College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the New Mexico Lobos season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– New Mexico Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 2-10 overall, 0-8 in MW
Head Coach: Danny Gonzales, 1st year
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 123
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 120
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 104
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: New Mexico Lobos Offense 3 Things To Know
– The new coaching staff will be heavy on defense with the new guys in place, and it’ll be up to new offensive coordinator Derek Warehime – the tight ends coach at Texas under Tom Herman – to turn yards into points with a better-paced attack that throws it around a bit more.
The Lobo offense moved the ball – it averaged over 400 yards per game – but scoring was an issue. New Mexico scored 25 points or fewer nine times, all losses.
– Keeping the quarterbacks healthy is a must. Tevaka Tuioti is the all-around playmaker who can make the offense fly, but he has only been able to get through a season – he threw for 1,460 yards and seven scores with six picks, and ran for 262 yards last year.
6-2, 188-pound sophomore Trae Hall took over late last season – he’s a decent runner – and veteran Brandt Hughes is back after seeing a little time over the last few years.
Six of the top seven receivers are expected back, but leading man Jordan Kress only made 28 grabs for 530 yards and six scores. He’s a dangerous deep threat, 6-3, 235-pound Marcus Williams is a dangerous target, and there are plenty of good options to fold into the rotation.
– The offensive line loses three starters, but 6-3, 301-pound senior Kyle Stapley is a good center to work around and a slew of JUCO parts along with Minnesota transfer Ben Davis should fill in the holes. This was a good group for the running game, and it should quickly adapt. Now the running backs have to follow.
Ahmari Davis is gone after leading the team with 832 yards and seven scores, but Bryson Carroll is a speedy 5-7 junior who averaged over five yards per carry on his 536 yards. There’s decent depth that didn’t get a whole lot of work last year, but should be ready to do more – the O is loaded with smallish, fast backs.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: New Mexico Lobos Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: New Mexico Lobos Defense 3 Things To Know
– At the very least, the coaching will be as good as any in college football. Not only is head man Danny Gonzales a defensive-minded coach, but former Lobo and San Diego State head man Rocky Long will take over the defensive coordinator duties.
That’s the plus. The minus is the D they’re taking over that was the second-worst in college football, dead last in pass defense, and struggled against the run.
Oh, and the top four tacklers are gone.
– Jacobi Hearn is a keeper at one outside linebacker job. He’s one of the team’s returning tacklers with 49 stops, and he led the way with six sacks. 232-pound Devin Sanders and 225-pound Brandon Shook are fumes JUCO transfers who were part of the corps last year – they’ll step up into the jobs.
The line doesn’t have a lot of bulk, but 6-2, 308-pound Langston Murray returns on the inside. It’s a thin group overall with little experience and no pass rushing production to count on – it’s going to take half the year to get the right rotation down.
– The secondary that got ripped to shreds gets back just enough experience to hope for a wee bit of improvement. Senior Jerrick Reed is back after making 51 stops – he’s the leading returning tacklers – and Letayveon Beaton came up with 49 stops.
Donte Martin is a good-tackling corner, but he has to come up with a pick – the Lobo defensive backs came up with just two interceptions.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top New Mexico Lobos Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top New Mexico Lobos Players
Best New Mexico Lobos Offensive Player
WR Jordan Kress, Sr.
Get him the ball. The 6-0, 191-pound senior was a playmaker who produced when he got his chances, turning into steady target over the second half of the season. He only caught 28 passes, but he averaged close to 19 yards per catch with six scores. His numbers might double with steadier quarterback play.
2. QB Tevaka Tuioti, Jr.
3. OT Teton Saltes, Sr.
4. TE Marcus Williams, Sr.
5. C Kyle Stapley, Sr.
Best New Mexico Lobos Defensive Player
LB Jacobi Hearn, Sr.
He’s only 6-0 and 218 pounds, but the former JUCO transfer from Mississippi can move. He stepped in and made 49 tackles with a team-high six sacks and ten tackles for loss, and now he’ll be turned loose under the new coaching staff.
2. S Jerrick Reed, Jr.
3. P Tyson Dyer, Sr.
4. CB Donte Martin, Soph.
5. S Letayveon Beaton, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: New Mexico Lobos Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: New Mexico Lobos Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The New Mexico Lobos Offense
Stop turning the ball over. The running game worked last season and should be solid again. The passing attack has just enough interesting targets to potentially be okay. But for all of the yards and the occasional success, 1) the O has to learn how to score and 2) quit giving the ball to the other team before scoring.
The Lobos couldn’t stop screwing up, giving the ball away a whopping 26 times on the year with two or more in seven games.
They were in the game against Utah State – but four giveaways ruined that.
They were in the game against San Jose State – but six giveaways ruined that.
It’s arguable that New Mexico left at least two wins on the table because of the mistakes.
Biggest Key To The New Mexico Lobos Defense
The pass defense has to do something. The Lobos had the nation’s worst pass D, allowing 321 yards per game. They were hit for 300 yards or more nine times – 294 in another – and over 400 yards in four of those games.
They allowed 34 touchdowns with two or more coming in every game but the loss to Wyoming, and the defense generated a grand total of four interceptions.
The lack of a steady pass rush didn’t help, but defensive backs – a veteran group this year that can tackle – needs to make plays when the ball is in the air.
Key New Mexico Lobos Player To A Successful Season
QB Tevaka Tuioti, Jr.
The Lobos need players to step up in a whole slew of areas and at a whole lot of positions, but it all has to start with getting a steady season out of one of its quarterbacks.
Four quarterbacks there at least 28 passes last year. Three threw 43 or more in 2018, and the last time a New Mexico quarterback threw for over 2,000 yards was when Donovan Porterie did it in 2009.
Key Game To The New Mexico Lobos Season
Wyoming, Nov. 28
It’s going to take a full season to get the pieces in place going forward, but can that be done with a team full of former JUCO transfers? How much patience will the coaching staff have if it wants to go with a youth movement with an eye on 2021 and beyond?
The Lobos have lost three straight to Wyoming, and this year it’s the regular season finale at home. Forget what the rest of the record is, how will the team look at the end? How much improvement will there be over the course of the season? This game will be a key indicator.
– New Mexico Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 New Mexico Fun Stats
– 1st Half Scoring: Opponents 275 – New Mexico 110
– Interceptions Thrown: New Mexico 15 – Opponents 4
– 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 14-of-21 (67%) – New Mexico 6-of-16 (38%)
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: New Mexico Lobos Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: New Mexico Lobos Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
It has been a rough run.
New Mexico hasn’t won more than four games in ten of the last 12 seasons starting with now-defensive coordinator Rocky Long’s last year at 2008. But as Long proved, it is possible to win football games in Albuquerque.
The Lobos need the right system and style.
It’s not that the program hasn’t tried over the last several years, and Bob Davie had a little bit of success – a little – and now it’s up to 44-year-old former Lobo player Danny Gonzalez to turn around a program should be a whole lot better.
It’s going to start with creating a defensive identity. Run the ball, control the clock, and play great D. That was what Long did at San Diego State after leaving New Mexico, and that’s sort of what Gonzales wants – but with a bit more of a tempo.
It’s going to take a total teardown, though, to make this work.
The program is loaded with transfers – well over 30 are on the roster with most playing key roles – but the new coaching staff has to create a good mix of veterans and young players to build around.
It’s not going to be easy, and there will be a whole slew of rough spots this year, but any wins will be nice. After failing to win a Mountain West game last year and coming up with just one in the last 22 in the conference, success would be two league victories and five overall.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
