NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The United States Supreme Court appointed a new judge in July to oversee the ongoing dispute between New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado over water use in the Rio Grande. Judge David Brooks Smith will be handling the case replacing Judge Michael J. Mellow as the special master. This is the third special master for the case.

Rio Rancho looking to straighten out civil and criminal penalties within city limits

The special master acts as a trial judge. Judge Smith will now decide on issues within the case and then prepare reports to inform the Supreme Court’s ultimate decision.

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New coach Brent Brennan is seeking his first win as Arizona Wildcats head coach when they host the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday.

The Wildcats are facing a Lobos team they used to be rivals with in the Western Athletic Conference nearly half a century ago.

The Lobos are coming off a deflating loss to FCS No. 4 Montana State, 35-31, this past Saturday. What made it worse was New Mexico should have won the game, as they blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter.

That loss should make New Mexico a little hungrier than the typical opening opponent, and it also means the Wildcats have to be on alert in a game where they should be heavily favored.

Here are three keys to success for Arizona as they face the Lobos on Saturday.

Arizona’s depth chart at running back was, well, interesting.

Four players were listed at the top with the dreaded “or” on the chart. That list included Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Quail Conley, Kedrick Reescano and Rayshon Luke.

The question is which of these backs — and it’s unlikely to be just one — can replace the production of Jonah Coleman, who transferred to Washington with former coach Jedd Fisch. Coleman rushed for 871 yards and five touchdowns a season ago.

In fact, none of the Wildcats’ top three backs from a season ago are back.

This is opportunity for these four runners to prove their credentials against a defense that allowed 362 net rushing yards last week. With that opportunity is a chance to establish the run against an opponent the Wildcats should beat and start to sort out the running back rotation.

New Mexico didn’t have a great offensive game against Montana State last week, and the run defense left a lot to be desired. But one thing the Lobos did do well was create turnovers.

Against the Bobcats, New Mexico forced two fumbles and returned them for touchdowns. It helped the Lobos build a 17-point lead going into the fourth quarter, though New Mexico wasn’t able to hold onto the lead.

But, if Arizona gives up a turnover or two early in this one, all that does is give New Mexico hope they can win the game.

Protecting the ball allows the Wildcats to avoid that issue.

The Lobos rushed for 152 yards on 28 carries last week, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. But New Mexico only scored once on the ground.

Arizona’s easiest path to win this game is to stop the run the way it did a season ago.

The Wildcats gave up an average of 118.2 yards per game, which was No. 25 in the country. This early in the season, relying on a hard-nosed game plan that limits the run is an easy way to lengthen the game for their offense.

After one of the most tumultuous offseasons in school history, Arizona is finally ready to return to some level of normalcy when the 2024 campaign begins Saturday night at home against New Mexico.

The game will mark the UA coaching debut of Brent Brennan, who spent the previous seven years at San Jose State in the Mountain West. And his first game with the Wildcats just so happens to be against one of his former MWC rivals.

New Mexico is also breaking in a new coach, former BYU and Virginia head man Bronco Mendenhall, and has also played a game. The Lobos led FCS Montana State 31-14 in the second half and were up 10 with six minutes left but ended up falling at home last Saturday.

That result, as well as what is expected of Arizona this season, has resulted in the highest spread for the UA as a favorite since 2016.

To better understand New Mexico, we reached out to Adam Evarts of SB Nation sister site Mountain West Connection. Here are his feisty answers to our lifeless questions:

AZ Desert Swarm: New Mexico certainly didn’t look like a two-score home underdog to an FCS team, that late collapse notwithstanding. Still, what were the biggest surprises from the Lobos in your opinion?

Adam Evarts: “Honestly the biggest surprise was the defense itself. New Mexico had six starters back from last season, and it was supposed to be its most experienced group, yet they allowed 567 yards of offense, including two ball carriers near 200 yards rushing each. That was a surprise that wasn’t a good one.”

Quarterback Devon Dampier, an Arizona native, had a heck of a start to his sophomore year with a couple touchdowns and solid poise. What makes him most effective in this offense?

“Honestly, everything. Dampier can beat you with his arm and legs and he doesn’t turn the ball over at all. He has seen action now in 10 games at UNM and has yet to turn the ball over. When you think you have his receivers covered, he will take off running. Very versatile, he will remind Arizona fans of a light version of Khalil Tate. Khalil Tate-lite if you will. Smaller than Tate, but same abilities.”

New Mexico’s defense was all over the place, returning two fumbles for TDs but also giving up a ton of yards on the ground. Is that going to be an issue all season, and who on that side of the ball should Arizona be most concerned with?

“This was supposed to be the side of the ball with the least amount of worry, and yet they’re the ones who looked inexperienced and young. So, honestly, it may be a big problem stopping the run this season, I am not too sure. With Arizona’s passing attack, Arizona fans will hear a lot of Noah Avinger, the 6-foot corner who will probably take on the Wildcats’ top receivers. Christian Ellis is playing free safety and the Lobo-back position, he will be around the ball a ton as well.”

Being able to solve Montana State’s offense is one thing, but how do you expect the Lobos to deal with the combo of quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMillan?

“The 3-3-5 defense that the Lobos run has a lot of plays where the blitzes come late, they come from everywhere, and they come fast. New Mexico ended up with three sacks, four tackles for loss, and of course, as you mentioned, the two fumble returns for touchdowns that were both hits on the quarterback. Expect a lot of blitzing on Fifita and for McMillan to go up against Avinger like mentioned above. That will be a fun battle to watch.”

What are your first impressions of Bronco Mendenhall? Is he capable of turning around one of the worst programs in FBS?

“So, I remember when Bronco was the defensive coordinator here (1998-2002). I liked him then, and I still like him now. His coaching style is making the players earn their way. He took the numbers away from them in fall camp and made them earn them throughout camp, and left it up to the players to figure out who worked the hardest week-to-week to earn those numbers back. I like that it allows the players to take control of their own work and makes everyone dig harder. He is definitely capable of turning around the program, but the one downside about New Mexico will be NIL. Not a lot of NIL money is rolling through the school, so it will be difficult to keep players around for many years here. However, while here, he will get the most out of his players.”

Prediction time. Can New Mexico shock the world and upset a ranked team on the road or will Arizona win as expected? Give us a score prediction.

“If one were to take away the two defensive touchdowns that the Lobos scored, that means the offense only put up 17 points. Not good in this day and age of explosive offenses in college football. The Lobos are very young on offense. Talented, but very young. Arizona’s defense is experienced and that spells doom for this Lobo offense taking a step back this season. I think the Lobos defense can keep it close for a half, but then the Wildcats take over in the second half and get a 45-10 victory.”