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Three takeaways from New Mexico's dominant win over Air Force

UNM vs Air Force — UNM’s Jaxton Eck (6), walking with teammate David Murphy (3), points to the band after the Lobos beat Air Force on Saturday at Falcon Stadium near Colorado Springs, Colo.

UNM coach Jason Eck, in background, celebrates after the Lobos make a big play against Air Force during Saturday’s game at at Falcon Stadium near Colorado Springs, Colo.

UNM safety Caleb Coleman celebrates after sacking Air Force quarterback Kemper Hodges during Saturday’s game.

Sean Reider Sean Reider Sean Reider Journal Staff Writer

Published November 22, 2025 - 8:10 p.m. Modified November 22, 2025 - 11:51 p.m.

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — New Mexico struck first and rode a dominant first half to a 20-3 win over Air Force on Saturday at Falcon Stadium.

The Lobos (8-3, 5-2) led 17-0 at the half after touchdowns from quarterback Jack Layne and running back Damon Bankston. The Falcons (3-8, 2-5) averaged 271.1 rushing yards entering Saturday, but ran for only 110 against UNM.

By winning their fifth straight, the Lobos’ hopes for a Mountain West Championship berth are still alive entering the final week of the season.

Three takeaways from the Lobos’ first win at Falcon Stadium since 2000:

1. That was (almost) a brilliant first half

For clarity’s sake, there was one big absence looming over Saturday — Air Force quarterback Liam Szarka, whose otherwise terrific season ended last week with an arm injury suffered against UConn.

And while I don’t know if the Falcons (3-8, 2-5) would’ve won if Szarka played, I feel safe saying Saturday would’ve been a bit more competitive if he was out there. That’s not so much a slight on backups Kemper Hodges or Josh Johnson as much as it is a recognition that there’s something missing with this offense when Szarka isn’t under center.

But coaches say it all the time — you play who’s in front of you, right?

And UNM made a point to dominate the team in front of them, at least for a half.

Some statistics to help paint that picture: UNM outgained Air Force 188-44 in the first half, holding the Falcons to just 1.7 yards per carry. The Lobos had 13 first downs to the Air Force’s five; no turnovers and even possessed the ball by more than three minutes — not the easiest thing to do against an offense averaging more than 33 minutes of possession time each game.

Better yet, UNM scored on its opening drive for just the second time this season, almost immediately putting Air Force behind the eight ball.

And how does a team largely control a game against an option team? By playing from ahead.

“That was something we talked about all week, that their offense is really built more to play (with) the lead than play from behind,” head coach Jason Eck said in a news conference Saturday. “I love the way the offense started with the first two drives.”

Now, were there a couple things to nitpick in an otherwise glimmering first half? Sure. Getting a touchdown up 14-0 instead of a Luke Drzewiecki field goal in the second quarter certainly would’ve helped. And there was also a fourth-and-5 play call late in the first half that at least a few fans questioned.

But to hold the third-most productive rushing offense to 39 yards over two quarters? Much less with a three-score lead to match? At a place the Lobos haven’t won since 2000?

It feels like it gets written every week. But at least compared to the recent history of this program, that’s remarkable.

2. Layne’s legs made a major difference

Thanks to three sacks, it didn’t really show up in the stat sheet. But that was a wildly effective rushing night for Jack Layne (eight carries for 24 yards) and it played as big a role as any in making sure UNM left with a win.

There was, of course, the junior quarterback’s 12-yard rushing touchdown on UNM’s opening drive. And yet, it might’ve been his series of first-half rushes that stole the show, turning the worst situations into positive gains and first downs as Air Force more man coverage than Layne was expecting.

“And a weakness for man (coverage) is QB scrambles,” he added Saturday, “if there’s no one to account for the QB. I’ve definitely been trying to (take advantage) of that more ... Gotta make them pay if they wanna man up our guys.”

Layne’s deserving of a lot of the credit for how he’s grown into his role running the football. Stats aside and schematic adjustments aside, this feels like the best game to give him his flowers for that.

3. Welcome to the biggest week in a long time for UNM football

As of publication, UNM does not control its destiny for a Mountain West Championship berth. Really, the Lobos need Boise State (against Utah State next Saturday) to take another loss for things to reach that point.

They’ve taken care of everything to this point, though. And that’s helped build a rather compelling case that the two best teams in the Mountain West will play Friday at University Stadium.

San Diego State (8-2, 5-1) with a late game at home against San Jose State on Saturday, will visit New Mexico on Black Friday.

“I want 30,000,” Eck said. “We need 30,000 fans on Black Friday, baby. We need 30,000 fans, loud as hell, making a difference in this game ... This is a championship game.

“And this is a chance to see a championship team play.”

Welcome to the biggest week for UNM football in a long, long time. The case might be less compelling, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it’s maybe the biggest ever.