近距离内射合集

Every year, more than a few coaches say it: The biggest improvement a team makes in any given season is from its first game to its second.

Jason Eck isn鈥檛 one of them.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I really do buy into it that much,鈥� New Mexico鈥檚 second-year head coach said Monday.

Whether it's a little or a lot, improvement is expected as UNM hosts Mercyhurst 鈥� its lone FCS opponent of the season 鈥� after a season-opening 38-7 win over Central Michigan last Saturday. 

Three things to look for as the Lobos (1-0) square off against the Lakers (0-2):

1. How well UNM finishes 鈥� and sustains 鈥� drives

Offensively, there was plenty to like from UNM鈥檚 win over Central Michigan: 364 total yards, 28 first downs and a 53.8% conversion rate on third down is nothing to sneeze at, regardless of the opponent or stage of the season the game is played. 

But at least to Eck, one of those stats 鈥� fabulous as it might be 鈥� didn鈥檛 exactly correlate with the sum total of UNM鈥檚 offensive efforts.

鈥淚n the first half, we had 19 first downs, but only 20 points,鈥� he said last Saturday. 鈥淵ou should have more points than that when you have that.鈥�

Of UNM鈥檚 10 drives against the Chippewas, four ended with field goal attempts. One of which was due to time constraints heading into the half. The others were all due to penalties or errors on UNM鈥檚 part, like quarterback Toa Fa鈥檃vae taking an ill-advised sack on third down.

In other words: 鈥淎 lot of self-inflicted stuff you can fix,鈥� Eck said. 鈥淪tuff you can coach up.鈥�

The way UNM鈥檚 defense played against Central Michigan, the Lobos probably won鈥檛 need a sterling offensive effort to beat Mercyhurst comfortably. But pushing down into the red zone and closing more drives with touchdowns would bode well.

The fact the Lobos are playing an inferior opponent 鈥� a week before their biggest test of the season, too 鈥� should only add to the urgency to finish drives better.

Also: UNM did a pretty good job sustaining drives against the Chippewas, averaging 7.3 plays per possession. A similar 鈥� if not better 鈥� performance would bode well: For starters, Mercyhurst was able to give New Mexico State plenty of trouble, in large part because the Aggies struggled to do so for much of the first half of a 51-14 win over the Lakers last week.

2. What Mercyhurst鈥檚 quarterbacks might be in for

If UNM playing an FCS team without its starting quarterback feels familiar, well, it is.

Last September, Idaho State lost regular starter Jordan Cooke to injury, rotating Davis Harsin and Jackson Sharman at quarterback for its game against the Lobos. And with the margins already slim for FCS teams going against those from the FBS 鈥� especially teams without their starting quarterbacks 鈥� you would be forgiven for expecting UNM to put up a big number and send Eck to his first victory with the program by a comfortable margin.

Comfortable, it was not: UNM eventually pulled out a 32-22 win over Idaho State after trailing by five points with 10:40 left. At the time, Eck was wise enough to spin it as a positive 鈥� the Lobos did win in the face of adversity, on a day where they very much looked like a year-one program.

And, hey, that Idaho State team played UNLV even closer at the start of last season. Maybe the Bengals鈥� 29-17 upset of Bronco Mendenhall鈥檚 Utah State last week shouldn鈥檛 have been as big of a surprise 鈥� keep hanging around in enough FBS-FCS games, at least one should break your way, right?

鈥淚 was hoping that maybe we could have extended the (early) lead out and took control of the game sooner than we did,鈥� Eck said of Idaho State last September. 鈥淏ut they鈥檙e a good team ... They鈥檙e tough-minded.鈥�

Saturday, Mercyhurst is expected to rotate quarterbacks Tyler Tusai and Anthony Wolters in place of regular starter Alex Gevaudan, who suffered an undisclosed injury against 近距离内射合集. Neither Tusai or Wolters has started a game at the collegiate level. And whether they can replicate what Idaho State鈥檚 quarterbacks did last year is unknown.

UNM鈥檚 defense should have as big a say in that as any unit, though. Expect the Lobos to dial up the pressure early and often to try and secure a more dominant win over Mercyhurst than last year鈥檚 outing against Idaho State.

3. How 鈥� and where 鈥� explosive plays are generated

UNM鈥檚 ability to consistently sustain drives while rotating quarterbacks against Central Michigan was pretty impressive. Less so was its explosive play total: The Lobos generated just two plays of 20-plus yards, one on their second drive of the night and one on their last.

UNM will have the matchup advantage at nearly every position Saturday, so more explosive plays than last week is a reasonable expectation. But where those plays come from 鈥� be they in the run or pass games 鈥� should provide a good window into where this offense is at entering one of its biggest weeks of the year.

Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at .