D2 ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2003

WSU vs. UNMTODAY, 3:05 P.M. (MDT). Martin Stadium (37,600). TV: KRQE-TV. Radio: KKOB-AM (770). Online: www.broadcastamerica.com, www.kkob.com, golobos.com

DefenseTFL Int

UT AT Tot. Yards YdsWill Derting 14 9 23 3.5-27 —Karl Paymah 17 5 22 — —Erik Coleman 14 5 19 — 1-14Don Jackson 8 9 17 1.5-6 —Al Genatone 8 8 16 — —Virgil Williams 8 6 14 2-9 2-31Jason David 8 4 12 — 1-41D.D. Acholonu 6 5 11 1.5-4 —

OffensePassing

Comp Att Yds TD IntMatt Kegel 51 93 692 5 3

RushingAtt Net Avg TD

Jonathan Smith 41 276 6.7 3Chris Bruhn 15 144 9.6 0Jermaine Green 39 112 2.9 0Matt Kegel 13 14 1.1 0

ReceivingRec Yds Avg TD

Devard Darling 10 160 16.0 1Troy Bienemann 9 71 7.9 0Sammy Moore 7 170 24.3 3Jermaine Green 6 37 6.2 0Jonathan Smith 5 59 11.8 0Chris Jordan 5 44 8.8 0Cody Boyd 4 52 13.0 0Scott Lunde 3 90 30.0 1

■ Senior QB Matt Kegel must not freak out bythe oncoming rush of UNM blitzers. WSU willlook to get rid of the ball immediately on passplays, and it should be aided by a rushingattack that averages 182.3 yards a game.

■ WSU’s defense must take advantage of theLobos’ two relatively inexperienced linemen insophomore Terrance Pennington and redshirtfreshman Robert Turner. If the Cougars canstuff the running game, then get pressure onQB Casey Kelly without blitzing, UNM’soffense will be in for a long day.

Matt KegelPos.: Quarterback

No.: 4

Height: 6-5

Weight: 227

Notable: The one-time JasonGesser understudy earnedPac-10 Offensive Player ofthe Week honors last weekwith his 310-yard, three-touchdown performance inWSU’s 47-26 win at Col-orado.

Did you know: A cousin offormer Washington Stategreat and NFL flunkie RyanLeaf, Kegel completed an88-yard pass as a sopho-more in his first start inplace of an injured Gesseras the Cougars beat USC.

Daniel KeglerPos.: Defensive end

No.: 93

Height: 6-3

Weight: 260

Notable: Kegler, the 2002sacks runner-up in the Moun-tain West Conference, gothis first sack last weekagainst BYU after missingthe first game of the seasonfor a violation of team rulesand getting no tacklesagainst Texas Tech.

Did you know: Kegler is oneof the emotional leaders ona defense that thrives onemotion. Without LB FolaFashola (torn ACL), UNMneeds guys like him and loboback Brandon Ratcliff tobreathe fire into the unit.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: First meeting

LAST WEEK: UNM lost to BYU 10-7 at University Stadium;WSU won at Colorado 47-26

WASHINGTON STATEINDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

KEY STRATEGIES

ABOUT THE SERIES

DefenseTFL Int

UT AT Tot. Yards YdsBilly Strother 11 9 20 0.5-1 —Nick Speegle 12 6 18 — —Daniel Gawronski 9 6 15 — —Sidney Wiley 6 6 14 1-4 2-1Terrell Golden 10 3 13 — —Brandon Ratcliff 10 3 13 — —Jerrell Malone 7 5 12 — —Gabriel Fulbright 9 2 11 — —

OffensePassing

Comp Att Yds TD IntCasey Kelly 45 81 655 4 3Kole McKamey 2 6 72 0 1

RushingAtt Net Avg TD

D.D. Cox 52 282 5.4 4DonTrell Moore 50 251 5.0 5Dwight Counter 4 52 13.0 0Adrian Byrd 13 41 3.2 0Adrian Boyd 6 27 4.5 0

ReceivingRec Yds Avg TD

Adrian Boyd 10 154 15.4 0Rashaun Sanders 8 114 14.2 0Dwight Counter 6 159 26.5 1D.D. Cox 4 69 17.2 0Hank Baskett 4 68 17.0 1Bryan Penley 4 47 11.8 1Terrence Thomas 3 17 5.7 0Landrick Brody 3 15 5.0 1

■ Offensive coordinator Dan Dodd said it bestthis week: “Big plays need to be big plays.”When receivers are behind the defense, QBCasey Kelly or whoever has the ball can’tthrow over their heads. Without OT JasonLenzmeier, UNM must play error-free ball.

■ The Lobos’ special teams must be as sharpas they’ve ever been. The Cougars haveblocked three kicks this season, and returnerSammy Moore took a kick back 97 yards —after bobbling the ball — for a touchdownagainst Colorado last week.

NEW MEXICOINDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

KEY STRATEGIES

WSU hashad a Pac-10offensive,defensive ora special-teams playerof the weekin each ofthe firstthree weeksthis season.

HO

The Cougarshave won 20straightgames whenthey scoredin the thirdquarter, lastlosing in2000 toWashington.

FASTFACT

DID IT

Dating to lastseason,UNM hasconverted 33of 35chances inthe red zone(inside theopponent’s20-yard line).The Loboshave 31 TDsand two fieldgoals in thatspan.

FASTFACT

DID IT

The Loboshave lostsevenstraightgames toranked opponents.The last winover a top-25foe was their23-21 winover No. 9Utah in1994.

POSITION BATTLES:Who will be today’s Special K?

Bill Doba,first year (2-1)

WSUHEADCOACH

Rocky Long,sixth year(26-37)

UNMHEADCOACH

JIM THOMPSON/JOURNALJACK DEMPSEY/AP

BY GREG ARCHULETA

Journal Staff Writer

PULLMAN, Wash. — The Uni-versity of New Mexico foot-ball team is, if anything,unwavering in its spirit and

self-confidence.In the midst of a two-game losing

streak — including a tough 10-7 lossat home to Brigham Young last weekto start the Mountain WestConference schedule — the Lobos (1-2) believe they have a legitimate shotat beating 24th-ranked WashingtonState (2-1) today in the Cougars’ 2003home opener.

“We don’t care if they’re a top-25,top-30 team,” UNM senior linebackerDaniel Gawronski says of thedefending Pacific-10 Conference co-champion Cougars. “We’re going inthere to win.”

Defensively, the Lobos have reasonfor optimism, having held BYU 122.5yards below its passing averageentering the game after strugglingagainst air-it-out Texas Tech.

Gawronski and junior linebackerNick Speegle led the charge, with 10and nine tackles, respectively,against BYU.

“We’ve got a couple of games underour belts,” says Gawronski, whoseperformance last week was a career-high in tackles. “Everybody’s startingto feel more comfortable aboutplaying. I think we’re getting morementally prepared. The key is justnot giving up big plays. That’s what’skilling us.”

Did someone mention big plays?That perfectly describes WashingtonState’s 47-26 win last week at then-No. 17 Colorado.

Cougars senior widereceiver/returner Sammy Moore (5feet, 11 inches, 194 pounds) returneda kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.Senior cornerback Jason David (5-8,180) brought back an interception 41yards for a TD. Senior quarterbackMatt Kegel (6-5, 227) threw TDpasses of 77 and 74 yards.

“They’re pretty good,” says UNMcoach Rocky Long, touched by hisown flair for the obvious. “They’vegot a lot of skill. They’ve got skill atthe receivers, and one receiver is alsoa great return guy. They’ve got skillin the secondary and skill at runningback.”

Long calls WSU wide receiversMoore and senior Devard Darling (6-3, 213), a Florida State transfer, thebest the Lobos have faced.

The Cougars’ leading rusher, senior

Jonathan Smith (5-10, 190), actually isthe backup to senior Jermaine Green(6 feet, 228).

Their balance on offense is whatmakes them tough to defend, Longsays.

“After doing our statisticalanalysis,” Long says, “they’ve run theball 114 times and passed it 114 times.That’s about as 50-50 as I’ve everseen. I think they do a great job ofgetting the people the ball that can dosomething with it.”

The offense starts with Kegel, whohas improved weekly while trying tofill the enormous hole left by thegraduated Jason Gesser, a 2002Heisman Trophy candidate.

“It’s a very versatile offense,” saysKegel, who earned Pac-10 OffensivePlayer of the Week honors for his310-yard, three-touchdown passingeffort against the Buffaloes.

“All I have to do is throw the ball. Ijust have a lot of playmakers on myteam who can make the catch, breaktackles and make great runs. Itmakes my job easy.”

Kegel adds, however, that facingUNM’s defense won’t make his jobany easier.

“I think they’re a great defense,” hesays. “It’s going to cause problems,but hopefully I can hang in there. Ialways expect the blitz. It ain’t gonnabe anything we haven’t seen before,but they do some crazy stuff. Thiswill be our toughest game yet.”

Strong words from a quarterbackwho has played against Colorado andNotre Dame, which beat the Cougars29-26 in overtime after WSU blew a19-0 lead.

“It’s a tough defense to go against,to prepare for in one week’s time,”first-year Cougs coach Bill Doba says

of the Lobos.Doba was a 15-year WSU assistant

who was the team’s defensivecoordinator last season under then-head coach Mike Price. Doba says hecontemplated visiting UNM a coupleof years ago to study Long’sdefensive scheme.

“It just really makes you tentative(on offense),” Doba says. “You havedifficulty firing off the ball. You justdon’t know where they’re going togo.”

Doba says he’s impressed withLobos starting quarterback CaseyKelly, despite his struggles last weekagainst BYU. Doba voices hisconcerns about UNM’s speed option,a package the Cougars haven’t faced.

The Lobos have their own concernsabout their offense, having not scoreda point in the first half of their lasttwo games.

“It’s been very surprising andfrustrating as well because of thekind of players we are and the kindsof things we’ve shown we can do,”senior wide receiver Adrian Boydsays. “This week (in practice), we’vemade a point of putting points on theboard early and not stoppingourselves and not doing the dumbmistakes. We’ve got to play acomplete game.”

UNM’s offense did score 72 pointsin one game this season, impressiveeven against an NCAA Division I-AAschool like Texas State. Confidence ispresent on that side of the ball for theLobos as well.

“As long as we keep fighting andavoid the mental mistakes,” Boydsays, “I think it’s going to be a prettygood game.”

PAT VASQUEZ-CUNNINGHAM/JOURNAL

UNM linebacker Daniel Gawronski (center) says the Lobos are in Pullman, Wash., with every intention of upsetting WSU, the defending Pac-10 co-champion.

Matter of FaithU N M B E L I E V E S I T C A N G O T O WA S H I N G T O N S TAT E A N D W I N T O D AY

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2003 D11

Aug. 30 WSU 25, Idaho 0Sept. 6 Notre Dame 29,

WSU 26 (OT)Sept. 13 WSU 47,

Colorado 26Sept. 20 New MexicoSept. 27 at OregonOct. 4 ArizonaOct. 18 at StanfordOct. 25 Oregon StateNov. 1 at Southern CalNov. 8 UCLANov. 15 Arizona StateNov. 22 at Washington

Aug. 30 UNM 72, Texas State 8

Sept. 6 Texas Tech 42, UNM 28

Sept. 13 Brigham Young 10, UNM 7

Sept. 20 at Washington St.

Sept. 27 New Mexico State

Oct. 4 Utah State

Oct. 18 at San Diego State

Oct. 25 at Utah

Nov. 1 UNLV

Nov. 7 Colorado State

Nov. 15 Air Force

Nov. 22 at Wyoming

Washington State University (2-1)

University of New Mexico (1-2)

2003 SCHEDULE

COUGARS’DEPTH CHART

OffenseSE 3 Sammy Moore

84 Robert Franklin

FL 1 Devard Darling2 Chris Jordan

89 Brett Johnson

LT 67 Calvin Armstrong77 Patrick Afif

LG 50 Josh Parrish64 Steve Nelson

C 63 Mike Shelford69 Keola Loo

RG 78 R. Fitt-Chappell66 Nick Mihlhauser

RT 75 Sam Lightbody78 R. Fitt-Chappell

TE 81 Troy Bienemann80 Cody Boyd47 Jesse Taylor

QB 4 Matt Kegel9 Josh Swogger

RB 30 Jermaine Green5 Jonathan Smith

33 Chris Buhn

SB 35 Scott Lunde6 Marty Martin

DefenseWE 9 Isaac Brown

94 Mkristo Bruce

LT 95 Jeremy Williams44 Josh Shavies

RT 97 Tai Taupai99 Steve Cook

SE 17 D.D. Acholonu13 Adam Braidwood

WLB 48 Al Genatone46 Pat Bennett

MLB 52 Don Jackson43 Brian Hall

SLB 51 Will Derting42 Scott Davis

LC 15 Karl Paymah21 Alex Teems

SS 24 Virgil Williams28 Hamza Abdullah

FS 27 Erik Coleman26 Jeremy Bohannon41 Aaron Joseph

RC 29 Jason David25 Don Turner

SpecialistsK 10 Drew Dunning

18 Graham Siderius

P 8 Kyle Basler18 Graham Siderius

DS 81 Troy Bienemann78 R. Fitt-Chappell

PR 3 Sammy Moore29 Jason David

KR 3 Sammy Moore5 Jonathan Smith

OffenseWR 8 Dwight Counter

15 Rashaun Sanders18 Hank Baskett

WR 21 Adrian Boyd81 Terrence Thomas1 Michael Brunker

TE 87 Bryan Penley88 Mike Augustyniak85 Zach Cresap

ST 79 T. Pennington74 Patrick Hodges78 Calvin McDonald

SG 76 Claude Terrell69 Bryan Humphreys

C 63 Ryan Cook67 Derek Watson

RG 59 Robert Turner62 Fred Tucker

RT 64 Justin Colburn74 Patrick Hodges

QB 16 Casey Kelly12 Kole McKamey11 Tali Ena

FB 44 Adrian Byrd34 Landrick Brody

TB 22 DonTrell Moore5 D.D. Cox

DefenseLE 98 D.J. Renteria

90 Marcus Parker

NT 96 Kyle Coulter98 D.J. Renteria92 Evroy Thompson

RE 71 Zach Rupp93 Daniel Kegler

OLB 17 Billy Strother45 Joe Selander

MLB 7 Daniel Gawronski56 Mike Mohoric

OLB 89 Nick Speegle39 Shannon Kincaid

LC 23 Gabriel Fulbright14 Corey Brown

RC 19 Jerrell Malone28 Brandon Payne

LOBO 9 Brandon Ratcliff32 Art Haynes

LWS 6 Sidney Wiley37 Josh Bazinet

RWS 3 Terrell Golden27 Kevin Walton

SpecialistsP 25 Tyler Gaus

30 Wes Zunker

K 30 Wes Zunker24 Aaron Barret

DS 53 Martin Lovato

KR 9 Brandon Ratcliff5 D.D. Cox

PR 8 Dwight Counter21 Adrian Boyd

LOBOS’DEPTH CHART

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICOADVANTAGE

QUARTERBACK: SR Matt Kegel (6-5, 227) hasimproved from game to game after passing for 108yards in the opener against Idaho.

RECEIVERS: SR Sammy Moore and JR DevardDarling are, perhaps, the best tandem ever to facecoach Rocky Long’s Lobos.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Massive tackles JeremeyWilliams (6-4, 288) and Tai Tupai (6-5, 320) takeup blockers to free their LBs.

LINEBACKER: SO Will Derting (6 feet, 237) plays alongside two seniors but is the best of thebunch.

SECONDARY: SR Jason David (5-8, 180) has 11career interceptions — two for TDs, including onelast week against Colorado.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Returner Sammy Moore is aplaymaker. Kicker and punter are strong. Unit hasthree blocked kicks.

COACHES: Bill Doba, the team’s defensive coor-dinator last season, has made a smooth transitionto head coach.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Average size of guards and tack-les: 6-7, 317. The unit has allowed only three sacksagainst the likes of Notre Dame and Colorado.

RUNNING BACK: SR Jonathan Smith is averaging92 yards a game and 6.7 yards a carry — and he’slisted as the backup to Jermaine Green.

QUARTERBACK: Coaching staff thinks bad outing by SR Casey Kelly last week was an aberration.

RECEIVERS: Wideouts need to learn where thefirst-down markers are. SR Adrian Boyd can makebig things happen on screens.

DEFENSIVE LINE: SR DE Daniel Kegler needs tobecome the force he was last season when he hadseven sacks.

LINEBACKER: SR Daniel Gawronski and JR NickSpeegle came up big to make up for UNM losingFola Fashola for the year.

SECONDARY: SR Brandon Ratcliff must createturnovers at lobo back position; UNM didn’t forceany last week vs. Brigham Young.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Lobos kickoff returners muff-ing too many balls; pressure on opposing puntersnowhere to be found.

COACHES: Rocky Long does his best job whenhis team is facing considerable adversity.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Lobos are hoping SO TerrancePennington grows up as fast as FR Robert Turnerhas.

RUNNING BACK: SO DonTrell Moore and JR D.D.Cox need to be healthy to provide big-play capacityfrom the rushing attack.

MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGSConference Overall

W-L Pct. Pts. Opp. W-L Pct. Pts. Opp.

BYU 1-0 1.000 10 7 2-1 .667 52 55

Air Force 0-0 .000 0 0 3-0 1.000 105 42

Colorado St. 0-0 .000 0 0 2-1 .667 89 70

San Diego St. 0-0 .000 0 0 2-1 .667 66 25

UNLV 0-0 .000 0 0 2-1 .667 75 69

Utah 0-0 .000 0 0 2-1 .667 97 72

Wyoming 0-0 .000 0 0 1-2 .333 80 100

New Mexico 0-1 .000 7 10 1-2 .333 107 60

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITYTEAM STATISTICS

ScoringWSU Opp.

Total 98 55PPG 32.7 18.3

First downsWSU Opp.

Total 54 54Rushing 25 17Passing 28 28Penalty 1 9

RushingWSU Opp.

Yards gained 612 451Yards lost 65 104Attempts 114 105Avg. per rush 4.8 3.3Avg. per game 183.3 115.7TDs rushing 3 1Total yardage 547 347

PassingWSU Opp.

Avg. per pass 7.5 5.3Avg. per catch 13.7 9.6Avg. per game 237.0 221.3TDs passing 5 5Total yardage 711 664

Total offenseWSU Opp.

Total plays 209 230Avg. per play 6.0 4.4Avg. per game 419.3 337.0

Kick returnsWSU Opp.

No./yards 8/224 20/427Return avg. 28.0 21.4

Punt returnsWSU Opp.

No./Yards 6/51 7/66Return avg. 8.5 9.4

Interception returnsWSU Opp.

No./Yards 6/87 3/23Return avg. 14.5 7.7

Fumbles-lostWSU Opp.

7-3 14-6

PenaltiesWSU Opp.

Avg. per game 11.3 8.6Avg. yds./game 105.3 65.0Total 34 26Total yardage 316 195

PuntsWSU Opp.

Avg. per punt 45.6 39.7Net punt average 41.8 36.7Total punts 17 17Total yardage 776 675

Time of possessionWSU Opp.

Per game 30:59 29:01

3rd-down conversionsWSU Opp.

Third-down pct. 32% 22%Total 14/44 10/46

4th-down conversionsWSU Opp.

Fourth-down pct. 0% 29%Total 0/1 2/7

SacksWSU Opp.

Total 12 3Yardage 67 25

Field goalsWSU Opp.

Made 8 5Attempts 9 8

TouchdownsWSU Opp.

Total 11 6

PATWSU Opp.

Total/Attempts 8/10 4/6

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICOTEAM STATISTICS

ScoringUNM Opp.

Total 107 60PPG 35.6 20.0

First downsUNM Opp.

Total 75 57Rushing 41 12Passing 28 40Penalty 6 5

RushingUNM Opp.

Yards gained 769 319Yards lost 64 86Attempts 153 72Avg. per rush 4.6 3.2Avg. per game 235.0 77.7TDs rushing 10 1Total yardage 705 233

PassingUNM Opp.

Avg. per pass 8.4 6.0Avg. per catch 15.6 10.8Avg. per game 249.0 303.7TDs passing 5 7Total yardage 747 911

Total offenseUNM Opp.

Total plays 242 223Avg. per play 6.0 5.1Avg. per game 484.0 381.3

Kick returnsUNM Opp.

No./yards 5/75 15/324Return avg. 15.0 21.6

Punt returnsUNM Opp.

No./Yards 6/79 8/65Return avg. 13.2 8.1

Interception returnsUNM Opp.

No./Yards 3/5 4/59Return avg. 1.7 14.8

Fumbles-lostUNM Opp.

6-2 4-3

PenaltiesUNM Opp.

Avg. per game 5.7 5Avg. yds./game 45.7 48.3Total 17 15Total yardage 137 145

PuntsUNM Opp.

Avg. per punt 38.3 40.7Net punt average 34.0 35.8Total punts 15 16Total yardage 575 651

Time of possessionUNM Opp.

Per game 34:41 25:19

3rd-down conversionsUNM Opp.

Third-down pct. 46% 35%Total 23/50 17/48

4th-down conversionsUNM Opp.

Fourth-down pct. 71% 36%Total 5/7 5/14

SacksUNM Opp.

Total 8 3Yardage 35 17

Field goalsUNM Opp.

Total 1 1Attempts 2 1

TouchdownsUNM Opp.

Total 15 8

PATUNM Opp.

Total/Attempts 14/15 7/7

AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WESTFriday

Hawaii at UNLV, lateToday

Wyoming at Air Force, noonMiami, Ohio at Colorado State,

1 p.m.

New Mexico at Wash. State, 3 p.m.

Stanford at BYU, 4:30 p.m.Samford at San Diego State,

5 p.m.

SAMMY MOORE ADRIAN BOYD

How They Match Up

JOE RAYMOND/AP JIM THOMPSON/JOURNAL