From The Sidelines

Posted at: 09/19/2009 11:22 PM | Updated at: 09/19/2009 11:27 PM
By: J.P. Murrieta

I was on the sidelines at UNM's 37-13 loss to Air Force (a result most people expected).  Here are a couple observations from the night.

I think Mike Locksley is starting to discover what a lot of Lobo fans saw last year… running back James Wright can be productive.  Wright's 126 yards was a career high and he scored the only offensive touchdowns of the year tonight.  For the first couple weeks of the season Wright was in Locksley's doghouse (at least that was the perception).  Coming into the season, Wright told us he expected to be the starting running back, but first year head coach Mike Locksley made it clear all the starting jobs were up for grabs.  Wright told us tonight he knows why he wasn't playing more this year up to tonight.  His practice habits were poor.  Message received, good practice means more playing time.

When Wright scored UNM's first offensive touchdown of the night, the crowd and the team acted like it was the game winning Super Bowl score.  Guys, act like you've been there before.

Speaking of running backs, La Cueva's Ronnie Daniels took his official visit to UNM this weekend.  Daniels is coming off a monster performance against Clovis where he scored 4 touchdowns and ran for 278 yards.

Those Air Force players can flat out hit.  On the flip side, I saw plenty of UNM missed tackles tonight.

The most rested player on the field was the Air Force punter.  The Falcons only punted once during the entire game.. and that didn't come until the fourth quarter.

I chuckled when the fans gave UNM's offense a loud round of applause on their first drive and they reached a first down.  Little things mean a lot when your offense hasn't done much.

 UNM men's basketball coach Steve Alford (who's got a good relationship with Locksley) is on the sidelines at most Lobo home football games.  It's good to see other UNM coaches support their fellow coaches.  UNM baseball coach Ray Birmingham was also there tonight.

Hats off to the fans who stuck around 'till the bitter end.  Those who were there for Wright's second touchdown of the night made some noise.

After the game, Locksley would not commit to a starting quarterback for next week, but I would be very surprised if B.R. Holbrook did not get the nod.

Quote of the night from an optimistic (and realistic) stadium worker before kickoff:  "We're going to get our first win tonight… (pause).. or maybe next week."

Speaking of which, I'll say it because everyone's thinking it.  If the Lobos lose to New Mexico State next week, an 0-12 season is not out of the question.

I leave you with this, who's going to be favored at next week's UNM-NMSU game?

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