New Mexico May Want to Re-Think This Whole College Football Thing

Now, NMSU and UNM have some D1 chops. Playing hoops at The Pit for instance is no picnic. Skiing and volleyball have also been areas of excellence at various times. However, the pigskin does not fall into one of those areas of expertise (at least not of late). The Aggies and Lobos finished the 2009 season a combined 4-21 under the direction of two rookie coaches: Mike Locksley (UNM) and DeWayne Walker (NMSU). This year is off to an even uglier start.

We’ve got a little thing we do here from time to time called murder by numbers. Sometimes the simple listing of some figures helps tell the story better than any long narrative. So here goes, MBN New Mexico-style.

0 - As in number of wins over the first seven combined contests for these two squads

41.6 - Average number of points per game being surrendered by the NMSU Aggies through three

56.25 – Average given up by the stingy UNM Lobos defense over their first four “contests”

46 – The average margin on loss for the Lobos during that same time

72 – The high-water mark allowed by UNM in a 72-0 opener against now #5 Oregon

102 – The Aggies total offense rank (yards) among the 120 FBS Division 1-A institutions

115 – The Lobos total offense standing

118, 119 – Look who are neighbors! The Aggies and Lobos places among those same 120 schools in terms of team defense

No matter how you slice it, the numbers tell a pretty ugly story. It seems football may just not be a big priority down in New Mexico — and that’s perfectly alright. If it is an area of focus, though, they might want to consider something a bit more unconventional. There have been rumors popping up in the past few weeks that former Texas Tech “mad scientist” Mike Leach could be in line for Locksley’s job at UNM. Not a bad idea. I’ve got a better one. Why not have the guy coach both major New Mexico teams. Sure, it’s physically-impossible and unprecedented. The question is can it get any worse?