New Mexico
New Mexico at Auburn by the numbers: Homecoming date good to Tigers
New Mexico (0-2) at Auburn (1-1)
6:30 p.m. CDT Saturday (ESPN2)
Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn
0 Previous games between Auburn and New Mexico.
0 Victories in two games this season for New Mexico. The Lobos opened 2024 with a 35-31 home loss to Montana State on Aug. 24 and fell to Arizona 61-39 on the road on Aug. 31. New Mexico did not play last week.
2 Sacks on back-to-back snaps for Auburn DE Keldric Faulk in last week’s game against California. Faulk became the first Auburn player to record sacks on consecutive snaps since 2003, when Reggie Torbor did it against Ole Miss. Faulk has three of the Tigers’ five sacks this season.
4 Victories without a loss for Auburn in games against Mountain West Conference opponents. The Tigers defeated Wyoming in 2000 and San Jose State in 2014, 2015 and 2022. All the games have been played at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
4 Consecutive seasons with a game against an SEC opponent for New Mexico. The Lobos lost to Texas A&M in 2021 and 2023 and LSU in 2022 to drop their mark against the SEC to 0-8. All the games have been on the road.
7 Victories without a loss for Auburn on Sept. 14. The Tigers have played as many as eight times on only one date without suffering a loss – Sept. 10, when Auburn is 8-0. On Sept. 14, the Tigers have defeated Southern Miss, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Kent State at home, Louisville in Birmingham and Ole Miss in Oxford. New Mexico has a 4-5 record on Sept. 14, including an 0-4 mark on the road.
7 TDs have been scored by the New Mexico offense this season – three TD runs and four TD passes by QB Devon Dampier.
9 Teams in the nation do not have a takeaway this season. Of those nine teams, only one – Temple with nine – has lost more turnovers than Auburn, which has had four of its passes intercepted and three of its fumbles recovered by the opposition.
9 Rushing yards are needed by Auburn RB Jarquez Hunter to become the 15th Auburn player with 2,300.
19 Years since the previous game in which a New Mexico player had at least 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards, which QB Devon Dampier accomplished in the Lobos’ previous contest. In New Mexico’s 61-39 loss to Arizona on Aug. 31, Dampier completed 24-of-42 passes for 260 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions and ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. It was the first 200/100 game for the Lobos since QB Kole McKamey accomplished the feat in a 27-24 loss to BYU on Oct. 8, 2005.
19.25 Yards per completion have been averaged by Auburn this season, which ranks second in the nation behind Washington’s 20.31. The Tigers’ 58.2 percent completion percentage ranks 13th in the SEC.
23 Consecutive games with at least one reception for Auburn WR Robert Lewis. All but the most recent two of those games came with Lewis playing for Georgia State. He had 70 receptions for 877 yards and seven touchdowns for the Panthers in 2023.
32 Consecutive homecoming games have been won by Auburn. The Tigers haven’t lost on homecoming since 1991, when Mississippi State spoiled the festivities by taking a 24-17 victory. Auburn has an 85-8-4 record in the homecoming game.
144 Games have been played by Auburn since it was most recently shut out, the second-longest streak in school history. Auburn’s most recent shutout loss came 49-0 to Alabama on Nov. 17, 2012. Auburn’s record scoring streak lasted 149 games, starting with a 55-16 victory over Richmond on Oct. 4, 1980, and ending with a 17-0 loss to Alabama on Nov. 26, 1992. Auburn’s current scoring streak is the 10th-longest in SEC history, and its record streak is the ninth-longest.
193 Games have been played by Auburn since the Tigers most recently had a punt blocked, the longest active streak in the nation. Mississippi State was the most recent opponent to block an Auburn punt in the Tigers’ 49-24 victory on Sept. 12, 2009. New Mexico most recently blocked an opponent’s punt in a 23-20 loss to San Diego State on Oct. 31, 2009. The Lobos have played 172 games since they most recently blocked a punt, the longest active streak in the nation.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
2026 Sun City Pride Parade rolls through Downtown El Paso
Attendees lined the streets of Downtown El Paso as colorful floats and performers celebrated Pride during the 2026 Sun City Pride Parade.
A Cloudcroft barbecue spot has gained national recognition for its slow-cooked, savory meats and generous sides.
Mad Jack’s Mountaintop Barbecue landed at No. 7 on Yelp’s latest list of the Top 100 BBQ restaurants and was the only New Mexico spot to make the list. To compile the list, Yelp identified businesses in the barbecue category, then ranked those spots based on the volume and ratings of reviews from the Yelp Elite Squad — which comprises adventurous locals.
“High up in Cloudcroft, Mad Jack’s Mountaintop Barbecue brings Texas pitmaster tradition to 9,000 feet, serving up slow-smoked meats, hearty sides, and homemade desserts,” Yelp Elite Squad writes. “With picnic favorites like loaded potatoes, roasted corn, and hand-cut brisket sandwiches, this laid-back spot turns every meal into a mountain getaway worth savoring.”
It’s no surprise that Mad Jack’s Mountaintop Barbecue ranked high on the list, since James Jackson, a native of Lockhart, Texas, founded the restaurant. Lockhart is known as the “Barbecue Capital of Texas,” a title it received from the House of Representatives of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999.
Jackson’s family bought a vacation home in Cloudcroft, and Mad Jack’s came to be.The line can stretch up to two hours, and people from all over the world, including plenty of Texans, come to taste what Mad Jack’s has to offer, according to its website.
If you can’t make the trip out to Cloudcroft, you can still get a taste of Mad Jack’s by ordering its rubs and sauces online.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X, natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma on Facebook.
A wild rat in New Mexico tested positive for the plague after four dogs were diagnosed with the troubling disease earlier this year, according to authorities.
A homeowner discovered the plague-ridden rodent dead on a private property in Santa Fe County and submitted it for testing, according to the New Mexico Health Department.
It is the first confirmed wild animal in Santa Fe County to test positive for the illness caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria in 2026, the health department said.
The case follows four other confirmed plague cases in dogs this year — including three pooches in Santa Fe County and one in Bernalillo County.
“While this is an animal case of plague, it’s important to remember humans can get plague from flea bites or direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, wildlife and even pets,” Dr. Chad Smelser, deputy state epidemiologist for NMDOH, said in a statement.
“Pets can be infected with plague if they eat an infected animal or are bitten by infected fleas,” Smelser said.
Although human cases of the plague are rare, roughly half of all cases in the US each year occur in New Mexico, according to the health department.
The disease can be life-threatening without proper treatment, but if it’s caught early, it can be treated with antibiotics, officials added.
Symptoms in humans include sudden high fever, chills, headache, nausea, and swollen lymph nodes.
Infected pets similarly suffer from fever, low energy, loss of appetite, and swollen lymph nodes, experts added.
The New Mexico Health Department cautioned residents to take several steps to prevent themselves and their contracting the plague — including cleaning up areas near homes such as woodpiles, brush piles, junk and abandoned vehicles, where rodents could live.
Pet food and water should be kept away from where rodents and wildlife can get to them, and people should stay away from sick or dead rodents and rabbits.
Pets should use veterinarian-approved flea control products and be promptly taken to a veterinarian if they are sick.
Last year, a man in Arizona and a domestic cat in Colorado died of the bubonic plague.
A 43-year-old man from Valencia County in New Mexico was also hospitalized with the disease in 2025.
New Mexico
Ex-Barcelona defender takes over as new Mexico boss as Javier Aguirre leaves after England defeat | Goal.com US
.jpg?ssl=1 "Ex-Barcelona defender takes over as new Mexico boss as Javier Aguirre leaves after England defeat | Goal.com US")
The transition comes at a critical moment for Mexico. Marquez’s immediate priority is addressing the tactical shortcomings that proved costly against England. Defensive errors allowed players like Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to secure the victory.
To fix this, Marquez will rely on his recent coaching experience. During his two-year spell managing Barcelona Atletic, Marquez oversaw 82 matches, recording 40 wins, 21 draws and 21 losses. This period in Spain helped him develop a structured approach to the game, which the federation hopes will translate into a more robust defensive system for the national side.
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