ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If you thought 642 days between home games was a lot of time, how about doing something 74 straight years. That’s what New Mexico and New Mexico State did. They played 74 straight years, but after a one-year hiatus due to a COVID year in which UNM didn’t play a home game and New Mexico State ended up with a spring season instead of a fall one, the two teams meet at University Stadium on Saturday night at 5:06 p.m. in the 111th version of the Rio Grande Rivalry.
Single game tickets are on sale for as low as $21, and there are still great seats available in the end zone club and Zia club levels as well, which start at $70 and include an all-you-can buffet and indoor air conditioned seating and dining areas. Fans can purchase seats for the Rio Grande Rivalry game here.
New Mexico leads the all-time series 72-33-5, and UNM has gone 39-11-1 in the last 51 meetings. UNM is on a two-game winning streak in the series, and this will be the first time through as a head coach for Danny Gonzales. Having an Albuquerque native, a former Lobo player, and a former Lobo assistant as the head man in charge brings an added dimension to the rivalry, and Gonzales isn’t one to shy away from what it means to him.
“This is a great rivalry, it’s one of the longest in the country,” said Gonzales, before rattling off a series of Rio Grande Rivalry stats off the top of his head that was impressive and slightly reminiscent of Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man”. “I promise you, they are going to come up here ready to play, ready to beat the Lobos and that’s the way it should be.” Gonzales is hoping that the town of Albuquerque and Lobo fans state-wide show out for the program, especially after an opening week that saw the New Mexico Lobos with a full-page spread on the front page of the New York Times sports section on Saturday.
Not Alabama. Not Georgia. Not any Power 5 school. New Mexico. Every column inch of the front page of the New York Times sports page, the most famous newspaper in the world, was dedicated to the Lobos.
“I mean that was amazing, to have that type of coverage from the New York Times,” he said. “I hope we have 35,000 people in the stands, a majority of them wearing Cherry & Silver. This is going to be the biggest crowd in a long time in any sporting event in the state of New Mexico. We are the flagship university of this state, and we should take a lot of pride in that.”
The Lobos are 1-0 on the season, coming off a 27-17 win over Houston Baptist that saw a stellar Lobo debut of quarterback Terry Wilson, who opened his career 13-for-13 and went 22-for-28 for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Tavian Combs had a huge day defensively causing a fumble, picking off a pass (one of three takeaways for UNM’s defense) and a career-high tying 12 tackles.
New Mexico State is 0-2, with results not indicative of how they played. It lost their opener 30-3 to UTEP, but that game should have been tied potentially 20-20 at the half, as NMSU hit the upright on a field goal, had a long touchdown called back on a penalty to ineligible man downfield that even Lobo fans would agree was iffy, and a near touchdown in the back of the end zone in which a receiver got his toe down but not his heel.
The second half then got away from NMSU and the same happened the next week at San Diego State. In that one, NMSU looked like world-beaters, holding a 10-0 lead at the break and dominating in all phases. But SDSU broke through with a 28-10 win, forcing three interceptions in the second half, running one back for a touchdown.
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September 08, 2021 at 07:03AM
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After a Year Off, It's Rio Grande Rivalry Time - University of New Mexico Lobos athletics
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