UNM football notebook: If the Lobos got 'dumped,' are they better off anyway?

Notes, quotes and final thoughts from New Mexico’s 33-14 win over Utah State:

His sweatshirt was covered in stains. His hair was damp and frazzled, spilling over the edge of his visor. He stood at the podium, listening and looking a little messy, a little worn out by the previous four hours at University Stadium.

Then Jason Eck broke the silence.

“Yeah, you know …” UNM’s first-year head coach said before trailing off near the start of a news conference Saturday.

“You know, we kind of got dumped, you could say.”

No “kind of” needed. To keep Eck’s analogy, former Lobo coach Bronco Mendenhall was the former partner that everybody – friends, family, pets – seemed to love. And it was only a year ago that there seemed to be a long, bright future ahead for both parties, the product of an unexpected, but pleasant, union.

Then Mendenhall left for something new at Utah State. Abruptly. As understandable as his departure might’ve been (Mendenhall has repeatedly said he left to be closer to family), it still made his return to University Stadium – this time as the Aggies’ head coach – a bigger deal for fans and the 34 players that were with him last year.

After all, who doesn’t want to show their ex they’re doing just fine without them?

“You wanna make sure that the next time you see that person that dumped you, you don’t look, like, all disheveled and look like a mess and stuff,” Eck continued, “so they’re (not) thinking, ‘Jeez, that was the best thing I ever did, getting ******* out of there.’ I think we did a good job of showing that wasn’t the case today.

“You know, we’re looking pretty good. We’re doing pretty good. We’re not missing you.”

That’s probably the major emotional takeaway from UNM’s 33-14 win over Utah State: Yes, the Lobos got dumped. Yes, it was a blow to the program’s confidence and outward perception. And like anybody after a tough breakup, it had to remake itself a bit. Maybe hit the gym a little more, start dressing a little nicer.

(We’ve all been there, right?)

But the Lobos didn’t just look good. Really, they looked great. They rolled up 224 rushing yards on a Utah State defense that knew what was coming but couldn’t stop it. They more or less stifled the Aggies' talented dual-threat quarterback.

Simply put, they outplayed -- and outcoached -- the Aggies in all three phases of the game.

“Their execution was really, really well done today,” Mendenhall said in a news conference Saturday.

Now UNM is one win away from its first bowl appearance since 2016. That in and of itself begs an even simpler question.

Are the Lobos headed for a brighter future than they ever were with Mendenhall?

In the short term? Yes. With a remaining schedule of UNLV, Colorado State, Air Force and San Diego State, ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) gives UNM a 96.3% chance to make a bowl; at 2-6 after a 28-0 loss at Wyoming, beating the Rams at home is the most likely option for that elusive sixth win.

If UNM plays as well as it did Saturday, though? Who knows.

“We got a big game now against UNLV (next Saturday), who had a bye this week,” Eck said. “That maybe was not a game people thought was gonna be a big game coming into the year. But I think they’re 6-1 and we’re 5-3.

“That becomes a pretty big football game.”

UNM really might’ve spoiled Utah State’s shot at making the postseason, too. At 4-4, the Aggies have to at least split games against Nevada, UNLV, Fresno State and Boise State for a bowl. With a bye this week, they should take care of the Wolf Pack at home, regardless of how frisky Nevada’s been lately.

But finding the sixth among three straight road games against the Rebels, Bulldogs and Broncos? Mendenhall did a heck of a job getting UNM to close hard last season, but this is still a more daunting stretch than not.

“Certainly a lot of work to do still in our program,” Mendenhall said.

As for the long term? It’s far too early to tell. Saturday was just one game in a sample size that’s far too small for any real declarations of success or failure. UNM played great. Utah State didn’t. And even in an era where coaches with monster buyouts can get canned for a three-game losing streak, four quarters of football simply aren't enough to make that call.

But it looked awfully good, and no fan could be blamed for feeling that the program’s in better hands now.

Consider that a credit to the guy that looked a little bit like a mess Saturday afternoon.

Quarterback battle

In the interest of accountability, an admission: I was wrong. I thought Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes and his dual-threat skill set would give the Aggies an advantage in this game. Maybe not a huge one – I picked Utah State to win by three – but enough for a key third down, a big completion, something that would tip this one away from UNM.

That was decidedly not the case Saturday. Barnes completed 13 of 23 passes (57%) for 164 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He wasn’t much of a factor with his legs and didn’t extend plays in the way he’s shown he could. He was mostly OK at best, relatively ineffective at worst.

Why? For starters, UNM did a nice job generating pressure. Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), Barnes had 2.74 seconds to throw on average, his second-lowest mark this season, after the Lobos put up 15 pressures (three sacks) on him.

UNM also lived up to Eck’s word, giving Barnes plenty of different zone coverages to work through and mixing in some man coverage here and there. When he did break to run, the Lobos answered quickly; Barnes’ longest run of the day was a 12-yard scramble.

“We definitely had to focus on kind of keeping him in the pocket, not letting him beat us with his legs,” linebacker Jaxton Eck added. “And I thought our defensive line did a great job all day. I felt like he was not comfortable back there, and it’s just a testament to how well the defensive line is playing.”

And the quarterback that had seemingly willed his team to some wins (or competitive losses) might’ve been outshined by one that’s just coming off some recent struggles. So there’s also plenty of credit due to UNM’s Jack Layne (17 of 22, 183 yards, one touchdown) for the day he had, and the role he played.

“Our offense has really never been about, hey, the quarterback is the flashing lights and the star,” Eck said. “It’s about doing his job and getting the ball distributed to other guys, being a leader and running the show and making great decisions. And I think today was an ideal game for that.”

“ … Hat tip to Jack. Because I think he outplayed Barnes, and Barnes is a heck of a quarterback.”

Breaking out

UNM’s breakout star Saturday? None other than tight end Cade Keith, catching a perfect seven passes on seven targets for a career-best 104 yards and one touchdown.

That the 6-foot-5, 239-pound TCU transfer had the day he did was a product of what Eck deemed a shrewd schematic decision. That tight end and leading receiver Dorian Thomas (39 catches, 423 yards, four touchdowns) was getting a fair amount of attention from Utah State’s defense didn't hurt either.

“We thought 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) was a little bit of a weakness for them … We had (two plays) where they really didn’t cover Cade in the middle of the field,” Eck said. “And I thought that was really a scheme-based thing that was excellent by (offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner) to come up with.”

“We knew we were going to come in here and play good football,” Keith said in a news conference Saturday. “And that’s exactly what we did.”

Fake out

UNM’s fourth-quarter fake punt was not concocted for this week and this week only. That’s a play the Lobos have been working since the early days of fall camp, a near-weekly fixture at practice that running back Deshaun Buchanan and Jaxton Eck had been waiting on.

“That was like day two of fall camp when we installed it,” Jaxton said. “And me and (Buchanan) had been talking about it, when we were gonna run it.”

Why call it when they did? Up 26-14 after the Aggies scored in the fourth quarter, Eck said they wanted to keep Utah State off balance and prevent the possibility of a one-score game.

“Our analytics said it was a go decision,” Eck said. “I didn’t necessarily feel great about lining up, because they had done a pretty good job on third down against us. And we call that play sometimes with a check.

“But I had confidence – we needed one yard. And I said, ‘even if they had someone on (Buchanan)’ -– which, I knew the most they’d have is one guy on it – I said, ‘it’s so tough to make a one-on-one tackle back there in a surprising situation.’ He did a great job making the guy miss and getting the first down.”

Snap counts

UNM’s offensive snap counts, per PFF:

-OL Tyler Lawrence (66)

-OL Kaden Robnett (66)

-OL Isaiah Sillemon (65)

-OL Jaymar Tasi (63)

-WR Keagan Johnson (60)

-QB Jack Layne (55)

-OL Malik Aliane (46)

-TE Simon Mapa (45)

-WR Shawn Miller (45)

-TE Dorian Thomas (44)

-WR Zhaiel Smith (34)

-RB D.J. McKinney (31)

-RB Damon Bankston (26)

-OL Nevell Brown (23)

-TE Cade Keith (16)

-RB Scottre Humphrey (15)

-OL Israel Mukwiza (12)

-QB James Laubstein (11)

-WR Isaiah Blair (3)

PFF gave Laubstein a season-high grade of 92.9 after UNM’s backup quarterback rushed for 49 yards on seven carries: “We had the idea of using him as soon as Michigan, but I thought he did a really nice job in the Boise State game when he had his opportunities,” Eck said. “And we had plays up every week and they just didn’t always get called.

“I think we made it a point (of), hey, we gotta get these plays called. Because he runs his tail off, man … Obviously the scouting report is out on him that we’re going to run it a lot when he’s in there. But he’s doing a tremendous job.”

UNM’s defensive snap counts, per PFF:

-S Tavian Combs (52)

-CB Jon Johnson (47)

-DE Brett Karhu (43)

-LB Jaxton Eck (43)

-S C.J. McBean (40)

-CB Abraham William (39)

-DE Keyshawn James-Newby (37)

-DL Brian Booker (36)

-LB Mercury Swaim (34)

-DL Gabriel Lopez (33)

-DE Darren Agu (31)

-S Drew Speech (29)

-CB Frankie Edwards III (23)

-S Ky’Won McCray (23)

-S Caleb Coleman (20)

-DL Okiki Olorunfunmi (20)

-LB Dimitri Johnson (12)

-CB Azariah Levells (10)

-S David Murphy (9)

-DL Xavier Slayton (9)

-DL Jalen McIver (7)

-DL Landon Williams (4)

-CB Jahmir Torres (3)

-S Clint Stephens (1)

After six total tackles (with a safety), Jaxton Eck has the fifth-most tackles (82) nationally. Colorado State linebacker Owen Long leads the 136-team FBS with 103 total tackles.

Notes and quotes

-Eck admitted he thought Utah State was “pretty conservative” at points, especially in regards to a few manageable fourth downs. The Aggies did not try to convert a single fourth down Saturday, remaining tied with UNLV for the lowest attempts (8) in the Mountain West this season.

“There was a few times where I thought they should’ve went for it, and they punted,” UNM’s coach said, “which surprised me. But (it’s) whatever, whatever they wanna do.”

-UNM is 4-0 at home for the first time since 1962. Coincidentally, the fourth win in both seasons came against Utah State; the Lobos beat the Aggies 14-13 with a late 96-yard drive capped by a Bobby Santiago touchdown pass. UNM went on to win the Western Athletic Conference title that season.

-Per PFF, UNM had 155 yards after contact Saturday, its second-highest total of the season after a 35-10 win against UCLA (175).

-Was Jaxton Eck’s safety more of a proud dad than proud coach moment? “I was proud,” the senior Eck said. “I gave him a hard time – one year in the spring game at Idaho, he had a pick-six. But he’d never scored in a real game, so it’s good to see him put some points on the board.”