ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Lobos led at the half, but lost 52-24 to San Jose State on Saturday night. It was a costly third quarter that proved to be the difference, as the Spartans went on to score 24 points during the period, during a 38-0 run in the second half.
“Really disappointed in the second half performance because I thought we played really good football in the first half,” said UNM head coach Danny Gonzales. “They ran the exact same the exact same plays the second half as they did in the first half. I mean I wish they were running different plays and made some fancy adjustment. They didn’t. They outplayed us. We’ll do some things differently in practice to get them going because obviously what we’re doing isn’t working.”
The first half was much better for UNM as the Lobos were able to drive the ball down field and find multiple ways to score. Jacory Croskey-Merritt was able to find the end-zone twice, including at the end of the half when he took the ball off a direct snap. The cherry and silver then took a 17-14 lead into the break.
The Lobos also struggled with penalties throughout the game. UNM racked up 15 in total, many of which were pre snap.
On defense, UNM one again gave up their fair share of big plays. SJSU QB Chevan Cordeiro only completed eight passes for 272 yards (34 yards per completion) and in the third quarter, the Spartans scored on two 50+ yard touchdowns.
For the Lobos, QB Dylan Hopkins completed 13-24 for 187 and one interception, while freshman QB Devon Dampier came in for relief in the 4th quarter and tossed 5-6 for 75 yards and a touchdown. Croskey-Merritt led the ground attack with 68 yards on 17 attempts, while DJ Washington led in receiving with three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Up next for UNM is a home game against Hawaii on Saturday. The game kicks off at 4 p.m. and will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
