Sept. 17, 2007

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The New Mexico Lobos meet the Sacramento State Hornets for the first time Saturday night at University Stadium. Kickoff is 6:06 p.m. Mountain Time. The game can be heard worldwide on 770 KKOB-AM (www.770kkob.com). There is no television coverage, but the game is available online at www.golobos.com via the All Access package.

It's Cherry Crush Night at University Stadium. Fans who purchase a Cherry Crush t-shirt from the UNM Bookstore or the Lobo Store at The Pit will receive a free ticket to Saturday's game.

Sacramento State comes from the Big Sky Conference. Lobo fans certainly remember the last time the Lobos faced a team from that league. It was the 2006 season and home opener when Portland State shocked UNM 17-6 at University Stadium.

While the Lobos are 7-3 in their last 10 road games, they look to capture consecutive wins at University Stadium for the first time since 2005 when they opened the season with victories over UNLV and New Mexico State.

The Lobos are looking to start a season 3-1 for only the second time in head coach Rocky Long's 10 years at New Mexico. The only other time was 2005.

New Mexico improved to 2-1 on the season last Saturday with a gutty 29-27 victory at Arizona. Ten-point underdogs entering the game, the Lobos beat a Pac-10 team on the road for the first time ever and snapped a 9-game losing skid to Pac-10 teams that went back to the 1979 season, a home win against Oregon State.

Sophomore QB Donovan Porterie was 29 of 41 passing for 327 yards and 3 TDs in the victory at Tucson. Senior WRs Travis Brown and Marcus Smith each surpassed 100 yards receiving for the second straight game while the Lobo defense forced three second-half turnovers. Safety OJ Swift led UNM with 7 tackles and he returned 2 fumbles for 69 yards that set up a pair of John Sullivan field goals. It was New Mexico's first win in Tucson since 1975.

Sacramento State fell to 0-2 following a 35-24 loss at Big Sky Conference rival Portland State. The Hornets had a 24-14 lead with 6:16 left in the third quarter. QB Jason Smith finished the game with 241 yards passing on 21-of-28 attempts. The redshirt freshman completed his first 13 attempts. Travon Jones led the ground attack with 117 yards, becoming the first Hornet to cross the century mark since Kris Daniels tallied 132 at Montana State on Nov. 5, 2005. Brent Webber paced the team with nine tackles while Cyrus Mulitalo and Brett Shelton added six apiece.

Jody Johnson returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, the first by Sacramento State since Lamont Webb scored against Cal State Northridge on Nov. 4, 2000.

The Hornets lost to Fresno State 28-3 in their season opener. Sac State's home opener is next week against Northern Arizona.

PROMOTIONS/GAME SPONSORS

• Check out this week's giveaways! (PDF)

Santa Ana Star Casino will provide Lobo sports watches to the first 12,000 fans. Kids will also receive Lobo Louie height posters provided by Southwest Dairy Farmers.

Game sponsors include Santa Ana Star Casino, Frost Mortgage Banking Group, KOB-TV, Radio Lobo 97.7 FM and Big Oldies 98.5 FM.

SEASON TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE

As is custom for Lobo fans, a prorated season ticket is available through this Friday at the ticket office at The Pit.

MORE ON THE HORNETS

Sacramento State returns 41 lettermen and 13 starts from last year's team that finished 4-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Sky. The Hornets finished 5th in the league. Sac State returns just three offensive starters, but has nine back on defense.

Head coach Marshall Sperbeck (Nevada `84) is in his first year with the Hornets. The 47-year-old Sacramento native and former University of Nevada quarterback spent 15 years as the head coach at Foothill College in Los Altos, Calif. He posted a 109-53 record and led the Owls to 11 bowl games. Foothill was 10-1 last year, beating Sierra JC in the Silicon Valley Bowl. The Owls led all California junior colleges in offense in 2006, averaging 479 yards a game.

The Hornets are averaging just 13.5 points and 248 yards of offense a game, 97.5 on the ground and 150.5 through the air. They are allowing 29.5 points and yielding 446.5 yards, 160.5 rushing and 286 passing.

QB Jason Smith has thrown for 301 yards after two games, completing 34 of 51 passes with 2 interceptions and a TD. His favorite target has been Ryan Coogler with 13 catches for 162 yards.

Travon Jones has rushed 39 times for 166 yards to lead the rushing attack. Defensively, MLB Cyrus Militalo leads the Hornets with 22 stops. He has 4 tackles for loss, including 3 sacks, and a fumble recovery.

ARIZONA RECAP

Donovan Porterie threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns, and New Mexico beat a Pac-10 team for the second time in school history, 29-27 over Arizona.

Arizona's Willie Tuitama passed for 446 yards, second-most ever for the Wildcats, and three touchdowns, but the Wildcats couldn't overcome critical fumbles and penalties.

The Lobos took advantage of the miscues and tore apart Arizona's secondary all night. Marcus Smith caught 11 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. Travis Brown added 10 catches for 121 yards and two scores for New Mexico. Porterie, a sophomore, was 29-for-41 with one interception.

The Wildcats twice fumbled the ball away on what would have been go-ahead touchdowns in the second half, the first at the New Mexico 2-yard line on the first possession of the second half. The Lobos' OJ Swift scooped up both fumbles.

Arizona also was plagued by penalties, including one against coach Mike Stoops and his staff for unsportsmanlike conduct during a timeout. New Mexico got what turned out to be two critical points when Tuitama was called for intentional grounding in the Arizona end zone for a safety late in the third quarter.

New Mexico is 2-9 against the Pac-10. The Lobos had lost nine in a row, the last six under coach Rocky Long, since beating Oregon State at home in 1979. The Lobos last defeated Arizona in 1976, when both schools were in the Western Athletic Conference.

Tuitama completed 30-of-53 and had fourth-quarter TD passes of 12 and 13 yards to Mike Thomas to cut the lead to 29-27. But safety Frankie Solomon intercepted Tuitama on Arizona's final possession with just under two minutes to play. Any hope the Wildcats had ended when New Mexico's Rodney Ferguson ran for a first down on third-and-9 with 1:13 to play.

New Mexico led 14-13 at the half, thanks to Porterie's 38-yard touchdown pass to Brown with three seconds left. It was a play that typified the night.

The Lobos went 80 yards in 1 minute, 5 seconds, with the help of a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Wildcats' bench during a timeout. That moved the ball to the Arizona 27. After a false start penalty and a sack moved New Mexico back to the 38. On 2nd and 21, Brown ran straight downfield, past the Wildcats' secondary, and caught the pass in the end zone.

Arizona took the second half kickoff and drove to the New Mexico 5-yard line. But Tuitama fumbled trying to run for the score. Swift scooped up the ball at the 2 and rambled 39 yards to the 41. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Lionel Dotson led to John Sullivan's 31-yard field goal and New Mexico led 17-13 with 7:15 left in the third.

After Arizona cut it to 26-20, Sullivan's 44-yarder gave the Lobos a 29-20 lead with 6:41 remaining.

ARIZONA POSTGAME NOTES

• UNM-New Mexico snapped a 9-game losing streak vs. Pac-10 opponents dating back to 1979...the last victory came on Sept. 8, 1979 - a 35-16 win over Oregon State in Albuquerque

• The Lobos halted 4-game losing streak vs. Arizona and earned their first win in Tucson since beating the undefeated and 13th-ranked Wildcats 44-34 in 1975

• New Mexico won for only the second time in its last 19 non-conference games outside the state of New Mexico, dating to the middle of the 1997 season...however, the Lobos have won their last 2 games against BCS conference opponents - both coming on the road (45-35 win at Missouri in 2005)

• How About the "O": New Mexico generated 421 yards of offense and has reached 400 yards in consecutive games for first time since 2005...the last time the Lobos got 400+ in 3 straight games was in 2003...UNM is averaging 433.3 yards on the season compared to 316.9 yards in 2006

•Big-Time Company: UNM senior WRs and co-captains Travis Brown (10-121) and Marcus Smith (11-164) became the first duo with 100+ receiving yards against Arizona since USC's Dwayne Jarrett (116) and Steve Smith (135) in 2005

• No Problem on the Road: The Lobos are now 7-3 in their last 10 road games

• Big Plays Continue: Despite gaining 383 yards in the opener against UTEP, the Lobos' longest play from scrimmage was just 19 yards on a pair of pass plays...in the last 2 games, UNM has had 25 plays go for at least 15 yards, 5 rushes and 20 passes

• Protection: Despite allowing 3 sacks at Arizona, the Lobos lead the MWC in fewest sacks allowed with 4...after 3 games last year, UNM quarterbacks had been dumped 15 times...the season total of 43 was the highest in 15 years

• Deflections: At Arizona, the Lobos broke up 11 passes and pressured the quarterback 16 times...CB Jerome Jenkins and S Frankie Solomon had 3 apiece...UNM only had 2 against New Mexico State

•Nice Timing for Turnovers: New Mexico has forced 6 turnovers - 5 in the last 2 games - and all of them have come in the 2nd half...the Lobos have a fumble recovery and an interception in the 3rd quarter and recovered fumble and 3 interceptions in the 4th period

•Tremendous Travis: Senior WR Travis Brown posted a career-high 10 catches for 121 yards and a career-best 2 TDs in the victory at Arizona...Brown's first TD was a 6-yard strike from Donovan Porterie that capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive to open the game...his second score was a 38-yard circus catch with 3 seconds left in the first half, which is the longest TD of his career...Brown recorded his second straight 100-yard receiving effort and the 4th of his career..he moved into 8th place on the UNM career receptions list (121) and 12th (1,413) in career receiving yards...Brown also extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 28 straight.

• Marvelous Marcus: Senior WR Marcus Smith tied his career-high with 11 catches for a game-high 164 yards and a 23-yard TD catch...it was his 4th career 100-yard receiving game and 2nd straight...he moved up to 14th on the career receiving yardage list (1,297) and is averaging 14.4 yards/catch in his career

• Dynamic Duo: Reaching 100 yards receiving in consecutive games, Smith and Brown rank 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference in receiving...Smith is averaging 9.3 receptions, which is also 5th in the nation, and 123 yards, good for 9th nationally...Brown's averages are 7 catches and 84 yards a game

• Prolific Porterie: Sophomore QB Donovan Porterie had career-highs of 29 completions, 41 attempts (71%) and 3 TDs (6, 38, 23 yards) against Arizona...it was his 3rd career 300-yard game (327)...Porterie is the first Lobo with back-to-back 300-yard games since Graham Leigh in 1998 (316 vs. UTEP/359 vs. San Diego State)...the last Lobo QB to reach 300 passing yards in 3 straight contests was Jeremy Leach in 1989 (343 Wyoming,. 376 San Diego State, 622 Utah)...on the opening drive of the night, Porterie completed his first 8 passes for 57 yards and a 6-yard TD to Travis Brown...he did throw his first interception in 6 games, since last year against Utah, a span of 133 attempts

• More on Donovan: After completing 13 of his last 14 passes against New Mexico State, Porterie has been true on 42 of his last 55 throws, or 76%...his season accuracy is now a hearty 68.3%...the school record is 62.3% by Kole McKamey in 2005...Porterie's season efficiency rating rests at 151.59...the school standard is 153.6 held by Graham Leigh in 1997

• Swift on the Spot: Senior safety OJ Swift led New Mexico with 7 tackles and he scooped up two Arizona fumbles for 69 yards...he also added half a tackle for loss...Swift's two fumble recoveries came in the second half as the Wildcats were mounting a comeback...on the opening drive of the third quarter, Arizona had a 2nd-and-goal at the Lobo 5...QB Willie Tuitama was forced to scramble and LB George Carter knocked the ball loose...Swift picked it up at the 2 and returned it 39 yards...UNM got a 31-yard field goal from John Sullivan after the turnover...clinging to a 26-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter, LB Cody Kase forced a fumble on running back Chris Jennings at the Lobo 24...Swift was there again and ambled 30 yards to set up another Sullivan field goal from 44 yards that proved to be the difference in the game...Swift is tied with Clint McPeek for the team lead in tackles with 17

• Solomon Picks Again: Sophomore S Frankie Solomon had a career-high 3 pass break-ups, including 2 in the end zone and he clinched the victory with a 4th quarter interception (2nd of his career) for the 2nd straight week

• Streakin' Sullivan: Senior K John Sullivan made a pair of clutch second-half field goals to help the Lobos to the 29-27 victory at Arizona...following an Arizona turnover, Sullivan connected on a career-long 44-yard effort, giving the Lobos a 29-20 lead with 6:41 remaining...that proved to be the difference in the game...Sullivan was also true from 31 yards in the third quarter...after starting the season and his collegiate career 1 of 3, Sullivan has made his last six attempts...he also made all three of his PATs against the Wildcats...through 3 games, the former walk-on leads the MWC in FGs (2.33 a game) and scoring (9.7 ppg)

• Streak Ends for Ferguson: Junior TB Rodney Ferguson (Doak Walker Award Candidate)...he came close, but Rodney Ferguson streak of 100-yard rushing games ended at 5 at Arizona, keeping him tied with DonTrell Moore for the school record...Ferguson was held to 94 yards on 26 carries, including 71 yards on 14 carries in the 2nd half...he did clinch the victory with a long run of 17 on 3rd-and-9 from the UNM 41 with 1:23 to play...Ferguson still has 794 rushing yards (132.3 per game) in his last 6 games and his 1,626 career rushing yards rank 18th all-time at UNM

• Nice Game for Scott: Senior P Jordan Scott had his best game of the season, punting 6 times for a 43.8-yard average at Arizona...most important was that dangerous Arizona return man Antoine Cason was only able to return 1 punt for no yards...Cason had scored on a 70-yard return the week before...4 of Scott's punt were downed or fair caught inside the Wildcats' 20-yard line