Lobos face tall task against No. 7 Texas A&M

Sep. 18—For a different reason than the University of New Mexico football program he sits atop of, head coach Danny Gonzales has long embraced the mantra of any place, any time.

To UNM, it means picking up a huge paycheck (and a healthy serving of humble pie) for traveling into a Power 5 team's home stadium for a nonconference whooping.

To Gonzales, it means getting a chance to establish an identity that few outside his locker room believe is possible. He sees his Lobos as a rising band of contenders, a team that will eventually use brute force to reside atop the Mountain West Conference and put a charge into the power programs it'll face every year for the foreseeable future.

That begins with Saturday's trip to Bryan-College Station, Texas, and a game against No. 7 Texas A&M. The unbeaten and national title-contending Aggies represent the proverbial Goliath to UNM's pre-pubescent David; the atmosphere-scraping mountain to the misfit trying to climb it.

Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. at Kyle Field, the 102,733-seat monstrosity that ranks as the fourth-largest college football stadium in the country and one that, if full, would supply the largest crowd the Lobos have ever played in front of. Home of the fabled 12th Man tradition, the stadium is also the place where Gonzales hopes to see a glimmer of what his Lobos can become.

"We're going against a great opponent who's one of the best football teams in the country in one of the hardest environments to play," he said. "That's fine. It's why you do this."

The Lobos are riding a four-game winning streak that includes a 2-0 start this season. Neither win was particularly impressive but, given the recent losing history of UNM football, Gonzales will take it. Last week's win over New Mexico State made quarterback Terry Wilson the MWC offensive player of the week.

The topic of discussion, however, is the status of A&M's quarterback. Starter Haynes King, a much-hyped 6-foot-5 freshman, suffered a broken bone in his lower right leg in last week's lethargic win at Colorado. Taking his place is sophomore Zach Calzada.

Aggie insiders say this weekend represents a chance for Calzada to settle in and get work with the first-string offense after losing the job to King in the preseason. The opponent doesn't matter as much as getting Calzada up to speed and feeling comfortable.

In that respect, the Lobos are the ideal opponent ahead of next week's SEC opener against nationally ranked Arkansas at AT&T Stadium. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said his team's focus is UNM despite the fact that the SEC slate is right around the corner.

"It ain't no tuneup, it's a game," Fisher told reporters earlier this week. "Have you been following all the game access across the country the last two weeks? You better bring you're A-game and hopefully we can bring our A-game."

A win, of course, would go down as one of the biggest in UNM history, if not one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Mountain West. It's just one of an annual series of games the Lobos play against Power 5 schools, teams whose deep financial pockets make a seven-figure payday a nice exchange for getting kicked around for a few hours.

The Lobos played (and lost) to A&M four years ago and have return dates to Kyle Field in 2023 and 2027. It goes along with big-name games like LSU (next year), Auburn (2024), Michigan and UCLA (2025) and Oklahoma (2026).

"Those are the games we want to go and compete in," Gonzales said. "We're going to go throw our hat in the ring and see how we do."

NOTES

The Lobos are one of six MWC teams that are unbeaten. Four of them are in the Mountain Division, although UNM's four-game winning streak dating to the end of last season is the longest of any team in the conference. ... Lobos linebacker Reco Hannah is done for the year with a torn meniscus. He underwent surgery Thursday and Gonzales said the school will try to get him an additional year of eligibility based on medical hardship. Hannah is notable for wearing No. 44, the uniform once worn by all-time great Brian Urlacher. Gonzales brought the number out of retirement as a way to honor Urlacher. ... Since 2019, MWC teams have won 14 games against Power 5 teams. All but two of them have been against Pac-12 teams. This is the league's only game this season against a team from the SEC.