Saturday, September 8, 2007

Tough loss

Defensively, the Aggies just weren't good enough. All they did was throw, throw, throw on offense because there is so much pressure to score points.

They outplayed the Lobos until the fourth quarter. Then the wheels fell off. The Cleaver play was huge but not more devastating than tying the score and having the Lobos march right downfield again and immediately scoring to reclaim the lead prior to the sequence.

I honestly felt it coming the entire time. Tough, tough loss for the Aggies.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

The complete lack of pressure on the Lobo QB and several blown assignments on receivers was our undoing. This situation has persisted for all three years under Woody and was also evident throughout most of the Samuel years. If you don't have the down lineman capable of rushing the QB, it must come from the LBs and occasionally the safeties...I saw virtually no evidence that Woody tried to blitz the entire evening. Porterie had enough time to do as he pleased. Credit the Lobo DBs for being hard hitters and credit Porterie and Ferguson, and the two Lobo receivers, for playing well.

Anonymous said...

I was wondering, on the catch by the Lobos that was reviewed in the second half, why was it considered a catch after review? The ball clearly hit the ground when the receiver came down with it. I thought the ground couldn't assist with the catch?

Anonymous said...

Let's not lay all the blame on the defense. Afterall, Chase threw two critical INT's in the fourth quarter. Take away the INT's, NMSU still had a chance to win this game.

Teddy said...

Chase was up and down. But the point is this: The defense didn't come up with one big stop the entire game. The only time the Lobos struggled was when they went into a shell in the second quarter and ran it the entire time. It just puts pressure on the offense to win a track meet and that's when you take chances. Holbrook put the ball up 63 times, you're going to throw some picks when you do that. And the reason it was like that is because the offense had to throw it to keep up.

Anonymous said...

The secondary killed us. The defense didn't come up w/ critical stops.
Utep is going to beat us next week, again!

Teddy said...

Is UTEP that much better than NMSU? They haven't been that good so far. It will be just like this week. It's going to be an up and down game with little or no defense. Then, you'll just have to pray NMSU hangs on at the end.

Anonymous said...

RB J. Williams had two big catches against the Lobos (2 for 56 yds.), we need to see more of this against UTEP? This kid has big play ability.

Anonymous said...

It will be up and down game. However, Utep has beaten us three straight. That's more mental on the players.

I was really high on NMSU but, it's the same old story with the defense.

Looks like Mike Price is about to go 4-0 vs. NMSU.

Anonymous said...

The first interception was no ones fault.
The ball and the defender hit Cleaver at the same time and fell into the safety's bread basket. Great hit!

The other Int. was on Chase. He did not see the lineman drop into coverage.

The D line played pretty good. Ferguson got his yards but, had to earn all of them.
The secondary is what did us in. These guys can't cover worth a darn!

They will have to step up or it will be 4 straight to Utep and probably the season.

There is nothing worse than losing to your rival at home!

Anonymous said...

The secondary needs to improve more than anything else on the football team. Bernard has been a non-existant corner his whole career at NMSU, he has never been able to defend well, opposing teams pick on him like crazy. Mumme needs to find a solution.

Teddy said...

The running backs were actually pretty productive. Buries and Glynn are a nice change of pace and Williams did play well when given the chance. That was a bright spot but again, offense was not the problem Saturday.

Anonymous said...

This is suppose to be a rebuilding year for Utep.
If we can't beat them now, when?

I agree w/ Teddy. The offense is more then doing it's share.

Anonymous said...

I think the key to any game is to make big plays, and not give up big plays. NMSU has utterly failed to do that. In these two games, aside from the McKinney pick against SLA, there has not been a "big time" play. On the other hand, we give up big plays left and right.

Our defense, once again, is bad. The hype behind this season was due largely in part to what many perceived to be an improved defense with many returning starters. We knew the offense would be there, but it was there last year, and we stunk. Last year's team was a textbook example of how a good offense means little unless you have a reasonably coherent defense. This year, our defense was supposed to be better, which would translate into more wins. That was not the case against the Lobos, as our defense looked as bad as it has the last two years. What's worse is that our offense is forced to make ALL the big plays.

When our defense gave up a big play, they would not buckle down and correct the mistake. The huge pass in the 4th quarter to Smith was just a monumental breakdown on defense. But instead of stepping up and forcing an interception or a fumble, we gave up two more big plays and UNM took the lead for good.

I would really like to see us beat UTEP, who is better than people may have thought, but still not as good as the Lobos (notwithstanding their victory against the Lobos in week 1). Unless our defense makes plays and the relieves some of the pressure to score on every possession from the offense, we get to watch the Miners celebrate in our house again. I can't stand that feeling, and I hope our players can't either.

Teddy said...

Bernard struggled Saturday night. The pass rush was also poor which puts the secondary in a horrible spot. If you can't force the QB to get rid of it they will sit back and pick you apart. I expect to see more blitzing from the Aggies this weekend to try and help the secondary so they're not covering all day.

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to be too judgmental after one game too (well, one game against a I-A opponent)?

Make no mistake - the defense was horrible. But I don't know if we can write it off just yet. Give it a few games (which may take more than a few, as we get Auburn and then a I-AA after UTEP).

I don't see much hope for the defense, but I'll reserve judgment before I toss the entire season away.

Anonymous said...

OK, these years goal were, per NMSU locker room:
1). Sweep our rivals
2). Win the WAC
3). Go to a bowl game

Can we get 2 or 2.5 out three? It needs to start this week, no excuses!

If we can't beat Utep (rebuilding year), it's going to be tough to be bowl eligible.
Auburn, Boise, and LA Tech (Hawaii needed 2OT) are waiting in the wings!

Get it done. "We expect Victory."

Teddy said...

I still think a bowl game is attainable.

Anonymous said...

No one is throwing in the season. Not the player or the fans.

However, we need to go into conference play (10/7 @ Boise)3-2 not, 2-3.

I don't think we can beat Auburn or run the table in the WAC. A win this week is necessary to keep any bowl hopes alive.

Hey! When was the last time we were actually saying NMSU and Bowl game in the same sentence!

Take out the lumber on UTEP!

Anonymous said...

This is rivalry week and no posts from Teddy on the Utep game?

C'mon get with the damn program!

Teddy said...

What? I think the Aggies are going to win. I am with the program, I'm working my tail off over here! You couldn't do it. Honestly....

Anonymous said...

No, I'm not reffering to the comments, I meant the subjects.

I also know your with NMSU and that your busy. It's only rivalry week and not one subject on the game!
That's what it means by "get w/ the program." C'mon!

Anonymous said...

LOL. Great response. I guess they must think you are a blogger first, and you don't have a real job.

Teddy said...

For real

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