Scouting report: What to know about New Mexico ahead of matchup with Auburn

Auburn football is looking to bounce back in Week 3 after an ugly loss to Cal in Week 2.

The Tigers will face New Mexico, and despite being a heavy favorite, will look to avoid a result similar to when they faced a different team from New Mexico in 2023.

While New Mexico is an 0-2 team from the Mountain West, that doesn’t mean it can’t cause problems. The Lobos scored 39 points in its Week 1 loss to ranked Arizona and are capable of hanging around with Power 5 opposition.

Here’s a closer look at what New Mexico brings:

Dynamic threat Devon Dampier

Everything New Mexico does offensively starts and ends with sophomore quarterback Devon Dampier.

While that’s obviously the case for most offenses and their quarterbacks, Dampier’s versatile skillset makes him unique. A true dual threat, much of what New Mexico does offensively involves getting Dampier on the move whether it be through RPOs, bootlegs or designed quarterback runs.

Dampier was especially effective against Arizona, throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns, while adding another two touchdowns and 130 yards on the ground.

He’s averaging 9.1 yards per rush through two games this season and is the team’s leading rusher despite having 15 less carries than the next leading rusher.

Dampier to Wysong connection

Through two games, Dampier’s favorite target has undoubtedly been junior wide receiver Luke Wysong.

Wysong leads the team in receptions and yards with 14 and 224, respectively. Against Arizona, he was consistently effective, catching eight passes for 129 yards and a touchdown.

He’s also the second-highest graded player on the team by Pro Football Focus (only trailing Dampier). Wysong isn’t a particularly big target at 5-foot-10, 184 pounds, but still has an impressive ability to make contested catches, highlighted by a play he made in double coverage to set up New Mexico’s first touchdown against Arizona.

The defense

New Mexico’s defense is where the team fell short in its early season losses.

Through two games, the Lobos are giving up an average of 597 yards and 48 points per game. Those numbers rank New Mexico dead last in total defense and 131st out of 133 FBS teams in scoring defense.

Despite the overall poor showings, New Mexico has already scored two defensive touchdowns, both coming on fumble returns in Week 0 against Montana State.

The downside to the Montana State performance was that the Lobos still gave up 567 total yards in the loss, with 362 yards coming on the ground.

Both Montana State and Arizona averaged just under eight yards per rush against New Mexico. With Hugh Freeze voicing his satisfaction with Auburn’s run game against Cal, that may be the place for Auburn’s offense to start against New Mexico.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com