New Mexico vs Air Force

welcome everyone to University Stadium home to the Lobos of the University of New Mexico and the fans here are fired up for this [Applause] clash and the Lobos will put totle weather to crank us up he'll bring it back from inside his SP couldn't find a way to create that broken field as he stopped at the 25 so Air Force's offense takes the field for the first time today and here comes the quarterback and one thing you know for sure with this team as he goes so goes the offense and he's a big time Talent ree this guy can hurt you in a multitude of ways throwing and running the football he's going to have to be dialed in though because this defense is going to give him a lot of different looks it's really important mentally this QB is on his game and he's a real Nowhere Man tackled in this no game land got nothing on first down now second and 10 from their own 25 a little too anxious along that offensive line that'll be a false start false start start off so the decision has been made and the coach will take the penalty second down coming up motion by the back forces the defense to adjust One Step WRA two-step squeeze this junior knows how to get him on the ground you make up the game plan and not a lot on the play sheet for this third and long from inside their own 20 dro back it's bua working that left side now and he's not going to get there the defense Stands Tall and makes the stop the Falcons will line up to punt it away they'll have to punt for the first time this afternoon running it back it's pop that's a perfect example of not settling for a fair catch pick up whatever yardage you can and help out the offense so the New Mexico offense will get the ball for the first time as we take a look at our impact players for this one what are you looking for Jesse for a guy to make an impact well these are simply put the leaders of this football team and generally games go how these guys play if they make plays they've got a shot to win this one no doubt they got to show up the these are the team leaders these guys have to play well if they're going to win the football game they'll crank up this drive with the pass a little screen to the running back not a whole a lot of room there on that screen pass as it just never developed well he comes up with the reception but not a lot of room to run after that yeah and I like the QB doing this I mean I'm going to find ways to give him the football and see if he can make a miss and I'm going to bet most of the time that my guy is a little bit more athletic than that defensive guy defense won this battle but I like trying to get this guy the ball [Applause] offense gets set for second down he's looking to throw and the pass is incomplete J loose by the hit we know this guy's a weapon not just taking handoffs but he can catch the ball too that play not so much got to do a better job reeling it in they line up and it is a long way to the sticks from here trying to move the sticks on third down through the air and the incomplete pass will bring up fourth down the Lobos will bring the punt team onto the field and the punt hits at the eight and goes into the end zone for the Touchback Air Force has it back and the Falcon offense returns to the field boy three and out last time David they'd like to be more productive this time around yeah in the last Drive nothing really click no rhythm got off the field really really quickly they need to put something together here Palmer yeah David bad execution on that last drive so they got to take a collective breath and start playing like a unit on this and those physical runs take a toll it might not be a big game now but down the road third fourth quarter late in the ball games they tend to turn into bigger runs back to pass it's bua nice defensive play to get a hand in there and knock it away a lot of times you can tell by the pass set that tackle gets really really quick you can tell that Ball's going to come out quick great job by the defensive end seeing the ball come out quick and the heat will get home and the quarterback goes down the 17 man it didn't take long for the defense to get home on that play you see them playing man coverage in the back end slowing down the routes from the receivers and the rest of the offense that forced the quarterback to have to hold on to it for just a split second longer than they were able to get the set he'll get it up to about the 44 yd line before they slam the brakes on him let's see what the lios offense is dialed up this time the last time we saw this offense we had to look quick it was a three and out Jess he just had no rhythm in that last drive so someone's going to have to step up and make a play David and get this thing going yeah let's find some juice find your guy find those plays that you know you can run inside out forward backwards get some first downs get some positive momentum trying to get the corner on the Jet Sweep great job by the defense there slowing down that Jet Sweep and a big key was the defensive end containing the play forcing the receiver to cut back inside to where all the traffic [Applause] was red pass it's complete he's R out of bounds but a big play on that one and it'll be a first down and the Lobos come to the line with a new set of downs first from the gun they'll try to impose their running game and a really nice run and pick up there before the defense avoided disaster and stopped the really big play from the 17 yd line threatening to score on First and 10 they're in the red zone and they'll pass it getting some heat Rush coming in hot and they got him at the 29 all right offense it's got to be better you've done a nice job getting the football to this point in the Red Zone but now you can't go backwards you've got to be able to get rid of the football if it's not there and that was a terrible play giving up the sack and here comes the pressure and there he goes down again and whatever they did on first and second down don't do that anymore third and very long coming up throws for the end zone and they wanted it all on third down but now dealing with fourth down so they'll send out the field goal unit he'll need to strike this one cleanly from 48 yds out oh he missed it no good after the say no change in the score and that hurts missing that field goal especially when you're going up against a defense like this one of the best in the entire country you have got to be able to come away with points when you have opportunities not a whole lot of progress made there on the short run here comes the offense on second Down Easy hey strong tackle and wrap up from the junior [Applause] third as they get set to snap it just about to reach the end of the quarter defense has dominated the early part of this game and the stats point that out emphatically a third down play to get the quarter started easy back to pass it's bua and the Freshman will talk up a sack strong safety Blitz has can sometimes be hard to see coming from a quarterback standpoint because we're used to seeing the strong safeties insert themselves into the box but you don't often times see them Blitz like that that can be tricky to watch he only needs a sliver of daylight they'll put a stop to that return at about the 37 yd line now New Mexico will go back to work on offense you want to talk about taking the wind out of your sails Drive the ball down the field and miss the field goal David you know what don't leave it up the kickers execute better offensively I think you move the ball nice you got to keep that in mind the Palmer I think you got to stay aggressive and don't settle for field goals yeah because you got to know there's just no margin for error right now you just have got to be able to execute at a higher level and the defense settled in to stop that one for a short gain a great job by the defense seeing it right away reacting to the screen going and getting the football and getting the fast playmaker on the ground on third down he'll try to pick it up through the air M just big tight end he almost pick up the first down on that one but he'll be just a little bit short the tight end's going to have to do a better job of separating and giving his quarterback a place to go with the football that time just couldn't create it and as a result as soon as he made the catch he was brought to the ground setting up fourth down he make the Stop and that is exactly what you want out of your punt cover unit here comes the Air Force offense back onto the field they've hit a bit of a lull here and they need to get things cranked up with this possession Jesse just have Haven had a rhythm these last couple of possessions but I'll tell you the best way to get back into one is to run the football establish yourselves up front the line of scrimmage and help keep these third Downs manageable yeah and the best news is your defense at least forced a pun of their own so now you can go answer with that good stop while this game is still close let's just go keep putting more points on the board and let's see less of the pun and he's down at the 41 that's a first down well at first you don't succeed try try again right it's been really hard for this offense in this game to run the football but they finally break off a big run there that could be the play they need to really generate momentum and get this run game and the runner is down and so is a [Applause] flag we'll repeat the previous down but this time the offense has 10 more yards it has to cover L gets set first down 29 they'll move the running back to try to force the defense to and they get the sack right out of the gate and it just doesn't get more dominant than that one onone me versus you and there's nothing you can do about it David I know that's something you know a lot about based on your time Jordan man fly off the edge beat the man as quick as you can there's so many things that have to go right for you to get a sack the ball has to be coming out a little bit later but you know what when you win that fast and that clean off the line of scrimmage that is how it's done at the highest level for that defensive end these little Gams can start to add up as he gets it up to the 34 I'm not positive but that first down marker might be in the next County on Third and long he'll need to loosen up that arm oh they really could have used that catch there physical pass defense it brings up a fourth down and the Falcons will putt this one away fourth time tonight we've seen this guy come on to [Applause] punt they'll put that return to a stop at the 33 but the offense set up in pretty good field position all right guys so here's the offense back on the field again last time David it was one two three kick the last drive that three and out sometimes that puts your defense in a bad spot and you got to get a drive together here so you don't wear the defense out I just think David too predictable that last Drive they got got to do something here to get this defense on their heels 6yd pickup on first down leaves him with second and four got rid of it in a hurry but he couldn't find his man it's incomplete great coverage great break on the ball had a chance to really make a big play and maybe even take that thing back to the house you got to secure the catch we like to hit people more than we like to catch fols looking downfield it's Danier he looks that one in nicely nice pitching catch there and they'll have enough for the first down that's tough on the defense there third down you're in zone coverage everybody's watching the quarterback and you're trying to make a break on the ball but he just got it out of his hands too quickly and the throw was too accurate really nothing you can do there and it's now a fresh set of downend you want to talk about making it easy for an offensive coordinator you pick up a bunch of yards on first down make that second down really really manage W that's a great job by the offense let's see what they've got on second down is's looking to throw spits it out to the back he got a hand in there knocks it away incomplete yeah a really good job by the defender understanding the ball's coming I got to break on it and go and not try to intercept it and make a bad play he swats it down to make sure that's an incompletion that third down pass was coming in hot before it fell to the ground I think for the quarterback he's going to have to be so good with his eyes in this game you're going up against one of the best defenses in the country you got to look guys off especially when you're trying to throw to your primary target like he was on that last one on fourth down looking for the completion finds his man and they convert turns out to be an easy conversion for this offense as they move the chains on fourth down that's a great example of the receiver knowing exactly where the first down marker is he got the depth he needed to get so once he was able to make the catch he already knew he had it now a fresh set of downs not the most productive half for this offense so far but finally starting to get it in gear first and 10 from the Red Zone looking for a receiver he makes a grab he'll be stopped just short of the end zone but they'll have it first and goal defense is backed up shadow of the goal posst trying to defend their own End Zone quick hitting in round on first and goal and he takes it in for the score touch down New Mexico and that is exactly what you want from your offense man late in the half you want to execute and then punch it in physically on the ground take the lead go into the half take all the momentum nice execution of the drive by that offense [Music] on to attempt the try on for extra point and with the extra point they get the first seven of the game we check in with Kevin Connor what's going on Kevin Hey guys got a final score in a big top 25 matchup Northwestern stomped a mud hole on route to a double digigit win and they did it outside of Evon that speaks to the way this coach has gvan this team and the direction this program is heading always interesting to see ranked teams Collide and today was no different the agony and Ecstasy of college football fellas Kevin thanks a lot for that one sounds as if they had a good one there there's a timeout called as this offense tries to find a way to draw a little closer got some of the work done on first now let's see what they have on second down wants to throw it's bu [Applause] zings it complete to the right we've got a timeout here late in the first half and they'll try to get more points on the board before the break I tell you this slot receiver he really does give his quarterback a nice option runs really good routes he's got nice hands you saw it on in that last play going up top on first down and that ball is picked off going the other way and he's got room and he's going to run it all the way back touchdown loo and they come up with a huge pick six and that is one of the reasons this defense has been so dominant all season long they don't give up big plays but they take the football away and once they do they've got better athletes than you do they're hard to bring down they can flip the game on a DME they got the late touchdown on the board now about to kick it away and hoping the defense can keep them from answering and they desperately wanted to attempt a return but decided not to instead they'll take the touch back Air Force has it back and the Falcon offense returns to the field so late in the half this is really an opportunity David maybe to and they couldn't hold off the heat and he goes down with the sack the offense will stop the clock and use one of its timeouts this pass rush has just been Relentless and you can bet your bottom dollar they're about to bring the heat again trying to get to him they get to him as he throws that pass is incomplete and they might be fortunate it wasn't knock free for a fumble it'll be third down when you've already set your punter out four times at least he knows he's going to get his varsity letter and his leg might get a bigger workout if they don't convert it's a game of first downs and they've got one out to their own 37 clock stops momentarily for the first down they'll hurry to the line free snap Motion in the back field going deep he's got it inside the 30 he's Off to the Races slippery slide find his way and ran away from the crowd into the end zone touchdown Air Force and I tell you what that passing touchdown man that should spark this whole team like The Comeback is more than on now like they got the touchdown they cut into the lead you want to get a stop and go into the half get all the juices all the excitement and be like listen the passing game's rolling we got this the comeb back's in full effect on the run from inside his own five and the Return Man reaches the end of the line and down he goes time dwindling away as they try to put points on the board right before the half that's what you expect from a senior don't give them any extra yards great tackle there second down com up that's the end of the second quarter that means it's time to join Kevin and our halftime update guys looks like you've got a great atmosphere today in Albuquerque and it's been said football is a game of inches and guess what based on the comparison between third down conversion rate today and the average yard per play how can you argue that I mean the low-lying fruit is to look at some of the explosive days we've seen in panic but really this game is going to come down to which team is more efficient when they have the ball and how they play when it matters most the Falcons will kick it off to start the second half from inside the 10 yd line he'll bring it back nice job executing all of the assignments as they put a stop to that return at the 22 we will get another look at this New Mexico offense they start this third quarter with the lead but they might want to think about Shoring up that protection yeah the good news is you're you're leading on the scoreboard the bad news is your quarterback doesn't feel like it cuz you can't protect him so David adjustments and pass protection that has to be something they were talking about here at halftime 100% just you can't get him hit that much he's still doing a good job delivering the football but if you keep hitting the quarterback enough man they'll start to see ghost they'll panic and they'll make some of those mistakes this offense has a second down play to the air it's dampier got his man on the right the defense wouldn't let him loose and even though it's in completion they lost yardage they'll try to move the chains on Third and short from the 27 18 from the gun wants to pass finds the tight end nice job to get it past the sticks and they get him down at the 35 the Lobos will line it up on First and 10 he wants to throw they've got the scream set up they finally get him stopped but what a good job by that front ball to set up the screen and create some lanes for their running back great job too by the QB there holding the ball as long as possible allowing the pass rush to get up field and at the very last second getting it to his guide so that he can go get the first down and he'll pick up one it brings up second and nine stuck with a running game on first first down now here they come again it's a draw and they drag him down but not before he picks up the first down this is going to be a big key for him David with the lead here in the second half running the football right staying on the field and bleeding the clock yeah run the football you're ahead you can be a little bit more conservative but again this opens up the pass this keeps everything in balance for this offense he's brought down quickly minimal gain there still a bit short of the first down I like the decision by the quarterback here just get the ball out of your hands get it to your playmaker a lot of times he'll dance and make even bigger plays than he did here but it was still a positive game they make the stop but this running game moves to change as they get the first down and another nice game by the offense all right defense we got to change something up here they they're putting a big drive together play after play having a lot of success how do we break the Rhythm how do we give him something that can create a tackle for a loss or a sack or something to get momentum back on my side just gets rid of the football nobody to throw it to it'll be second down know the situation know the game of football right when I start to get outside the pocket I don't see anything there I can throw the ball away I don't have to take a sack get a lost yardage play I can just throw the ball out of bounds as long as it passes the line of scrimmage we go on to the next down no harm no foul let's see what they've dialed up on Third and long from the 22 grab near the marker it's pop and he's knocked down but not before moving the chain this dude is putting in work out of the slide and he is just wearing out this defense man you see it Reese in football they just these slot guys are so quick so athletic you back them up off the football so you can't get hands on him and you just find ways to continue to get him the football he's making plays so I'm going to continue to throw it his way the offense showing motion from the tight end trying to get a read on the D from the gun they'll try to impose their will they'd love to pick up this third down and get a fresh set with first and goal on third down he drops the throw he's got it on the Move couldn't quite nudg it in not sure you could get much closer but it'll be first first and goal the offense threatening close to the end zone now with a new set of downs and that's a really good example of a and he takes it to the house touchdown New Mexico timely decisions effective play management helps him get in the end zone after that marathon drive and every time the offense needed a play Boom they got it I mean you think about it when it was a small run small pass whatever they needed they got it done and they popped it in for the score and no chance at a return here they'll start this drive at their own 25 here comes the Air Force offense back onto the field this is when the pressure can ramp up a little bit on an offense David when they start feeling the heat to answer a score and I think being down 14 you can kind of feel that way but dude if you put a good drive together this is a seven-point game so Palmer no need to pay I was just going to say David I mean this thing can flip quick you go down score all of a sudden your defense gets a stop or who knows better yet gets a turnover this game is entirely different he'll ride his man on the option really nice stop there from this senior leader yeah and it's a nice job by this defense understanding listen that QB is a threat and they're going to run all kinds of options and he's going to run the football they were dialed in and got that suck into the ground they'll run the option and they get him on the ground and that'll probably do it for the third quarter that's the end of the period and New Mexico has the lead let's take a quick look at the national rankings to see how this playoff race is shaping up this defense will try to force a fourth down on Third and short from the 45 fires to the wide out and this is going to be incomplete on third down and third and short it's a great place to be for an offense you got the whole play with available and they choose the pass defense did a really good job playing the pass and fourth down now it's decision time for you and he gives himself up but not before he moves those sticks Hey listen it's important at that position to be able to be good off schedule everything's easy when it's on time you can get the ball out but when things break down and they get off schedule you've got to have a guy back there that can make the right decisions he did exactly [Applause] that and how about the efficiency on that one it'll bring up second and four BL was a nice play there handing it off to the fullback and the defense is lucky that strong safety came downhill he made that tackle if he doesn't make it who knows guys I mean that might have been a touchdown finds his man down the middle a quick tackle may but he's got plenty for the first down e e e e e e I don't know who on defense is going to cover this guy honestly he could be a problem for this defense over the middle of the field in the passing game and the Falcons will have it first and 10 they'll run the option he'll toss it Nifty little dance step he make the stop as he gets it inside the 30 to the 28 a gain of four and it's just simple simple first down run showing your physicality setting your offense up in a good spot here comes the option Bulls his way forward what a Nifty run there to pick up the first down the Falcons have taken it inside the 20 easy the hand to the running back he's dropped behind the line of scrimmage that'll be a loss of three when you play defensive end it's all about getting off the football you can tell gets off the football really fast Gets In The Back Field gets the running back before he knows what hit him what a play by the defensive end now the pitch and he'll step across the sidelines after making a good gain on that one listen you you got to be able to know what play to call and what hole to go through like the line blocks for a certain hole good job getting through the hole getting what was blocked a nice positive gain making your situation really good on the next d and a missed opportunity on third down as the defense knocks it free and fourth down is coming up got to give the defense credit on that play taking everything away forcing the incompletion now it's decision time fourth and short in your INF field goal range what do you do here blasted as he lets it go he makes the catch in the end zone touchdown Falcons that big score makes the end of this game very interesting no doubt the offense got what they needed more work to do but you had to get this part accomplished first they'll line up to go for two here we go big fullbacks got it he's in there for the two-point conversion and now they're just down six precise Relentless execution on that 13pl scoring drive and they cap things off with a 9yd touchdown pass he'll start the return inside is five couldn't find a way to create that broken field as he stopped at the 25 let's see what the Lobos offense has in store and they've got a little bit of a cushion here David if they can add to it on this drive it would be nice and it definitely makes a little bit of a difference knowing I'm up by more than a field goal obviously Jesse my mindset switches and I know I can't make mistakes yeah and D I don't think they have to reinvent the wheel on offense here what they've been calling has been working just get back to doing what you're good at they bring him down and he's going to lose a yard on that one thir really nice job by the defense getting that last stop all third downs and games are important but this one just feels like it's the biggest down to this game right now for this defense if they can get off the field they've got to give it back to their offense with as much time as possible to have a chance to win this game finally run out of bounds but he has this offense rolling with a first down new set of downs after that completion the handoff keep working on that clock and how about that interior defense stuffing the run for nothing they got nothing on the last play it's second and [Applause] 10 they'll go right back to it continuing to turn and move it forward and they're closing in on Midfield it's down at the 48 thir big third down for this defense listen you've got to get the ball back you know what they're doing they're trying to run the football but we need the clock to be on our side so our offense has some time got to make a stand right here on Third and they did everything right in this 4minute type situation trying to bleed the clock first you get the completion then you get the first down and you stay in bounds you could not execute that play any better they'll run the toss crosses the 30 he got away and he almost ran away from everybody on that one a huge pick up on that play defense uses the timeout quickly trying to get that ball back and preserve time for their offense linebackers moving trying to confuse the quarterback down to the 16 yard line it's first and 10 run in the Red Zone it's Sanders and I think they'll give him two on that one second and eight coming up quick timeout called by the def been stopping the clock to save as much time as possible for their offense they'll be perfectly content to go right back to the ground here on second and eight the give and a decent gain there before the defense makes the stop timeout called there by the defense desperate to get the ball back and save as much time as possible really need to pick up this conversion and avoid having to settle for the field [Applause] goal they'll run it from the gun they thought they could just run it on Third and short but this defense was there to make the stop so on fourth down here comes the field goal kicker in a huge spot it's good he could have hit a string right in the middle of the uprights there you know it's funny in an age where there's so many college football analytics and everybody wants to go for it on fourth at the end of the day it still comes down to managing the G good decision by the head coach here in the fourth quarter by kicking that field goal you now made it a two possession game your chances of winning this thing have now gone way up Air Force has it back and the Falcon offense returns to the field no time to feel sorry for yourself here Jesse there's still a chance but you've got to get it going now no doubt two possession game at this point right David not a lot of time left so execution has to be at a premum here yeah and I probably want to go fast I want to throw the football I don't know how many possessions I got left I got to make them all count fairly manageable distance here on third down from the 27 to throw it's bua fires to the middle oh what a grab by the defense not a lot of room on the return but he' already got the most important thing the ball and they have it at the 46 their work here is virtually done no need to take any more chances they'll line up in Victory formation winning those individual sixc battles every Play Time After Time After Time After Time and that leads to a victory here and I love when teams go out and play like it's sudden death like if they lose the game