Notes, quotes and statistics from the Lobos’ loss at Oklahoma

By admin — In News — September 21, 2026

   ​NORMAN, Okla. — Notes, quotes and statistics from New Mexico’s 14-6 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday:1. So what exactly was that final call?Facing fourth-and-2 at Oklahoma’s 17-yard line, quarterback Toa Fa’avae handed off to running back Scottre Humphrey for a run up the middle. The play didn’t go anywhere — Sooner defensive tackle David Stone stuffed Humphrey, Oklahoma took over with 2:57 left, and that was the game. The Lobos didn’t run another play for the rest of the night.If you found yourself wondering why that was the play, UNM coach Jason Eck had an answer.“We had a (run-pass option), and I think we called it hoping that they would give us a good picture to throw the slant to (receiver Troy Omeire) one-on-one,” he said. “But they took it away, and they just kinda kicked our butt at the point of attack.”Eck didn’t seem to disagree with the call. But there was one play UNM already ran that he wished they saved for that particular situation.Then again, he didn’t seem to disagree with burning that play when the Lobos did.“We had a play that was a pass with (quarterback James Laubstein),” Eck said. “And we ran it earlier on a first-and-10. That would’ve been a perfect call for right there on fourth-and-2 because you know the safeties are gonna be low.“ … It wasn’t a bad call per se because we were trying to be aggressive off the sudden change (of possession). I called the reverse screen (trick play) off (the) sudden change because I thought we needed to get momentum off of that. But they did a good job defending it.”2. And what happened on Oklahoma receiver Isaiah Sategna III’s 53-yard touchdown catch, the play that put the Sooners up for good midway through the third quarter?Simply put: a bust.“We didn’t get it spun the right way in coverage, and they got behind us,” Eck said. “So that was a shame because that was, really, the big play.”A few plays earlier, safety Austin Brawley left the game with cramps. Eck said he believed the safety’s absence “probably” affected UNM’s communication in that spot, but also pointed out the underlying irony of that particular sequence, especially in light of the Lobos’ recent defensive success.“It probably hurts you a little bit when you have two games where our starters played 20, 30 snaps and now you have a game like this, that’s a war,” he said. “We probably played more snaps defensively in the first half than our guys played the last two games. In some ways, it felt a little bit like a first game, seeing guys cramp, having it so hot.”3. For the first time this season, there was a substantial lean towards one player in UNM’s multi-quarterback offense: Against Oklahoma, Toa Fa’avae (4-of-10 passing, 79 yards) played 42 snaps to Luke Moga’s (4-of-8, 37 yards) 17, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).Fa’avae also rushed for a sack-adjusted 17 yards on a team-high 13 attempts. Take the sacks out of it and he rushed for 51 yards on the night  

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