New Mexico Lobos Football

After three painful years in Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan and Rich Rodriguez split up like any other celebrity marriage. Rodriguez had a lot going against him.

Right away he was a controversial figure with the maize and blue community because he was not a "Michigan" man. He also brought in a new system that tried to change a culture.

Not to mention the expectation to win a national championship every year and a new athletic director came in after Rodriguez was hired.

Everyone saw this one coming.

Was Rich Rodriguez just a bad coach? Was the Big Ten too much? I don't think so. It just was not meant to be, Rodriguez and Michigan. It takes time to implement a new system and get your own guys contributing on the field.

In fact, Rodriguez's last year was the only season where it was actually fair to judge him. It just wasn't good enough for the new AD and the university.

So what's next? Rodriguez has not been in the news as the hottest commodity. Could he be looking for a coordinating position at a prestigious school? Could he be the next head coach at a lower-tier school? Could he be hanging the whistle up? Only time will tell...

If Rodriguez wants to get back on his feet and become the hottest coach on the market, the answer is in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico, home of the Lobos. He just has to take a year off and he'll thank Michigan for letting him go at such a convenient time.

No doubt Rodriguez can build a program. His success at West Virginia was tremendous. The fans actually supported him there.

The University of New Mexico is not known for their football program. In fact, the basketball attendances sometimes rivals the football team's, like recent years. Also, everyone knows it's nearly impossible to win consistently with the Lobos.

I'm not trying to scare Rodriguez off... No, no... I'm selling the potential. Imagine, the Lobos coming off a 6-30 tenure with Mike Locksley and enter Rodriguez. Rodriguez can implement his system right away without years of growing pains.

Locksley has spent the past two seasons implementing his spread offense... Rodriguez can pick up where Locksley leaves off. The Lobos can become bowl-eligible with all the talent Locksley has been bringing in, and Rodriguez becomes a savior!

Rodriguez can either leave the program and work his way back up or sign UNM's bigger contract extension. (I'll admit the paycheck won't look like Michigan's, but the weather sure is nicer.)

Who knows? The potential is there, Rodriguez. You would look like Moses coming to free the Lobo slaves. BCS bowls should be the least of your goals at UNM. But we would love to have a winning season too! Anything looks better than 1-11.

You can also have a Rodriguez family reunion!

Maybe it was the mini collider making mini black holes on Carl Sagan Day that did it.

Maybe it was the Planter Peanut Man beginning to talk in a voice that sounded bizarrely like Iron Man.

Maybe it was the Goodwrench Man being sent to sleep with the fishes.

Whatever it was something shook something loose in Billy the Kid country.  

New Mexico has been liberated. Los Lobos has won.

The New Mexico Lobos followed their cross-state brethren New Mexico Aggies to the light and whipped the Wyoming Cowboys with a last-second field goal. 

It was the biggest win in New Mexico since the Battle of Glorieta Pass stopped conference expansion and sent the SEC slinking back east.

The Terrible 10 top spot has become more unstable than a 1930s Central American country with a large, and unhappy, United Fruit office.

What would Sam the Banana Man say about the scramble for the top spot of terrible teams?

1. The Akron Zipped (0-10)

The utterly hapless Akron Zips, thanks to an amazingly bad early-season loss to the Gardner-Webb Running Bulldogs, have zapped past the state of New Mexico and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to become the only winless football team in Division I.

Only the Miami Ohio RedHawks, the Buffalo Bulls and a rumored Worst Team in Ohio Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals stand in the way of a defeated Zipper season. 

Come on Zips, ye can be zipped!

2. San Jose State Spartans (1-8)

After being nailed by New Mexico State on Halloween weekend the easily slaughtered Spartans are preparing to spend some of those big bucks they earned by being beaten by Alabama and Wisconsin. 

After that road loss at New Mexico the Spartans travel to Hawaii and Idaho to be clubbed by the former Rainbow Warriors of the pacific and current Vandals of the cold west.

In between trips San Jose also plans to spend some quality time at home being soundly slapped by Louie Louie Tech and Utah State.

Sounds like a lovely holiday season!

3. UNLV Run Over Rebels (1-8)

The last team to do this badly in Vegas was Clark Grizwold when Wayne Newton stole his woman and Sin City took his money in Vegas Vacation.

But at least he had a free Randy Quaid, currently a crazy Canadian exile, to entertain him.

Not much joy in being a Rebel fan.

Maybe they ought to start a Free Randy Quaid section.

4. Colorado Dan Hawkins

Often, when the wagon trains of the old West began their trek towards Pac-10 country, wagon masters decided to dump excess baggage that would bog them down in the high passes and low deserts.

Someone told Colorado Dan to go scout over that far hill and while he was gone the Buffalo herd and its wagons went west much lighter and in better spirits.

Still there are the memories.

Ndamukong Suh, late of Nebraska, told the NY Post that his fondest memory on the football field was returning an interception for a touchdown against Colorado...and running over the coach's son on the way to the end zone. 

Memories like that just cannot be made in holiday backyard Turkey bowls.

5. Minnesota Gone Gone Gone Golden Gophers (1-9)

After sneaking by the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders by seven in Week 1 the Gophers have been gassed by nine straight ball clubs. 

Thank Odin they have that mad mini circus called Brett, Brad and the Traveling Vikings playing in the same state to provide laughter, tears and most importantly distractions.

6. Michigan Defense (Somewhere giving up 33 to someone)

What exactly was it about Greg Robinson's tenure at Syracuse that made Michigan say, "This is our man"?

Players do not get a little open against the Wolverines they get no defender around for 20 yards wide open.

It really is a talent to be that terrible.  

7. Memphis Tigers (1-8)

Even if they gave Elvis free fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches he could not watch this mess in Memphis. 

8. Washington State Cougars (1-9)

Every night the team thanks the Montana State Bobcats, who they barely nipped 23-22 in Week 2, for saving them from an Akron Zipped type of season.

9. The State of Tennessee (8-18)

Commodores, Volunteers and Blue Raiders are all bad.

But what's worse for Nashville is that Gwyneth Paltrow, late of La La Land but now a Londonite but who is, apparently, pure faux British country at heart, has decided to make a country and western movie and record.

Aye, when one thinks Paltrow one thinks Carter Sisters or, at least, a severed, finally silent, head in a box in Seven. 

Still one worries if that fake British accent, shrilly churning out phony country tunes, will make country western fans' heads explode like the doomed Martians in Mars Attacks when they first hear a yodel.

In Mars Attacks the evil Martians put Sarah Jessica Parker's still talking Sex in The City head on a small dog so maybe the country crooners can make Paltrow a star. 

Anything is possible, Bubba, even Middle Tennessee being the best ball club in the state.

10. The Louie, Louie Louie's (9-13)

The three little Lou's—Tech, Monroe and Lafayette—all have had losing seasons. 

It has to be depressing for anyone named Lou and most of Louisiana.

Even the fans at Lou Albano stated seem down, rubber bands on beards dipping sadly in beers...and that's not like them at all.

Lou's everywhere can only hope Les Miles of Lou State does not lose his Time Clock Coach again this season or all the Lou's will be livid.

Quick, name a player currently playing for the New Mexico or New Mexico State football teams.

If you weren’t able to do it without a quick Google search of either team’s roster, relax, you’re probably not in the minority.

New Mexico’s two FBS programs are a combined 0-9 this season and neither squad seems to be on the horizon of mind-blowing success in the second half of the 2010 season.

The Lobos of New Mexico have been outscored by an average of 40 points in their first five games while New Mexico State has been a little more respectable, only being outscored by an average of 35 points in their four contests so far.

To be fair, New Mexico has had the misfortune of battling three strong BCS squads in Oregon, Utah, and Texas Tech while New Mexico State has only had to battle one, the Kansas Jayhawks, although the Aggies did have to face off against No. 4 rated Boise State this past weekend, a game which they lost, 59-0.

So, yes, suffice to say, things haven’t been too pretty for either school thus far.

That’s not to say that this unsuccessful start to the season wasn’t expected. Both of these teams finished in the basement of their respective conferences last season.

Under first year head coach Mike Locksley, a former offensive coordinator at Illinois, New Mexico finished 1-11 in 2009 after letting up more than 400 yards per game on defense. New Mexico State, on the other hand, finished with a 3-10 record under new head coach DeWayne Walker, a former defensive coordinator at UCLA.

Neither Locksley nor Walker has had much luck trying to turn things around in their second years.

It doesn’t mean that the schools should be ready to quit on either coach yet. Locksley and Walker, who are two of the the 13 African-American head coaches currently coaching at the FBS level, are both known to be strong recruiters. But recruiting top talent from a state that sent exactly zero players to BCS schools this past year can be tough.

Both will need results soon if they hope to keep their jobs and this game could be used as a boost for whichever team comes out on top.

The Lobos have dominated this matchup, winning six straight games up until last year’s 20-17 last-second defeat.

This year, the two team’s offensive and defensive units rank as one of the five worst in the nation and it doesn’t look like there’s much reason to pay attention to this game other then to watch the futility unfold.

So far, the only noteworthy calling card for these teams is that they both got the opportunity to get trounced by top five teams.

The only sure thing is that after this weekend, we will have a new king of college football in the state of New Mexico. Although that hardly seems like something to be proud of these days.

In the past twenty years, UNM has not had an exemplary season. There have been decent teams fielded, but nothing for Lobo fans to hang their hats on when it comes to football. UNM’s best seasons were in 1997 and 2007, with 9-4 records. Even though the Lobos have come close, they haven’t won a conference title since 1964 back in the WAC. It does not look like they will ever win a MWC title the way things are going now.

Dennis Franchione Era (1992-1997): The Program Is Born

 

The Lobos were just coming off an abysmal 9-50 record under Mike Sheppard. In 1992, they hired Dennis Franchione. Franchione was coming off successful seasons at Pittsburgh State University and SW Texas State University. It was Franchione’s first D1 head coaching job. Franchione started out in ’92 with a 3-8 record and worked his way up to an eventual 9-4 record in ’97. Soon after, Franchione left UNM for bigger and better things.

Rocky Long Era (1998-2008): The Program Is Noticed

 

UNM decided that Rocky Long was the best man to fill Franchione’s shoes. He was the defensive coordinator for UCLA prior and also was an alumnus. Rocky Long was known for fielding strong defensive teams. Although Long was not known for having the prettiest offenses, his teams were always competitive. It was hard for UNM to play the highly touted teams sometimes just because of his impressive defenses.

Long went on to be the most successful coach at UNM- accumulating a 65-69 record. His most notable stretch was from ’01-’07- garnering a 49-38 record. Even though Long did not recruit the sought-after athletes, he still was successful at coaching them and surpassed expectations. He took the Lobos to seven straight bowl-eligible seasons. His first bowl win came in ’07 against Nevada.

In ’08, after a sub-par season of 4-8, he resigned stating that he could not take the Lobos to the top as the head coach. He then went on to bash the fan support stating “If you want to compete with the big boys, you've got to act like it."

Mike Locksley Era (2009-Present): The Program Gets a Complete Makeover (Not a Renovation)

In ’07, Illinois had tremendous success and garnered a 9-4 record. Even though they lost in the prestigious Rose Bowl to USC, a lot of eyes focused on the Fighting Illini football team. Mike Locksley was the offensive coordinator and had tremendous success with recruiting.

Paul Krebs, the athletic director of UNM, knew that the UNM football lacked success on the recruiting trail. Locksley was hired in ’09 in order to implement a strong offense and bring in the sought-after recruits.

In his introductory press conference at UNM, Locksley stated "I don't look at this as a rebuilding job. I think the job that coach Long and his staff has done is one of the reasons I was attracted to the job. I know that you guys are a tough, hard-nosed group of guys. To me, I look at this as a renovation job. I'm going to come in and put my touch on my house, on my family, but I don't have time to rebuild…"

He even went on to say that UNM would need to add an extra digit to the scoreboard because his teams would be so successful offensively.

So far UNM has gone 1-14 under Locksley and have averaged some of the worst stats in FBS.

The problem with the Locksley hire is that this is his first head coaching job and he does not have a proven track record. Locksley went 18-30 while at Illinois. Also, he has made some rookie head coach mistakes, getting in an altercation with an assistant coach and being accused of sexual harassment.

Although it might seem Locksley is driving the football program over a cliff, his new systems he brought to UNM completely change the program. His new schemes demand certain players Long did not have. A renovation is quick; a makeover is not.

Conclusion

In one or two years, we’ll be looking back to these abysmal seasons and either will be glad we stuck with Locksley and reaping the rewards, or will be rebuilding the program with a new head coach at the helm. For UNM’s sake, I hope Locksley succeeds immensely or completely fails so that they can move on to a coach that will bring UNM to the national spotlight- in a good way.

The Lobo offense made big steps toward improvement Saturday, but it was all for naught as special teams breakdowns and a slew of penalties led to a 52-17 rout.

Lobo quarterback B.R. Holbrook threw for 323 yards, the offense gained 97 yards on the ground, and UNM won the time-of-possession war by hanging on to the ball for 33:41.

This is all great news, except that at the end of the night, the score was Texas Tech 52, UNM 17.

What happened? For a second week in a row, special teams execution was a mess. The 16 penalties on top of that pretty much gave the game to Texas Tech.

Who is to blame? Head coach Mike Locksley took some responsibility, but he made darn sure to blame players for not playing smart and he indicated that he might start replacing some of them.

Maybe Locksley is right, and the players just aren't responding to his coaching. But ultimately, the coach is responsible for the performance of the team. The coach is responsible for training the players and shaping them into a disciplined unit that knows what to do on every play. The coach can't just throw up his hands after a blow-out loss and complain about the players not playing smart.

It seems to me that penalties and special teams breakdowns are a direct reflection on the coaching, and the coaching staff should take full responsibility for these problems.

If some players just aren't getting it, we fans don't need to hear the coach complaining about it.

We need the coach to take control of the situation and get these young men properly taught, trained, and disciplined. 

After last week's 72-0 drubbing at the hands of the Oregon Ducks, it is looking like Lobo football fans are in for another long year. Maybe the offense will start clicking a few weeks from now, and maybe the Lobos will win a few games, but most likely, this season will be yet another painful growth process for the Lobos.

And I understand that, and don't mind that, as long as the program makes reasonable steps toward improvement. First, that means focusing on fundamentals.

If you're a team with decent but not world-class talent, you can't afford to make unnecessary errors, like blowing punt coverage, fumbling, and forgetting how to properly block and tackle. The Lobos can succeed in the fundamentals of football, as long as they train relentlessly to improve.

Second, getting the offense on track is extremely important. Not only does the offense have the job of scoring points, which is obviously the key to winning games, but a good offense can keep possession of the ball for long periods of time, chewing up the clock and wearing out the opponent's defense while keeping their own defense fresh and on the sidelines.

I don't know what goes in during practices for the offense, but the players need as many repetitions as possible when learning the playbook. The players cannot be put in a position where they have to think about what their job is on a given play while 59,000 Oregon fans are screaming for blood.

The offense needs to drill, drill, drill until they can run every play in the playbook in their sleep, particularly the running plays, which give teams the best chance to control the ball and eat up the clock.

If the spread offense is just too complicated for that, then maybe it needs to be simplified a bit, or maybe some of the playbook needs to be thrown out.

But simplified or not, the spread offense must be kept in place. If this season turns out to be another losing one, the coaching staff cannot do what has been done so often over the last 10 years: scrap the offense in the off-season and force the players to learn a new one.

That practice is what has been holding this program back and keeping players from realizing their full potential. Just stick with one offense and let the players master it. It might take two or three seasons, and it might not be pretty, but at least progress would be made toward mastery. Changing the offense would just put the team back at square one.

As I have written before, former Lobo quarterbacks Kole McKamey and Donovan Porterie spent most of their UNM careers learning new offenses, and McKamey himself said learning a new offense is like learning a foreign language.

In summary: the Lobos need to get back to fundamentals overall and just continue learning the spread offense, in a simplified form if need be. And learning means practice, practice, practice. 

And once again, Lobo fans need to be patient.