Fresno State first look: New Mexico’s questions at quarterback could pose a problem

New Mexico won its first game of the season last week, edging Wyoming 17-16 when Isaiah Chavez, a true freshman non-scholarship walk-on and the fourth quarterback to attempt a pass for the Lobos this season, hit on a 33-yard touchdown throw with six-plus minutes to go.

It was the first career victory for coach Danny Gonzales, leaving UNLV as the only winless team in the Mountain West Conference.

It snapped a 14-game losing streak for the Lobos, which at kickoff was the longest in the nation. Akron, which had lost 20 games in a row, found a way to beat Bowling Green earlier in the day, leaving New Mexico for a few hours at the top of a list that no program wants to be on.

“I told our football team that at the pregame meal: ‘We’re the losingest team in the country,’” Gonzales told the Albuquerque Journal.

“We kind of embraced it, which is kind of embarrassing. But we’ll never have that streak again.”

New Mexico has not had a winning season since going 9-4 in 2016. The Lobos’ last winning streak came in 2017. Last week’s win snapped a 20-game Mountain West losing streak, their last win coming in 2018 at UNLV. After that win over the Rebels, they lost their final seven conference games in 2018, all eight in 2019 and the first five this season.

Here is a first look at the Lobos …

FRESNO STATE-NEW MEXICO

Where and when: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas; Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: FS1/ESPN940AM

Records: Bulldogs 3-2, New Mexico 1-5

Series: Bulldogs lead 13-4

Last meeting: Marcus McMaryion passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a 38-7 win in 2018 in Albuquerque.

Coaches: Kalen DeBoer (3-2), Danny Gonzales (1-5 in first season)

Line: Bulldogs -12

QUARTERBACK QUESTIONS

Chavez was the last quarterback standing when he went into the game against Wyoming.

Tevaka Tuioti, Trae Hall and Brandt Hughes, the Lobos’ most experienced quarterbacks, were unavailable due to injuries. Connor Genal, a redshirt freshman walk-on, got the start against the Cowboys, but was sidelined in the second quarter with a wrist injury.

That left Chavez, who is from Rio Rancho High, about 20 miles north of Albuquerque.

Chavez hit 5 of 10 passes for 55 yards and the touchdown, with the Lobos leaning heavily on running back Bobby Cole and their ground game. New Mexico ran the ball 50 times while attempting only 18 passes, with Cole gaining 131 yards on 22 plays (6.0 ypp).

The Lobos could have Tuioti back on Saturday – he was in uniform and went through pregame but had not yet been cleared to play, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

The 6-foot-2 junior started the first two games before he was sidelined by a concussion and the New Mexico offense was much different when he was at quarterback.

“If Tuioti is out there, who started the year, if he ever came back ... he’s an amazing football player; just makes a lot of things happen for their offense,” coach Kalen DeBoer said.

Tuioti hit 20 of 35 passes for 294 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and also rushed for 69 yards and one touchdown against San Jose State, and was 17 of 31 for 181 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 71 yards on just five plays against Hawaii.

New Mexico had 443 and 499 yards of offense in those games and since Tuioti was sidelined it has not topped 360 total yards in any of its games.

BIG TROUBLE BREWING FOR PASS DEFENSE?

The Lobos have had trouble defending the pass, not just this season but last, which would suggest this is not a quick fix.

New Mexico was 12th and last in the Mountain West in passing defense last season and is again this season, allowing 271.8 yards per game. That’s considerably less than the 321.4 it allowed last season, but all things considered not a sign of progress.

There’s a kicker.

New Mexico this season has played Air Force, Utah State and Wyoming and the Cowboys had quarterback issues of their own in that game, losing starter Levi Williams to injury. The Falcons rarely throw the football (they attempted just five passes in a 28-0 victory over New Mexico) and are last in the Mountain West in passing offense. The Aggies are ranked 11th the conference in passing offense and the Cowboys are ninth.

In games against opponents wed to the pass, San Jose State, Nevada and to a lesser degree Hawaii were a combined 93 of 132 (70.4%) against New Mexico and averaged 410.3 yards per game with 12 touchdown passes and three interceptions.

It went like this …

San Jose State: 35 of 49 (71.4%) 481 yards, 5 TDs

Hawaii: 33 of 44 (75%) 410 yards, 4 TDs, 2 Int

Nevada: 25 of 39 (64.1%) 340 yards, 3 TDs, 1 Int

Now, here comes Fresno State and quarterback Jake Haener, who just hit 41 of 65 passes for 485 yards and two touchdowns in a loss at Nevada.

Haener is leading the Mountain West in passing at 334.2 yards per game and has 21 explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards.

Not surprisingly, that is an area in which New Mexico has struggled.

The Lobos have allowed a Mountain West-high 26 pass plays of 20 or more yards, 18 pass plays of 30 or more yards, 12 pass plays of 40 or more yards and six pass plays of 50 or more yards.

NEW MEXICO’S YOUTH MOVEMENT

Gonzales and his staff have a deep makeover on their hands and need to improve the level of talent in the program.

This season, they are playing very young, giving some of the players they recruited early opportunities – the Lobos have had 20 true freshmen play.

The depth chart last week listed 27 players on offense and eight were true freshmen, and 27 players on defense and seven were true freshmen.

Darius McCray, a true freshman safety from Washington Union High, has not yet played in a game and that might be a good thing for the Bulldogs.

In a 36-27 loss at Nevada former Panthers wideout Tory Horton, who teamed up with McCray last season in leading Washington to an 11-2 record, caught five passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns against his hometown team.

McCray got banged up early in the season, missing some time with the injury, and has been working on the Lobos’ scout team.

EXTENDED STAY IN LAS VEGAS

Fresno State has had accommodations on hold in Las Vegas, should it have to leave home to practice for its Saturday game against the Lobos due to COVID-19 restrictions including a stay-at-home order. It is putting off a move as long as possible.

But New Mexico has been in Las Vegas since Nov. 2, setting up operations at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa in Henderson, about 20 miles from the Strip, due to a spike in coronavirus cases in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillio County and state health and safety guidelines.

Saturday will be the 41st day the Lobos have been headquartered in Las Vegas, though they did get away in that stretch for road games at Hawaii, at Air Force and at Utah State.

This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 5:00 AM.