ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s back to the road for the 22nd-ranked University of New Mexico Lobos football team. The Lobos are in a short week, playing the Nevada Wolfpack in Reno on Friday. The Lobos head into the game with the top spot in the Mountain West, a defense that leads the FBS in multiple categories and the glare of the national spotlight. After the Lobos received their first football AP ranking in program history, national stories followed, the latest by the New York Times.
UNM head coach Jason Eck is making sure his team is grounded as the Lobos continue to handle their business on the field. “I’m happy for our fans,” said Eck. “I think this is a great thing for our fans; hopefully it gets them excited about it, gets them, you know, thinking about football more. That part of it is great, but, again, for our team, we can’t dwell on it because, if anything, Coach Choate’s a good big game coach. I’m sure nothing more they’d like is to put a little feather of beating a ranked team.
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Being ranked this week means nothing if you lose this week and get kicked out of the rankings. So, we got to take care of our business and have great preparation, and go play our best football.
The players have received the message well, and while they are thankful for the recognition, they are cautious about making too big of a deal of it. “I say it’s rat poison,” said UNM safety Tavian Combs. “The season’s not over, a little bit over halfway through the season. Obviously, you got to be grateful because we did build it, but there’s still a lot more to be done, a lot more to be accomplished. So, take it with a grain of salt. Be happy about it, but understand that humility is only a week away. If you don’t come and prepare the right way that week, you could get humbled really fast.”
The Lobos are 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Mountain West. Nevada is 3-5 overall and 2-2 in league play. Game time is Friday at 7 p.m. Mountain Time on CBS Sports Network.
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