New Mexico
Bulldogs Sweep New Mexico 38-21
The late, great, F1 champion Niki Lauda once said that the goal of racing is to win going as slowly as possible. Fresno State apparently adopted that ethos against New Mexico this week, as they finished a 2 week sweep of the state 38-21 and shutting out NMSU 48-0. I believe that legally makes Mikey Keene governor, but I’ll have to check the state bylaws.
All 3 wins for the Bulldogs this year have featured incredibly fast starts, even though this game took all the way until the 2nd drive to get points on the board. New Mexico’s first drive was derailed on their 3rd play as Malachi Langley forced the ball free, and Jahzon Jacks fell on the ball at the Lobo 39yd line. Fresno would push it into the redzone before Mikey Keene found Josiah Freeman for a 5yd touchdown catch, his first of the season. As they did two weeks ago, the Dogs ran a trick 2pt play with Jayden Mandal threw a quick pass to Brock Lium to go ahead 8-0.
New Mexico responded with a 14 play drive down the field, but the Bulldog defense stood tall at the end, and forced the Lobos to settle for a field goal to narrow affairs to an 8-3 margin. In response, Fresno ran down an 11 play drive before local product Bryson Donelson punched in the first touchdown of his young career stretching the lead to 15-3. Malik Sherrod wasn’t able to play after testing a lower body tweak during warm-ups, which meant that Elijiah Gilliam and Donelson would shoulder the load for the Dogs Saturday night. The two would combine for 86 yards on 26 carries, but the Dogs did not need to rely on the running game too much.
The next Fresno State drive got all the way down to the New Mexico 18 aided by a targeting penalty on the Lobos before Dylan Lynch needed to come in and kick a 36 yard field goal moving the Bulldogs ahead by 15. New Mexico’s next drive looked to be moving well until Devin Dampier’s pass sailed over his receiver, and right into the hands of Alzillion Hamilton setting up another Fresno touchdown. This one would be a little bit different than usual, as the Dogs again went into their bag of tricks with a double pass, and Raylen Sharpe throwing a 26yd strike to Kamron Beachem in the side of the endzone. This now gives Sharpe a passing, receiving, and rushing touchdown so far this season, a great start for the transfer receiver from Missouri St.
As the clock ticked down towards halftime, New Mexico put together what looked like their best drive of the game, as they went no-huddle to move the ball down the field quickly and get a touchdown on the board to narrow the margin to 25-10. If the Lobos had stuck to that version of the offense, they might have made it a true game. Bronco Mendenhall’s squad might be young, but they are feisty and will win games this year as they put the pieces together.
After the half, the Lobos began with the ball but could not get moving and punted after 6 plays and 1 first down. The punt landed deep in Bulldog territory, forcing Fresno St to take a long drive over 15 plays including a 4th down conversion pass from Keene to Sharpe, but they ran out of gas at the New Mexico 23, and Dylan Lynch sent through another field goal to go ahead 28-10. Devin Dampier would try to engineer the next drive, but it ended with his 2nd INT of the game, this time Julian Neal coming down with the ball for the Bulldog defense on their 3rd turnover (see picture at top).
Unfortunately, the defense couldn’t turn this turnover into points, and sent the ball back to the Lobos. They would answer with points of their own, as an 11 play, 65yd drive resulted in a field goal kick by Luke Drzewiecki from 32yds out to open to the 4th quarter. The next New Mexico drive would go poorly for them, as they tried running on 4th and 1 from their own 12 yard line. Devin Dampier tried stretching the ball to the edge, but was pushed back and the Bulldogs took over deep in the redzone. 3 UNM penalties on this round of plays would move the Dogs to the 2 yard line, where Mac Dalena would take a jet sweep to the 1, and Elijah Gilliam would punch it in from 1 yard out to get ahead 35-13.
New Mexico would answer with a touchdown drive of their own similar to how they scored at the end of the half. This shows that UNM is capable leading quick touchdown drives and getting their offense moving, they just aren’t quite together enough yet to consistently do that. That will come with time, and they played better in the 2nd half against the Dogs than they have previously.
Fresno State would send through one more field goal after the Lobos’ attempt at an onside kick failed to set the final score of 38-21. New Mexico would have one more drive as the clock wound down to 0, but their final play was a failed 4th down conversion as Dampier was tackled for no gain at the 26yd line. The Bulldogs moved to 3-1 and won their first conference game of the season, while the Lobos fall to 0-4 and 0-1 in Mountain West play.
A massive contest now looms for the Bulldogs, as they travel next Saturday to Las Vegas for a noontime tilt against the undefeated Rebels in what very well could be an elimination game for both the conference title and the G5 representative in the College Football Playoff. The Rebels had a bye week to prepare, while Fresno will have their bye week after next Saturday’s game. We’ll have to hope for good health and a consistent offense against the Rebels if the Dogs want to maintain their spot atop the conference standings. Playing UNLV and Washington State, both undefeated, in back to back weeks will either derail the dreams of the Dogs, or put them in the driver’s seat in the Group of Five. New Mexico will make the short trip to Las Cruces for the huge in-state rivalry game with New Mexico St Saturday night. For coverage of both games, keep it here on MWC Connection.
New Mexico leaders are backing a bipartisan bill after 12 confirmed U.S. screwworm cases, including one case in a Lea County dog.
SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico leaders are backing a bipartisan bill after 12 confirmed U.S. screwworm cases, including one case in a Lea County dog.
New Mexico State Veterinarian Dr. Samantha Holeck said the parasite has spread to New Mexico, though officials say they have not found any human cases.
“This is also not a political issue this is a nationwide issue that we all need to address because it affects all warm blooded animals including humans,” Holeck said.
U.S. Reps. Gabe Vasquez and Teresa Leger Fernandez support the Protect America’s Herds Act.
The bill would create a grant program to train people to identify, treat, prevent and report screwworm. It would also support more livestock inspections and education for ranchers.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez said she heard concerns from tribal leaders about the cost of protecting cattle herds.
“I spoke with one of our tribal leaders today and they have cattle operation and they’re worried, and they’re talking about how much more money they’re having to pay to go make sure they check on their herds and there are extra costs,” Leger Fernandez said.
Funding would prioritize states and tribal communities most at risk for screwworm outbreaks.
State health officials said screwworm is not a food safety issue. They also said ranchers should stay alert but not alarmed.
New Mexico isn’t done with Meta yet. After the second phase of a landmark trial, the state is asking a judge to make the company pay almost $1 billion to address harm done to young people in New Mexico, SourceNM reports. In a court filing, attorneys with the New Mexico Department of Justice argue that Meta’s addictive design features and recommendation algorithms “substantially contributed to the increase and severity” of problems including depression and eating disorders. The state wants a judge to order Meta to pay $953 million into a fund for public education and behavioral health programs, reports Fox News.
- After the first phase of the trial in March, a jury found the company endangered children and misled the public about its platforms’ safety. Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in damages, $5,000 for each violation.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has argued Meta executives prioritized profit over minors’ safety, ignored internal warnings, and misrepresented what they knew about harms to young users. In the second phase, First Judicial District Court Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid heard arguments on whether the company’s actions created a public nuisance, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. Final filings in that phase of the trial were submitted Friday. Beyond potential financial penalties, Biedscheid will also rule on the state’s request for Meta to make changes including stricter age controls and “safer algorithms” that “do not prioritize engagement over well being.”
Meta says New Mexico is overreaching, warning that the proposed mandates are “impractical and ill-considered” and “would risk leaving teens less safe, infringe on parental rights, and stifle free expression.” Meta argues that New Mexico hasn’t proven that its platforms affect mental health outcomes. In court filings, Meta has claimed that the state is seeking $3.7 billion, not $953 million, but Chief Deputy Attorney General James Grayson says the higher figure is an expert’s estimate of the cost to fund all child mental health interventions in the state. “We’re not trying to hold Meta responsible for mental health harms in general in New Mexico, only for what social media has cost,” Grayson tells the New Mexican.
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