ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – UNM Lobos quarterback Dylan Hopkins is the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week. Lobos sophomore safety Jermarius Lewis is the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week. The two played key roles in the Lobos 42-21 win over Hawaii last weekend.

The win ended the nation’s longest conference losing streak at 14. It also ended a streak of 20 home Mountain West losses for the Lobos, dating back to 2017. In addition to the league honor, Hopkins is also one of 8 quarterbacks on the Manning Award “Star of the Week” list. Hopkins went 20-for-25 for 202 yards and three touchdowns. His 20-for-25 day broke the UNM record for completion percentage in a game with a minimum of 20 completions. Hopkins was glad to see his team finally come up with a complete game in last week’s win.

“That was the big thing I was proud of,” said Hopkins.

“We got the ball in the second half, went down that first half and went and scored. I mean, that was such a good feeling compared to the games in the past. We’ve been so bad in the second half.”

The Mountain West honor is the second for Hopkins this season. It is his first time being on the Manning list. Voting for the Manning “Star of the Week” has opened and will end at 8 a.m. Thursday. Fans are asked to pick the best performance.

Jermarius Lewis had a career night against Hawaii. The talented safety finished the night with seven tackles, a forced fumble, a sack, two pass breakups, and a pair of interceptions. It was one of three interceptions for the Lobos in the game and first for the team all year. Lobos cornerback Zach Morris had the first interception of the game.

“Coach would tell us all the time all we need is one play to ignite this defense and, honestly, after that interception, it just gave the whole defense so much more confidence,” said Lewis. “The D-lineman and linebackers, like, they were itching to get to the quarterback. The DB’s, man, we were just excited to get into coverage, man coverage, zone coverage, whatever it was. I just feel like that didn’t just ignite the defense tonight, but it ignited our defense for the rest of the year.”
The Lobos are 3-4 on the season and 1-2 in the Mountain West. They are at Nevada for an 8:30 p.m. game this Saturday.