Best In The West: Week Three

Best in the West is The Aggship's weekly Mountain West football round-up.

New Mexico 35, UCLA 10

It's been only three games, and the New Mexico Lobos have already notched a signature win in the Jason Eck era. It may have come against a weakened UCLA team, which fired head coach DeShaun Foster not long after the contest, but it certainly qualifies all the same.

At the legendary Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, under the lights and matched up against a storied power conference program, the newly-assembled team from Albuquerque did much more than collect a $1.2 million paycheck. New Mexico stood tall against UCLA and outplayed it in every facet of the game.

The Lobos came out of the gates strong. After punting on their first possession, they scored touchdowns on the next two, piling 14 points on UCLA before it could get on the board with a 12-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. New Mexico's early 14-7 edge held through halftime.

Out of the break, the third quarter saw a slight shift towards the Bruins when a Lobo drive ended in a fumble, leading, somewhat indirectly, to a UCLA field goal – the only points of the frame. UCLA's drive immediately after the fumble stalled out in three plays, but a muffed punt return set the Bruins up for a quick 36-yard march into kicker Mateen Bhaghani's range. That cut the Lobo lead to four, the smallest of the night, and the 14-10 score held until the end of the third quarter. 

Then, New Mexico called game. The Bruins didn’t get a single stop in the fourth quarter and New Mexico found the end zone on all three of its drives. The UCLA offense was equally unsuccessful, logging a turnover on downs and an interception. The Lobos trounced the Bruins in the frame and outscored them 21-0 to send them off with a 35-10 final score.

New Mexico signal-caller Jack Layne completed 12 of 16 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. His two touchdown passes landed in the hands of tailback Damon Bankston, who ended the night with 49 receiving yards, and tight end Simon Mapa. On the ground, Bankston ran for 154 yards and a score on 15 carries. D.J. McKinney and Scottre Humphrey each added a rushing touchdown as well, combining for another 137 rushing yards on 27 attempts.

Eck’s Lobos have now marched without hesitation into two of the cathedrals of the sport, the Big House, where they fell short, and the Rose Bowl, where they were victorious. After a hard-fought 2-1 start, they'll get a break in week four before hosting in-state rival New Mexico State (also 2-1 and on a bye this week) on Sept. 27.

Fresno State 56, Southern 7

Fresno State was looking for one last tune-up game before starting conference play, and the FCS squad on the schedule didn’t put up much resistance as the Bulldogs delivered a 56-7 beatdown to Southern University.

After being stifled in its week zero matchup with Kansas, the Bulldog offense has been on a tear. It has scored 36 or more points in three straight games, and has a three-game winning streak to match that output. In those contests, against Georgia Southern, oregon State and Southern, Fresno State has averaged 44.7 points and 450.7 yards per game.

The most surprising thing about that offensive explosion is that, even as he guided his offense to high scores, quarterback E.J. Warner was leaving plenty to be desired – until now. Despite completing 51 of 74 passes for 476 yards in his first three games, coming into the outing against Southern, Warner had thrown five interceptions and zero touchdowns on the season.

Against the Jaguars, he nearly evened out that record by slinging four touchdowns and avoiding even a single pick. Along with his slew of touchdowns, Warner threw for another 240 yards, completing 20 of his 24 passes. It was the best and most complete game of his Bulldog career so far and it brings his season totals to an impressive 72.4 percent completion rate, 716 yards (most in the conference), and four touchdowns.

The rest of Fresno State’s offense has been humming along, led on the ground by two of the conference’s top three rushers. After rushing for 90 yards on nine carries, Bryson Donelson leads the league with 325 yards. Rayshon Luke had a quiet game by his standards with 31 yards on seven carries, but he’s still the third-leading rusher in the conference with 224 yards. He made up for it through the air, though, leading the Bulldogs with seven receptions for 79 yards and a score. Wideouts Jordan Brown (three receptions, 36 yards) and Harold Duvall (one reception, 25 yards) and tight end Richie Anderson (one reception, 22 yards) were on the receiving end of scores, too.

Southern’s defense isn’t quite the same as what Warner will be facing when Fresno State kicks off conference play next week in Hawaii, but if he is turning the corner, the already-effective Bulldog offense could be on the verge of a big season.

Hawaii 23, Portland State 3

Hawaii mostly took care of business against a Portland State team that’s been having a nightmare season – now 0-4 with a 42-0 loss to Tarleton State, a 69-0 shutout at BYU and a 50-20 beatdown at North Dakota preceding this game.

Hawaii’s offense, for the second game, was without the services of its top quarterback. But, Luke Weaver was again commendable in Micah Alejado’s stead and helped lead the team to a second straight win and a 3-1 overall record. He threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 30 yards on 12 carries. Halfback Landon Sims had nine carries for 41 yards and four catches for 46 yards. Half of Cam Barfield’s four receptions were touchdowns and he had 50 yards on the night. He also took four carries for nine yards.

In just two games as the starter, Weaver has climbed to third place in passing yards among Mountain West quarterbacks, checking in with 600 yards, five scores and three INTs on 61-of-102 passing. It’s a testament to a few things, including his talent and the level of opposition the Rainbow Warriors faced in those two games, but it could also be a reflection of his offense, led by coaches Timmy Chang and Anthony Arceneaux.

Barring further injury, though, Weaver's time at the helm may be coming to a close. Alejado's status is improving, and he was reported to be a game-time decision against Portland State. The Rainbow Warriors ultimately decided not to push it, but with a massive matchup against Fresno State on deck, this would be a great week for the redshirt freshman to make his return.

Utah 31, Wyoming 6

Wyoming hosted an old rival, long lost to conference realignment, and put up a good fight against the Utes as they visited War Memorial Stadium. Wyoming's offense couldn’t get much going in the first half (or in general, really), but the defense kept the game close and the Pokes trailed just 3-0 at the break. Eventually, Devon Dampier and the newly revamped Utah offense broke through and added another 28 points in the second half to cement a comfortable win.

Kaden Anderson completed 12 of 23 passes for 108 yards and was picked off once, while losing 19 yards on five rushes and turning the ball over again on a fumble. Running back Samuel Harris did his best to supplement the offense on the ground and added 68 yards on eight carries, while Terron Kellman had nine carries for 45 yards and a touchdown, but the Pokes could never really get going on that side of the ball against a fierce Utah front.

The Cowboys are 2-1, but their schedule isn't set to get a whole lot easier from here on out. This was the first of a pair of Big 12 games for Wyoming, with a trip to Boulder to take on Colorado scheduled for this weekend. The Pokes will take a much-needed bye after that game before entering league play with home bouts against UNLV and San Jose State on Oct. 4 and 11, respectively.

Middle Tennessee 14, Nevada 13

A second-quarter scoring spurt gave Nevada a 13-point lead well into the final frame of its bout against Middle Tennessee, but the Wolf Pack surrendered 14 points in the latter half of the fourth quarter and lost by one point, 14-13.

After forcing a punt to open the second quarter, Chubba Purdy found Ky Woods for a 47-yard touchdown pass for a one-play, eight-second drive to open the scoring. The Blue Raiders missed a field goal on their next drive and the Wolf Pack responded by hitting their own. Later in the frame they added another and took a 13-0 game into the half.

In the fourth quarter, it was Purdy's turn to give the ball away, tossing an interception at the Middle Tennessee 40-yard line. The Blue Raiders finally got on the board in response, finding a 13-yard touchdown pass with 6:30 to play. Nevada’s next drive ended with a missed 41-yard field goal try and the Blue Raiders marched down the field and punched in another touchdown, this time with 21 seconds to play, to claim a one-point lead, their first of the affair. Purdy threw an 18-yard pass and a nine-yard pass, then ran for nine yards to set up a last-second field goal attempt, but from 56 yards out, it was not to be.

Purdy finished the game 5-of-7 passing for 88 yards, a touchdown and a pick with another 46 yards on the ground, and AJ Bianco completed 9 of 17 throws for 78 yards and an interception. Herschel Turner had 12 carries for 90 yards. Nevada held the Blue Raiders to just 105 yards on the ground, but was outgained 247 yards to 166 in the air.

After struggling with FCS Sacramento State, losing to Middle Tennessee is a gut punch for Jeff Choate’s team, now sitting at 1-2 heading into another matchup against a Conference USA member, Western Kentucky, in Bowling Green on Saturday evening. The Hilltoppers suffered a blowout loss at Toledo when they last played, but claimed a week zero win over Sam Houston and throttled FCS North Alabama to open the year with a 2-1 mark.