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Everything you need to know about New Mexico's game against Mercyhurst
HC Jason Eck wants to see program continue to improve against the 0-2 Lakers
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Everything you need to know about New Mexico鈥檚 game against Mercyhurst, the Lobos鈥� lone FCS opponent this season:
Who: New Mexico (1-0) vs. Mercyhurst (0-2)
When and where: 2 p.m. Saturday at University Stadium. Because this game wasn鈥檛 picked up by a major network, head coach Jason Eck was able to decide what time it kicked off.
鈥淚 wanted an 11 a.m. game time,鈥� he added Monday, 鈥渂ut that was a little too early. So 2 p.m. was a good compromise 鈥� I like early games, I like day games. I know it鈥檒l be a little hot for our fans, but we鈥檒l have plenty of waters and stuff available to stay cooled off.鈥�
How to watch/listen: MW+ 鈥� the Mountain West鈥檚 new subscription-based streaming service 鈥� will carry UNM-Mercyhurst with Robert Portnoy (play-by-play) and DonTrell Moore (analyst) on the call. J.J. Buck (play-by-play) and Ned James (analyst) will broadcast the game via radio on the Lobo Radio Network (770 AM/96.3 FM).
Who鈥檚 favored: UNM is listed as a 41.5-point favorite, per bet365. The Lobos have not been favored by that much since 2015, when they covered a 42-point spread over Mississippi Valley State.
The over/under is set at 51.5 points.
Who鈥檚 making what: UNM will pay Mercyhurst $330,000 for its participation in Saturday鈥檚 contest, per a game contract reviewed by the Journal.
Top storyline(s): The last time UNM played an FCS team, the Lobos trailed by five points in the fourth quarter when Eck decided to reframe the situation for his team.
Yes, we鈥檙e down 鈥� but isn鈥檛 this great?
鈥�(I) told the guys, 鈥榯his is awesome,鈥欌�� he said after a game against Idaho State last September. 鈥溾�楾his is great for us 鈥� it鈥檚 like eating a bowl of vegetables.鈥� You might not love the taste like those games where you win by 40, but (it鈥檚) awesome to have to come back and show toughness and respond when the game鈥檚 on the line and you鈥檙e down late.鈥�
UNM ended up winning by 10. A little reframing went a long way.
It might be a problem if Eck has to do any reframing come Saturday.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be real thrilled if we beat this team by 10 points on a comeback in the fourth quarter,鈥� he said Monday. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e playing up to our potential if that happens.鈥�
Through two games, Mercyhurst has been outscored 94-24. That includes a 51-14 loss to New Mexico State last Saturday and a 43-10 drubbing at the hands of FCS Youngstown State in first-year head coach Thomas Sydeski鈥檚 debut.
The Lakers are also relative newcomers to the FCS, making the move up from Division II in 2024. Mercyhurst isn鈥檛 a hapless program, but it will be some time before the Lakers are at the level Idaho State was last year or Montana State was two seasons ago.
With that in mind, Eck did a little more reframing.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to focus on ourselves,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e gotta get better. I鈥檇 like to see us play better than we played last week in this game.鈥�
What will improvement look like? To Eck, it鈥檚 cleaning up the self-inflicted errors that he saw in UNM鈥檚 38-7 win over Central Michigan 鈥� mainly, difficulties getting aligned, penalties and 鈥渕icro鈥� issues among various position groups.
鈥淲hich is a good thing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat stuff is correctable.鈥�
And after expressing a little disappointment in the attendance for last Saturday鈥檚 game against Central Michigan 鈥� UNM announced a crowd of 24,126 鈥� Eck reiterated that he wants to see more fans in the stands.
鈥淚鈥檇 love to see us get to 30,000,鈥� he said. 鈥淎gain, I鈥檓 very thankful for the 24,000 we had, and that was a lot better than our home opener last year 鈥� But I think the metro area here is like, 900,000. I think we can eke out another 6,000 and get to that 30,000 this week.鈥�
Lobos to watch: After an injury to right guard Jaymar Tasi, freshman offensive lineman Danzel Newell was pressed into service at right tackle against Central Michigan. Eck had plenty of praise for the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Chicago native following his debut 鈥� be on the lookout for any reps he takes against Mercyhurst.
鈥淚 thought Danzel played very well,鈥� Eck said. 鈥淚 was very impressed with how he did in his first game. He鈥檚 a very mature guy, I think he has a very even-keeled demeanor 鈥� He doesn鈥檛 get too high or too low, which I think is good for certain positions.鈥�
Lakers to watch: Tight end Camden Lewis has been a real bright spot for Mercyhurst, catching eight passes for 88 yards and one touchdown through two games. The 6-4, 240-pound sophomore gave 近距离内射合集 some problems last week before the Aggies clamped down and pitched a second-half shutout.
Quarterback Alex Gevaudan (359 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) left the 近距离内射合集 game with an injury in the second quarter and did not return. If he isn鈥檛 available, expect Tyler Tusai (20 yards, 1 interception) to get his first career start.
What happened the last time these teams played: Saturday represents the first meeting between UNM and Mercyhurst on the field, so there鈥檚 no prior history to draw on. But Eck is eager to put out a good showing, especially considering what the Lobos鈥� last two games against FCS teams have looked like.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a good reminder 鈥� the last two times we鈥檝e had FCS schools in this stadium, it鈥檚 a loss (to Montana State in 2024) and then another game where you were down in the fourth quarter and had to come back to win,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou certainly can鈥檛 take anybody lightly. These guys are on scholarship, too. These coaches are professionals.
鈥淎nd I know we鈥檙e gonna get their best shot.鈥�
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at .
