Lobos rally past Hawaii despite 16 penalties

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HONOLULU — Penalties. Turnovers. And, for good measure, a few more penalties.

Most Lobo teams haven’t been able to overcome those kinds of nights.

This one did.

Despite three turnovers and 16 penalties, UNM rallied back from a double-digit deficit to notch a gritty 21-10 win over Hawaii on Saturday at Clarence T.C. Ching Field.

The Lobos (5-1, 2-0) trailed 10-0 at halftime, trailing until quarterback Toa Fa’avae’s 21-yard rushing touchdown with 6:57 left put them in the lead for good. Running back Scottre Humphrey’s 49-yard touchdown run with 3:24 left iced the game and set up the 21-10 final.

Hawaii scored on wide receiver Titan Lacaden’s 1-yard touchdown reception and kicker Sean Olvera-Harle’s 29-yard field goal in the first half before being shut out in the second.

“Sometimes you got to win games where you don’t play your absolute best,” UNM head coach Jason Eck said Saturday. “That’s what championship teams do … We gotta get better, because we’re gonna play some teams at times this year where, if you play poorly, you could dig yourself a hole in the first half that you can’t overcome.

“So we gotta learn from that. But great to get a road win.”

Key stat: Through UNM’s first five games of the season, the Lobos was flagged 5.8 times for an average of 44.8 yards per game. Saturday, they were whistled 16 times — the second most single-game penalties in program history.

Eck chuckled and shook his head when he learned UNM was just a flag away from tying the single-game program record (17).

“We gotta be more disciplined … We had 12 (penalties) in the first half and four in the second half,” he said. “So I think our discipline was notably better in the second half once we regrouped. But we were fortunate to only be down 10 at halftime — that could have been a lot worse.”

Turning point: UNM never truly got out of its way in this one until midway throyugh the fourth quarter. But safety Drew Speech’s forced fumble and linebacker Mercury Swaim’s corresponding recovery — on what looked like a surefire rushing touchdown for Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado — provided the momentum boost the Lobos desperately needed to walk out with a win.

If Speech was a half-second late to Alejado? UNM would’ve likely gone down 17-7 in the fourth quarter, a nightmare scenario for an offense that struggled to pass Saturday night.

“We talked all week: We had to be good in the red zone defensively,” Eck said. “An offense like this, (Hawaii) hadn’t done a great job of finishing drives in the end zone. That was a huge, huge play in the game.”

First downs: UNM’s defense was whistled nine times for 80 yards and, yes, those penalties gave Hawaii’s offense some life. But the Lobos also forced two turnovers, racked up three sacks, 11 tackles for loss and managed stops in a couple big spots — few bigger than with 3:32 left, a hold Humphrey rewarded with his second touchdown of the game.

Short of the sticks: Credit where credit is due — Fa’avae (77 rushing yards, 1 touchdown) made enough plays with his legs to help save UNM. But Saturday was far and away the most he’s struggled as a passer since he became the Lobos’ full-time starter ahead of UNM’s 42-18 win over New Mexico State on Sept. 26.

Did UNM consider making a change as Fa’avae (5 of 10 passes, 59 yards, 2 interceptions) struggled to get in a rhythm?

Eck shook his head: no.

“Toa all the way,” he said.

Add-ons: Eck indicated that quarterback James Laubstein will likely be out for the rest of the season after he was carted off following a 12-yard run … Saturday was UNM’s first win at Hawaii since 2016 … Hawaii announced 12,941 fans at the game … UNM is now 2-0 in Mountain West play for the first time in program history.

Next up: UNM hosts North Dakota State (6-1, 2-1) on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on The CW.

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

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