New Mexico vs. Wyoming: Lobos Keys, Live Streaming, Odds, Predictions
Lobos vs. Cowboys in a key Mountain West game
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Bowl eligibility could come into play
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WEEK 5: Wyoming Cowboys (3-3) vs. New Mexico Lobos (2-3)
WHEN: October 8, 2022, 7:00 pm EDT, 5:00 MST
WHERE: University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
WEATHER: 62° high and low 51° cloudy with showers & thunderstorms
TV: CBS Sports Network
Live Stream: Fubo TV (Watch for free)
Chris Lewis (Play-by-play) and Tom Herman (Color Analyst).
RADIO: 77KOB Lobo Radio Network. Rob Portnoy (play-by-play), Dontrell Moore (analyst)
SERIES RECORD: Wyoming leads the series by four games, 3-34
LAST WEEK: UNM lost to UNLV 31-20, Wyoming lost to San Jose St 33-16
WEBSITES: www.golobos.com, the official website for the UNM Lobos
www.gowyo.com/, the official website for the Wyoming Cowboys
GAME NOTES (PDF): New Mexico I Wyoming
SP+ PROJECTION: Wyoming by 2.8
FEI PROJECTION: Wyoming by 10.3
PARKER FLEMMING PROJECTION: Wyoming 16.41, New Mexico 12.23. Wyoming given 61.92% win probability.
The Line: New Mexico Lobos +3 / Wyoming Cowboys -3; Over/Under
The Wyoming Cowboys will travel to the high altitude of Albuquerque, NM, to take on longtime conference foe, the New Mexico Lobos, this Saturday.
The Cowboys and the Lobos are meeting for the 24th consecutive season since both became founding members of the Mountain West Conference in 1999.
Wyoming is averaging 22.7 offensive points per game, while New Mexico is averaging 20.4 on the offensive side of the ball.
The Pokes are giving up 28.3 (86th) points per game, while the Lobos are giving up just 22 points per game and are ranked 46th in FBS.
Both teams came off losses last week, as the Lobos lost in Las Vegas to UNLV 31-10 after giving up a 17-point lead in the first half. Wyoming lost to San Jose State 33-16.
So, the reality is this game is crucial to both teams trying to get back on the winning track, and the Lobos are looking for their first conference victory.
Expect very physical teams to show up if history indicates how these teams compete against each other.
The Lobos have beaten the Cowboys the last two years, and after listening to pressers, they have not forgotten this, so expect a very competitive & physical game.
This will be the Cowboy’s first conference road trip of the season and the 75th meeting between the two teams.
New Mexico is 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Mountain West, with losses to Boise State at home 31-14 and last week to UNLV in Vegas 31-20
Wyoming is 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West, having defeated the Air Force Academy 17-14 and last week lost to San Jose State 33-16 last Saturday at home
Keys to beating the Pokes!
- Contain QB Andrew Peasley from Explosive Plays
Wyoming is 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West, having defeated the Air Force Academy 17-14 and last week lost to San Jose State 33-16 last Saturday at home
Starting Quarterback Andrew Peasley can be explosive on the ground with his feet and in the air throwing the football.
Against San Jose State last week, Peasley had 85 yards on 6 of 20 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception for the Cowboys. He also carried the ball seven times for 74 yards.
Peasley has thrown for 831 yards (138.5 ypg) to lead Wyoming’s offense, completing 54.7% of his passes and tossing seven touchdown passes and three interceptions this season. He’s also run for 228 yards (38.0 ypg) on 38 carries
This year Peasley has created over 15 explosive passing plays of 15 or more yards for over 406 yards through six games and ten running plays of 10 yards or more for over 198 yards.
So for this Cowboys offense, he has over 25 big plays for 604 yards in just six games; this kid can create havoc on opposing defenses.
Peasley, at 6’2, has good size, strength, and an arm for the big plays. He currently ranks at No. 5 in Mountain West’s total offense averaging 176.5 yards per game and has accounted for over 1,059 yards of total offense for the Pokes.
Running back Titus Swen, leading in rushing with 455 yards (75.8 yards per game) on 99 carries, has four touchdowns for the year.
Receiver Joshua Cobbs has 269 yards (44.8 yards per game and leads all receivers on the roster for the Pokes. He has 23 receptions and two touchdowns.
- Lobo Defense must play a very physical game
If there has been one consistent thing for the Lobos, it’s been the Lobo Defense, following in the tradition they have had for many years.
This Lobo defense flies to the ball, disrupting the offenses with constant blitzes from different areas of the field. Rocky Long has a knack for calling the right blitz in the most critical 3rd down plays for the Lobos.
Cowboy head coach, like Rocky Long, has been around for a long time and knows what to expect from this Lobo defense.
Craig Bohl joked Long and Gonzales are the “Dalai Lamas” of this game plan.
“It’s a disruptive type of defense with lots of different guys coming in from different places,” Bohl said. “You know, it’s one of those things; you live by the sword, you die by the sword, and we need to try to make them pay. In the past, we haven’t. They’ve had their way with us. We’ve got to have a better game plan and execute better both in the rush game and protecting the quarterback.”
UNM is giving up only 113. 2 rushing yards per game to rank No. 3 in the Mountain West and No. 37 in the nation, but the Lobos are giving up 242.4 passing yards per game, which ranks No. 9 in the MW and No. 86 nationally.
Defensive Coordinator Rocky Long is now up in the booth calling the Defense out while head Coach Danny Gonzales signals the Defense call to the players on the field.
Danny Gonzales comes from the Long coaching tree and is a Rocky Long version 2.0 of this Defense, and Lobo fans can be thrilled about that for the future.
- The offense must get going
At some point this year, the Lobos must play solid four quarters of offense to score more points and give their Defense a rest.
After watching the Mountain West Conference, the one thing that stands out is how good a team does on offense; the effectiveness or lack of is huge for their prospective offenses.
Last week we saw a glimpse of the potential of this Lobo offense and what could happen in the first half against the UNLV Rebels, as it looked like they had found their rhythm.
Lobo Quarterback Miles Kendrick threw for 163 yards for the Lobos against the Rebels, going 13-for-25 (52.0%) with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He added eight carries for 30 yards and two touchdowns.
In that matchup, Lobo running back Nate Jones had a 12-carry, 61-yard game (5.1 yards per attempt). Geordon Porter caught six passes for 117 yards (19.5 yards per catch).
Quarterback Miles Kendrick has thrown for 589 yards (117.8 yards per game) to lead the Lobos, with a completion ratio of 56.2%, throwing for three touchdown passes and five interceptions for the season.
Leading the Lobos is Nate Jones, with a team-high 189 rushing yards (47.3 per game) on 48 carries and one touchdown for the year.
Sherod White has 62 receiving yards on five receptions and has 131 rushing yards per game (26.2 per game) on 31 carries and three touchdowns.
Geordon Porter leads all receivers on the Lobos offense with 263 yards (52.6 per game) and has 16 receptions and two touchdowns.
Followed by Luke Wysong with a 116-yard season so far (23.2 receiving yards per game and one touchdown, with 16 receptions for the season.
This Derek Warehime (Offensive Coordinator) must find a way to get the ball into some very explosive player maker’s hands and the Lobos have a handful of them on this year’s roster.
These Lobo special teams also must play solid to put the Lobos in a position to win a close game.
Kickers Steinkamp must kick the ball and be accurate for close games to allow the Lobos to score in close games, and punter Aaron Hernandez must punt the ball great to enable the Lobo special teams plenty of time to get downfield and make great plays and flip the field when called on.
Cowboys kicker John Hoyland ranks No 1 in the Mountain West in field goals made per game with 2.17 and is No 2 in the nation, 2 in the MWC, and No seven nationally, so at the very least, the Lobos must make field goals when they are in the position to
Hoyland is 92.0 percent on his kicks, so there is no room for error for the Lobos special teams.
Prediction: I have a gut feeling the Lobos will finally put in a solid offensive output to match the Defense and come away with the victory. This will be the most balanced we have seen the Lobos all season and it will pay dividends for Danny Gonzales and the Lobos.
Both teams need a win, and their numbers are very close on the offensive side of the ball, but I give the defensive edge to this Lobo Defense.
UNM Lobos 31 points, Wyoming Cowboys 21
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