New Mexico Football: First Look At 2020 Schedule

First look at the New Mexico Lobos football schedule.

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New Mexico Football: First Look At 2020 Schedule

What to expect in Danny Gonzales first year.

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What will the Lobos record be?

What will the first year look like under 1st year coach Danny Gonzales?

The New Mexico Lobo football program took a major reboot with the hiring of Danny Gonzales from Arizona State, the first year will be interesting to see how it affects the program as a whole! 

Here’s the week-by-week schedule with preseason SP+ and ESPN FPI rankings.

August 29: Idaho State

September 5: at Mississippi State 

September 12: at USC

September 19: at New Mexico State 

October 3:  Massachusetts

October 10: at Colorado State

October 17: Nevada

October 24: at Utah State 

October 31: San Jose State

November 7: at Hawai’i 

November 14: Boise State

November 21: at Air Force

November 28: Wyoming

Baptism of fire early in the season

Can the Lobos with talent level from last year’s team be competitive with a tough schedule? Head Coach Danny Gonzales inherits over 30 seniors on the roster for this year’s Lobo football team and a hard schedule in the Mountain West Conference. If you are a half-cup full kind of person, that is a good thing as it could be 30 underclassmen but with not much game experience. With two road trips both Mississippi State and USC, it will be a baptism of fire very early in the season. 

Rocky Long defense early should help them

Rocky Long has a long history in helping have an immediate impact on teams where has coached and the Lobos will really need a great defense will help benefit the Lobos in the Mountain West.

This should bode well for the Lobos with this schedule. There is no denying that nobody runs the 3-3-5 defense like Long. Danny Gonzales had tremendous success at Arizona State running this defense and both Long & Gonzales together will be a powerful coaching duo. 

Not a lot of gimmes for this Lobo team

How many games can this Lobo team win is the million-dollar question this year.  If you look at the established and quality coaching staff, it should really bode well for the Lobo football team.

Yes, the schedule is hard early in the season but what should give Lobo fans lots of hope is not only Coach Long, but the quality of coaches Gonzales has assembled on his staff. Offensive Coordinator Derek Warehime was a huge pickup for the Lobos. Warehime was a huge part of the very productive era of big play offense under then Offensive Coordinator Bob Debesse. 

Hardest stretch: Mississippi State, USC, Boise State

Easiest stretch: Idaho State, New Mexico State, San Jose State

Guaranteed wins: Idaho State, New Mexico State 

Guaranteed losses: Mississippi State, USC

Worse than 50/50 games: Air Force, Wyoming, Boise State 

50/50 games: Massachusetts, Utah State 

Better than 50/50:  Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada

Preliminary projected record: 8-5

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