Donovan Porterie connected with Travis Brown for a seven-yard catch to start the drive. Then Rodney Ferguson danced for a first down, gaining five yards in traffic. Marcus Smith carried on the next play for two yards. Porterie's next pass was complete to Jason Caprioli, who was tackled immediately after catching the ball and gained three yards. It brought up third-and-five. Porterie rolled out and hit Marcus Smith for a 13-yard gain and first down at the CSU 25.

Porterie's next pass intended for Smith sailed way high out of the endzone, but there was a flag on the play. I'm not sure how it could be considered a catchable ball, but pass interference was called on the Rams. It gave New Mexico first and goal at the 10. Ferguson rushed for seven yards on the next play, He seems to be bouncing off defenders well today. Ferguson was dropped for a loss of two on the next carry. Both runs were to the right side, and the Rams were ready for the second one. Ferguson changed it up for a five-yard touchdown run up the midde. Kenny Byrd hit the extra point but there was a flag on the play. It was an offsides penalty on CSU but UNM declined the penalty, giving the Lobos a 7-0 lead with 8:12 left in the first quarter.

The Lobos moved the ball well and seemed to handle CSU's pressure. It's a really good start for New Mexico, which could pick up a huge psychological edge if it jumps out to a big lead after the Rams have struggled so much lately. We'll see what happens on the next CSU drive.

Posted by ilimon at 03:40 PM | Permalink