College Football Predictions – New Mexico Lobos 2017 NCAA Football Preview
2016 Recap
2016 Record – 9-4
2016 ATS – 6-7
Way to go Lobos !
Bob Davie is in the MEGALOCKS Head Ball Coach Hall of Fame. Great dude. And how about his work with New Mexico ? They are not too far removed from a three-year stretch in which they went 3-33 (!!) and last season marked their 2nd straight bowl game appearance. They finished the season at 9-4 and at one point reeled off five wins in a row. Can they maintain this recently-found winning tradition ? Let’s find out, yo.
2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
Mountain West -TBD
Mountain Division – TBD
OFFENSE
For all the young Sparkies out there, if you have not had a chance to watch New Mexico football, you have to check out this offense. They led the FBS in rushing last season (350 yards per game – think about that) and averaged an insane 6.6 yards per carry (6+ three of last four years).
New Mexico loses half of their dual-QB lineup from 2016 but do return senior Lamar Jordan who is a dangerous runner (739, 3 TD) and is capable of hitting a big play or three in the passing game when defenses commit everyone to stopping the run. The Lobos will be without last year’s leading rusher Teriyon Gipson (1,269, 13 TD, 8.8 – !) but are still loaded with the SECOND 1,000-yard rusher from last season (Tyrone Owens 1,097, 7 TD, 8.0 – !) back in the fold along with quite a bit of depth. The offensive line should be excellent with a lot of talent and experience on hand. Opposing defenses need to prepare for more pain and suffering trying to stop the rushing attack.
Nobody on the team had more than 300 yards receiving last season but they just need to hit a big play in the passing game once in a while to keep teams honest.
DEFENSE
This is probably going to be a problem. The last time the Lobos returned less than five starters on defense was in 2013 and they yielded 42.8 points per game. This year New Mexico has only three starters from the last season’s unit back for duty. They do return their best defensive player in DE Garrett Hughes who bagged 6.5 sacks in 2016, but overall, there is a lack of experience and plenty of unknown across the board. New Mexico allowed less than 5 yards per carry last year but will struggle to do that in 2017.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Yes, guy. They look fine in this department. PK Jason Sanders made 12/13 FG and 61/62 XP in 2016. They appear to be set at P and in the kick return game with Elijah Lilly (27.4, 1 TD).
Potential ATS Trouble Spot
September 23 – at Tulsa. This game pops up in a Boise St / Air Force sandwich and boy oh boy oh boy that Tulsa offense is going to light things up.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Some fast dude just ran untouched for a New Mexico 97-yard TD while you were reading this sentence.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 4.0
MEGALOCKS says:
Overall, we give the LOBOS a 4.0 ATS Value Rating (Below Average) this season.
We would love to see these guys make another bowl game, and while that is certainly not a stretch, the schedule is fairly difficult. They will not be able to stub their toes against weak competition like last season (New Mexico St, Rutgers) if they want to achieve bowl eligibility. The offense will still be really good. The MEGALOCKS SUPERCOMPUTER COMPLEX projects a 6-6 record and another bowl game on the horizon.
From an ATS standpoint we feel the Lobos are going to have a tough time vs the Vegas number due to the weakness (on paper, at least) on the defensive side of the ball. In Bob Davie’s first five seasons in Albuquerque they finished with ATS record of 7-6, 6-6, 6-5-1, 7-6 and 6-7. Seems like another .500ish record is in the cards with a little bit more risk to the downside.
The pool will still be open every week for team totals and OVERS.
Want more Lobos Football?
Website
http://www.golobos.com/index.aspx?path=football
Forum
http://www.scout.com/college/new-mexico/forums/2466-the-red-menace-zone
http://thelobolair.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=6
News
https://www.mwcconnection.com/new-mexico-lobos-football
http://www.abqjournal.com/category/sports/unm-lobos
http://bleacherreport.com/new-mexico-lobos-football
https://www.newscastic.com/new-mexico/football/
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/new-mexico-lobos
Hashtag – #GoLobos
Accounts
https://twitter.com/NewMexicoFB (@NewMexicoFB)
https://twitter.com/Burquerick (@Burquerick) Rick Wright