UNM coach Bronco Mendenhall and the Lobos are one win shy of bowl eligibility. If the team beats Hawaii on Saturday night on the islands, UNM is likely in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl.
UNM coach Bronco Mendenhall and the Lobos are one win shy of bowl eligibility. If the team beats Hawaii on Saturday night on the islands, UNM is likely in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl.
Long before Bronco Mendenhall broke bread for his Thanksgiving meal and packed his bags for a weekend trip to Honolulu, long before he started a postgame locker room tradition of breaking a rock after a win, long before his unexpected success this season launched his name into the rumor mill for jobs elsewhere, he was just a guy who believed when very few others did.
He was coaxed out of retirement last winter to take over the moribund University of New Mexico football program at a time when he was doing just fine establishing his retirement home in Montana and hosting a podcast that was gaining steam.
Challenged with breathing life into the Lobos, he was greeted with preseason expectations of somewhere between zero and two wins by the so-called experts. Then came and 0-4 start that included a loss at home to an FCS team.
Fast forward three months and here we are, on the verge of a remarkable turnaround that leaves Mendenhall and the Lobos one win shy of bowl eligibility. Beat Hawaii on Saturday night on the islands and the team everyone shoveled dirt upon around Labor Day will get a few extra weeks of practice and be playing — more than likely — in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl.
There are plenty of what ifs to look back on. What if the Lobos hadn’t collapsed in the fourth quarter against Wyoming? What if they hadn’t completely imploded in the final period against Montana State? What if they don’t give up an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown against Colorado State?
Would this team somehow find itself 8-3 and in the race for the Mountain West championship game?
Doesn’t matter.
This team is exactly where it should be. It had to be outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter and lose to Montana State. It had to start 0-4, it had to be the most penalized team in the country (103 and counting), and it had to find its rhythm in a season where it played just five home games in front of a mostly empty stadium.
The players needed to believe in Mendenhall’s system and had to understand the value of buying in and making incremental improvements every week. They needed the adversity. They needed Mendenhall’s steady hand and publicly pragmatic approach, then see the emotional impact it had on their front man after winning games like those at Utah State and home against nationally ranked Washington State.
This week Mendenhall spoke about the unique challenge of playing a meaningful game in paradise. Destination spots for games that matter, he said, are always an obstacle because the distractions constantly threaten to ruin a player’s focus.
There are times, he said, where he’s had to send a player or two home for deviating from the business plan on such trips. Maintain tunnel vision, keep the eyes on the prize and do the job, then reap the rewards later.
As fun as Honolulu can be, Saturday’s game is bigger than a beach or a tropical paradise. It’s about getting a sixth win and securing a bowl berth. It’s about shocking a college football world that had given UNM up for dead after eight years of drifting through the wreckage of Bob Davie’s final years and Danny Gonzales’ disappointing tenure.
Win and they’re in. The New Mexico Bowl tracks 10 national publications for their weekly bowl projections and, as of this week, half of them had UNM playing at home against opponents like UTSA, South Alabama, Sam Houston, Texas State and Western Kentucky.
Imagine that; a bowl game in a year where the Mountain West announced it was splitting in half and one of its teams appears headed for a quarterfinal berth in the College Football Playoff, a lucrative take that will land UNM and others stacks of cash to help fund the future.
In a time where a number of Mountain West programs are sliding back to the pack — looking at you, San Diego State, Air Force, Fresno State and San Jose State — the Lobos are in a position to finish no worse than fourth in a league that had them somewhere between “terrible†and “really terrible†at the start of the season.
Chalk it up to a man whose name is now being linked to potential openings ranging from Utah State to Oklahoma State and even Utah. It’s doubtful Mendenhall would entertain such offers and be a one-and-done guy, but it’s a sign of the times that if you can build a winner at New Mexico, you can do it just about anywhere and people will definitely pay attention.
Bottom line, enjoy the ride while it lasts.
With the ever-changing world of conference realignment and NIL deals opening the chasm between the haves and have-nots, it appears the Lobos have themselves a winner who knows what he’s doing.
