Offensive woes continue to plague the University of New Mexico as Utah State beat the Lobos 24-10 at DreamStyle Stadium on Saturday evening. Turnovers and poor execution on offense have limited UNM to just one offensive touchdown over the last nine quarters of action dating back to a fourth-quarter score in against Colorado State on October 20th.
Running back LaJuan Hunt led the Aggies offensive attack with 117 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries, while quarterback Jordan Love added 114 passing yards on 13 of 24 passing.
Tevaka Tuioti and Lamar Jordan combined for 12 of 21 passing for 75 yards, while the potent UNM rushing attack notched 265 yards and a touchdown on 57 combined carries.
But the difference in the game came down to turnover differential and offensive execution; two aspects of the contest won by the visiting Aggies. Utah State managed to convert three drives into touchdown scores while forcing four UNM turnovers. The Lobos, on the other hand, shot themselves in the foot with three first-half fumbles, including a fumble by Jordan on a deep in Aggie territory on the opening drive of the game.
With 11 turnovers in the last eight quarters, Davie and the UNM coaching staff are frustrated and looking for answers.
“Somewhere along the way here, we’ve turned into a hard-luck, mistake team,” UNM head coach Bob Davie said after the game. ”It’s impossible to win when you are that when you are who we are, particularly. It’s frustrating.”
The frustrations for Davie and his staff will likely continue next week as the Lobos head to College Station Texas to take on Texas A&M in a non-conference matchup. The Texas A&M Aggies are in the midst of a down season at 5-4 but still present a tough matchup for Davie and the Lobos.
A loss in any of UNM’s final three games will make the Lobos ineligible for a bowl game in 2017, ending a three-season streak under Davie’s tenure.