Three takeaways, key numbers from New Mexico's close win over Nevada

New Mexico never trailed, but struggled to put away Nevada in a back-and-forth 24-22 win Saturday night at University Stadium.

UNM (4-3, 1-2 Mountain West) secured its first conference win of the season with running back Scottre Humphrey’s fourth-and-1 conversion in the final two minutes.

Three takeaways from UNM’s nip-and-tuck win over Nevada (1-6, 0-3):

1. It probably shouldn’t have been as tight as it was

Give the Wolf Pack some credit. Nevada didn’t give up a lot of big plays. Nor turn it over, a major issue for the program this season. And quarterback Carter Jones (23-of-29, 202 yards) overcame a shaky start to do some really nice things down the stretch; it’s not hard to see why Nevada is betting its future (for now) on the former three-star recruit.

With that acknowledged, it should also be said that this was a game the Lobos would’ve done well to assert themselves in at any number of points. And, sure, they did in the end, stopping Nevada on a critical fourth-and-7 before converting an ensuing fourth-and-1 to ice the game.

“Heck of a job by the offense finishing it on the field and not giving them the ball back,” head coach Jason Eck said Saturday night.

But there were drives in the first and second halves where the Lobos could’ve staked themselves to a relatively comfortable, commanding lead. Moments where UNM maybe couldn’t have slammed the door, but at leas could have ensured its fingers wouldn’t get caught in it, either.

Two turnovers (one off UNM’s third muffed punt of the season) might have been the biggest culprit in what would’ve been a truly off-schedule loss.

“We kinda (gave) them nine points in the first half off those two turnovers,” Eck said. “That’s something we gotta keep getting better at.”

All in all, it doesn’t feel unfair to say the Lobos beat the Lobos plenty. Nor is it hard to imagine how those mistakes (if UNM hadn’t stopped that fourth-and-7 or converted that fourth-and-1) could’ve added up to a relatively calamitous loss.

Then again ... that isn’t what happened. That’s also worthy of credit, even if UNM will need to beat itself far less to reach its ultimate goals this season.

2. At a pivotal point, UNM solved some

problems

Days after Eck lamented execution issues on UNM’s opening drive against Boise State, UNM opened Saturday with a 16-play, 75-yard scoring drive — the first time the Lobos have scored on an opening possession this season.

“I mean, that was a death march,” Eck said. “Took forever.”

And maybe UNM didn’t overwhelm Nevada in the run game, but it quadrupled last week’s rushing output with 210 yards and three touchdowns. That’s far closer to the Lobos’ winning formula than we’ve seen recently.

That they were able to get back to it at a pivotal point on the schedule? That feels like probably the biggest victory from Saturday.

3. UNM found a way to keep things on schedule

Candidly, I don’t know how much momentum is left from UNM’s 3-1 start. This doesn’t look like the same team that made Michigan dig deeper than expected. Or the one that grabbed a confident, resounding rivalry win over New Mexico State.

Certainly not the one that whipped UCLA to the point that the Bruins more or less quit on their home turf.

If anything, UNM looked far more like the team coming off back-to-back road losses. An announced attendance of 18,233 — not a bad number, but not close to the glorious sellout for the New Mexico State game — might have even bolstered that point.

“You get what you deserve when you play shi--y on the road two weeks (in a row) and lose,” Eck said when asked about the attendance Saturday. “If we would have won those games, (it) would have been a lot better.”

But I do know this: It wasn’t all that long ago that UNM’s year was more or less derailed by a loss to Nevada. On a chilly night in Reno, Nevada two seasons ago — two coaches ago, in fact — UNM quarterback Dylan Hopkins threw three first-half interceptions and the Wolf Pack won 34-24, still the program’s most recent league win.

That loss had legs, too: UNM lost three of its next four, dooming any chances of a bowl and ending the Danny Gonzales era. That team wasn’t as good as this one — last week’s loss might’ve proved that more than any win — but there was a real opportunity for the Lobos to slip up Saturday, much in the same way UNM did two seasons ago.

They didn’t. And at 4-3, they’re still on schedule for a bowl and what was expected of them as of a few weeks ago — maybe even ahead.

A win next week against Utah State (and an old friend in coach Bronco Mendenhall) would also go a long way toward swinging some momentum back in UNM’s direction.

It’ll take a better showing than what the Lobos provided Saturday to get to that point. But they took care of business — and for where this program has been, that absolutely counts for something.

“I think we’re just a tough-minded team,” Eck said. “I think we battle and compete, no matter what the situation is.”

Key numbers

• UNM outgained Nevada 348-257, holding the Wolf Pack to just 55 rushing yards on the night.
• Not including the one play UNM ran to close the first half, the Lobos had only eight drives on the night. They did not punt on any of them and converted three of four fourth downs faced.
• UNM generated five explosive plays (20 yards or more) to Nevada’s two.
• UNM was whistled eight times for 64 yards, with all but one penalty coming on the offensive side of the ball. Nevada was flagged nine times for 61 yards.
• Both teams finished 5-for-13 on third down.
• For the second straight game, linebacker Jaxton Eck led UNM’s defense with 11 total tackles.

UNM football takes on the University of Nevada: Photos