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| Monday, August 13 Updated: August 14, 9:35 AM ET Coaching stability puts Lobos close to Mtn. West elite By Ed Graney Special to ESPN.com |
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New Mexico Lobos 2000 record: 5-7 (3-4). Coach: Rocky Long (4th season, 12-23). Starters returning: 7 offense, 5 defense, 1 kicker. Outlook: No longer will we see an offense only Rush Limbaugh could love. The Lobos will open things up more behind junior quarterback Rudy Caamano, who completed 56 percent of his attempts in 10 starts last year. The running back tandem of Holmon Wiggins and Jarod Baxter combined for 1,286 yards and nine touchdowns a season ago. Wide receiver is a question mark, but coaches like the potential of junior-college transfer Michael Brunker. More mystery can be found on defense, where the line and secondary have noticeable holes. Senior end Brian Johnson is one of the league's top three or four players. This is a team that wins on little things, like blocking five kicks in 2000 and having the league's best kicker in Vladimir Borombozin. How close is New Mexico to being a conference contender? Three of its four league losses last year were by 3, 1, and 4 points. Keep an eye on: Senior safety Scott Gerhardt. He is slotted in at the LOBO position, one that lacked major impact last season after the departure of All-American Brian Urlacher. The 3-3-5 scheme could be scratched in favor of a more traditional 3-4 look, but New Mexico will still be one of the league's more aggressive defenses. Gerhardt has 14 career starts and went for 53 tackles last season. He isn't Urlacher (few have ever been), but he does have the tempo and patience needed to play the LOBO. Key game: The Lobos opened last season in Lubbock, Tex., 24-3 losers to Texas Tech. They return to Jones Stadium on Sept. 8 and should be better for the 2000 experience. This is the kind of winnable game against a BCS school that MWC officials are preaching about. Tech returns 12 starters, but it was a 7-3 game in the third quarter last year. It's more a statement game than anything for New Mexico. One it needs to make. It's a good year if... New Mexico finds itself in a fight for the league's third bowl spot. The Lobos in many ways played over their heads last season, crashing to earth with three losses to end the year. The schedule again is tougher late, ending with SDSU, UNLV and CSU. But for the first time in his tenure, Long didn't lose any assistant coaches and his job status finally appears stable. Win enough early -- there is a chance to be 5-1 heading into the BYU game -- and the Lobos can finish in the league's upper-half. Ed Graney covers college football for the San Diego Union Tribune. |
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