we played poorly on offense, and we certainly could play better.”

The good news? UNM didn’t get burned for a lackluster offensive performance Saturday. If winning ugly is, well, ugly, it still counts all the same.

The bad news? If the Lobos plan on reaching their loftiest goals — a Mountain West Championship appearance, for instance — they can’t have another offensive performance like that. Not against an Air Force team that scores in bunches next week. And certainly not against San Diego State in what’s shaping up to be a huge regular season finale.

3. The program’s biggest accomplishment might’ve come off the field

Exactly how long ago was Nov. 1, 2008?

On that day, Jason Eck helped call a Winona State offense that thrashed Augustana University 41-24 (the Warriors finished 6-5). Running backs coach John Johnson rushed for 32 yards in Ouachita Baptist’s 45-43 win over the University of West Alabama. Wide receivers coach Colin Lockett caught two passes for 32 yards the night before in a 35-14 win for Diamond Bar (Calif.) High School over Chino High School.

Without getting into how old most of the actual players on the field were then, let’s just call it a long time and leave it at that.

Now, exactly why is that date (and the time since) relevant? On Nov. 1, 2008, UNM lost 13-10 to No. 10 Utah at University Stadium with 30,901 fans in the stands, the last time UNM had an announced attendance of 25,000 or more in November.

Until, of course, Saturday, when 27,526 fans showed up for a game in which UNM played a miserable Colorado State team. The weather was excellent, sure, but there was no real draw except the Lobos and the product they’ve been putting out as of late.

How long has it been since it’s been that way, especially on a day where UNM basketball played rival NMSU in Las Cruces? Maybe not 17 years, but it’s been a while.

For a program that’s struggled to hold fans’ attention late into the season — and a fan base that’s long fretted over football attendance — that might just be the biggest accomplishment of all.

UNM holds on to beat Colorado State: Photos