Mark
09-10-2007, 06:25 AM
Monday, September 10, 2007
http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/593343sports09-10-07.htm
LOBO FOOTBALL Inconsistency Bothers Long
<!--BSHTAG--> <!--PARSER:--> <!--CTPROVIDER:Albuquerque Journal--> <!--TITLE: LOBO FOOTBALL Inconsistency Bothers Long--><!--COPYRIGHT:Copyright 2007 Albuquerque Journal (http://www.albuquerquejournal.com)--> <!--AUTHOR: Greg Archuleta--> <!-- ORIGINAL PHOTO PATH = #PHOTOPATH1# --> <!--BSHSTARTBODY--> By Greg Archuleta (http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/email_reporter.pl)
<!--ss-->Journal Staff Writer
<!--es--> Coach Rocky Long always sees the glass half-full when the University of New Mexico football team is struggling.
So it should be no surprise that after the Lobo offense emerged in a 44-34 win over in-state rival New Mexico State on Saturday night, Long is staring at a half-empty mug.
"I don't think we're as consistent as I thought we'd be," Long said Sunday, "because we're more experienced and we're not playing like an experienced team.
"Now, we're a whole lot better than we were at this time last year, but we're not as good as I thought we might be this early in the season."
UNM (1-1) totaled 496 yards on offense but gave up 581 yards to the Aggies, the most the defense has surrendered since Air Force had 620 yards in 2001.
It allowed 195 in the season opener at Texas-El Paso.
"I didn't think we played as good in the secondary as we should've," Long said, "and all those guys played last year. They were much better in the first game, even though they were playing against a much better offense (in the second)."
Nor did Long particularly care for the Lobos' finish. After they seized control with 17 straight points, they committed two personal fouls, allowed the Aggies to score, recover an onside kick and get back down to the 2 before the game ended.
Long lauded the play of sophomore quarterback Donovan Porterie but wished he could've had that kind of performance a week earlier.
"Donovan looked good last night, too, but I thought he'd look like that in the first game.
Porterie completed 17-of-24 passes— after a UNM stat correction that deleted a pass and a completion from Saturday night's game— for 342 yards. He averaged more than 20 yards per completion, compared to 7.6 against UTEP.
Long noted, however, that he has been pleasantly surprised by the play of the offensive line, which has led a rushing attack that is averaging 171.5 yards per game, so far a 60-yard improvement over last season.
WHY NOT BOTH? While Long praised the Aggies offense, he said he wouldn't want to use that style of passing offense to go with his defense.
The Aggies attempted 64 passes and ran the ball 28 times on Saturday night.
"I want a 50-50 team because I believe there's times you have to run the ball and then there's times you have to throw it," Long said, referring to the ratio between run and pass. "I don't think you can be one-dimensional."
CHASE, THE RECORD HOLDER: NMSU QB Chase Holbrook's 47 completions Saturday night set a record for a Lobo opponent, eclipsing the previous mark of 44 set by Texas Tech's Sonny Cumbie in 2004.
FIELD OF NIGHTMARES: The grass at University Stadium, usually thick and green for the home opener, was riddled with brown spots starting the game and got even worse as the teams played.
UNM media relations director Greg Remington said the grass has fungus that resulted from high heat and humidity over the summer. Long said he apologized to Aggie coach Hal Mummer about the condition of the field after the game.
INJURY UPDATE: Starting cornerback Glover Quin underwent surgery to repair a hernia after the game, but doctors didn't find a hernia once they started operating.
Quin, who has suffered from a strained groin all through fall camp, will have a CAT scan once the swelling goes down in his leg. He will be out three to four weeks.
Redshirt freshman Jerome Jenkins will slide into Quin's spot, and UNM likely will move lobo back Frankie Baca back to cornerback for depth.
Linebacker Major Mosley remains questionable for Saturday's game at Arizona.
Up next
Saturday: New Mexico at Arizona, 8:05 p.m. TV: Fox Arizona. Radio: KKOB-AM (770)
http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/593343sports09-10-07.htm
LOBO FOOTBALL Inconsistency Bothers Long
<!--BSHTAG--> <!--PARSER:--> <!--CTPROVIDER:Albuquerque Journal--> <!--TITLE: LOBO FOOTBALL Inconsistency Bothers Long--><!--COPYRIGHT:Copyright 2007 Albuquerque Journal (http://www.albuquerquejournal.com)--> <!--AUTHOR: Greg Archuleta--> <!-- ORIGINAL PHOTO PATH = #PHOTOPATH1# --> <!--BSHSTARTBODY--> By Greg Archuleta (http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/email_reporter.pl)
<!--ss-->Journal Staff Writer
<!--es--> Coach Rocky Long always sees the glass half-full when the University of New Mexico football team is struggling.
So it should be no surprise that after the Lobo offense emerged in a 44-34 win over in-state rival New Mexico State on Saturday night, Long is staring at a half-empty mug.
"I don't think we're as consistent as I thought we'd be," Long said Sunday, "because we're more experienced and we're not playing like an experienced team.
"Now, we're a whole lot better than we were at this time last year, but we're not as good as I thought we might be this early in the season."
UNM (1-1) totaled 496 yards on offense but gave up 581 yards to the Aggies, the most the defense has surrendered since Air Force had 620 yards in 2001.
It allowed 195 in the season opener at Texas-El Paso.
"I didn't think we played as good in the secondary as we should've," Long said, "and all those guys played last year. They were much better in the first game, even though they were playing against a much better offense (in the second)."
Nor did Long particularly care for the Lobos' finish. After they seized control with 17 straight points, they committed two personal fouls, allowed the Aggies to score, recover an onside kick and get back down to the 2 before the game ended.
Long lauded the play of sophomore quarterback Donovan Porterie but wished he could've had that kind of performance a week earlier.
"Donovan looked good last night, too, but I thought he'd look like that in the first game.
Porterie completed 17-of-24 passes— after a UNM stat correction that deleted a pass and a completion from Saturday night's game— for 342 yards. He averaged more than 20 yards per completion, compared to 7.6 against UTEP.
Long noted, however, that he has been pleasantly surprised by the play of the offensive line, which has led a rushing attack that is averaging 171.5 yards per game, so far a 60-yard improvement over last season.
WHY NOT BOTH? While Long praised the Aggies offense, he said he wouldn't want to use that style of passing offense to go with his defense.
The Aggies attempted 64 passes and ran the ball 28 times on Saturday night.
"I want a 50-50 team because I believe there's times you have to run the ball and then there's times you have to throw it," Long said, referring to the ratio between run and pass. "I don't think you can be one-dimensional."
CHASE, THE RECORD HOLDER: NMSU QB Chase Holbrook's 47 completions Saturday night set a record for a Lobo opponent, eclipsing the previous mark of 44 set by Texas Tech's Sonny Cumbie in 2004.
FIELD OF NIGHTMARES: The grass at University Stadium, usually thick and green for the home opener, was riddled with brown spots starting the game and got even worse as the teams played.
UNM media relations director Greg Remington said the grass has fungus that resulted from high heat and humidity over the summer. Long said he apologized to Aggie coach Hal Mummer about the condition of the field after the game.
INJURY UPDATE: Starting cornerback Glover Quin underwent surgery to repair a hernia after the game, but doctors didn't find a hernia once they started operating.
Quin, who has suffered from a strained groin all through fall camp, will have a CAT scan once the swelling goes down in his leg. He will be out three to four weeks.
Redshirt freshman Jerome Jenkins will slide into Quin's spot, and UNM likely will move lobo back Frankie Baca back to cornerback for depth.
Linebacker Major Mosley remains questionable for Saturday's game at Arizona.
Up next
Saturday: New Mexico at Arizona, 8:05 p.m. TV: Fox Arizona. Radio: KKOB-AM (770)