New Mexico (1-11) managed
just eight first downs and 196 yards of total offense as the
Broncos dominated
in just about every facet of the game Saturday afternoon.
"We wanted to play
smart and not help the Broncos by giving up the football or being
penalized,"
said UNM interim coach George Barlow. "I was proud of the focus
our kids
brought into the game. They played with great effort and it has
been a special
part of my coaching career to have been able to lead these players
into games.”
Messina reached
double-digit
tackles for the seventh straight game and ninth time in 10
games. He also
passed Brian Urlacher for third place on UNM's career tackles
list.
“Carmen was
simply
unbelievable out there," said Barlow. "He was everywhere."
Senior safety
Bubba Forrest
also had 10 tackles to finish the season with three double-digit
tackle games.
It was his first double-digit tackle effort since the Sam
Houston State game on
Sept. 24. He finished with 12 tackles against the Bearkats.
Boise State
(11-1) scored on
each of its first five possessions in racing out to a 31-0
halftime lead. The
Broncos manages a gaudy 542 yards of total offense led by
Heisman Trophy
candidate Kellen Moore, who threw three touchdown passes and
went 28-of-33
passing for 312 yards in just over three quarters of play for
Boise.
Junior
quarterback B.R.
Holbrook went 16-of-28 passing on the afternoon for 312 yards
with two sacks,
no interceptions but no touchdown passes.
Crusoe Gongbay
led UNM
rushers with 17 yards on seven attempts. Gongbay finished the
season with 500
yards total.
Junior Deon
Long had his
highest yard total receiving with 96 yards on eight receptions.
"I thought the
effort
they gave against great odds was a tribute to their character as
individuals
and as a team,” said Barlow.
The Lobos were
shut out for
the third time this season. The last time New Mexico suffered
three shutouts in
a season was 1998. Also, the 144 points scored and 12.0
points-per-game total
was the lowest output for UNM in over 40 years. New Mexico
scored 120 points
overall and averaged 12.0 points per game in 1968.
Lastly, New
Mexico allowed
500 points this season, the second most in school history. The
record is 532
points, set last year.