Pavia's presence, others' absence play role in NMSU win
Sep. 16—He would have looked awfully good in a Lobo uniform on Saturday.
No, not Diego Pavia — though he would have looked good in a Lobo uniform on any Saturday.
But, Cody Moon, you are missed. AJ Haulcy, you too.
Rocky Long, pacing the Lobo sideline and calling the defensive signals, would have been a comforting presence as well.
Last October, Moon, then a star UNM linebacker, was asked about the prospect of playing against Pavia, his old Volcano Vista teammate, in the 2022 New Mexico-New Mexico State football game.
Moon never got the chance. Pavia didn't play a down that night, and wasn't needed, as true freshman quarterback Gavin Frakes led NMSU to a 21-9 victory over the Lobos in Las Cruces.
And now?
Moon makes tackles for San Diego State. Haulcy, a star safety, plays for Houston. And Saturday, Pavia — never offered a scholarship by UNM, whether out of high school or junior college, was scintillating in leading the Aggies (2-2) to a 27-17 victory over the Lobos (1-2) at University Stadium.
On both sides of the ball on a beautiful evening, New Mexico State was the better team. By a lot? No. By a little? No again.
The game, Lobos coach Danny Gonzales said, came down to a handful of plays: a fumble on a first-quarter drive that could have put UNM up 10-0; two coverage busts in the secondary, producing two NMSU touchdowns; a dropped pass and a missed field goal in the fourth quarter.
Hey, that's football. Gonzales said much the same about last year's loss in Las Cruces. A loss is a loss is ... a loss.
Are the 2023 Lobos, at least, better than last year's? Gonzales wouldn't be guaranteeing a bowl bid, which he did after Saturday's game, if he didn't think so.
Yet, what's happened in the first three games doesn't inform us.
The Lobos lost big against Texas A&M, a team that plays at a higher level. They won big against Tennessee Tech, a team that plays at a lower level.
Saturday, in what was in a real sense the season opener, UNM's offense was better than last year's. The defense was worse. Nothing is gained, not for sure.
After a 2022 season during which UNM ranked dead last on offense in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision, Gonzales pulled a major coup in hiring offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent from UAB.
Another coup: Dylan Hopkins, UAB's star quarterback, followed Vincent to Albuquerque.
Hopkins was the second-best quarterback on the field Saturday, and Vincent was the second-best offensive coordinator.
Is that a reflection on their abilities, their talent, or predictive of what they might accomplish in the nine games that remain on UNM's schedule? No, just a sobering snapshot in time.
On defense, the Lobos had little more success stopping Pavia than New Mexico Military Institute's opponents did during NMMI's national championship season in 2021.
Moon, perhaps, might have corralled his buddy Pavia short of the 96 yards he rushed for on Saturday.
Haulcy was best known as a tackler, but he certainly would have been useful on Saturday against the pass.
Long, last season's defensive coordinator, left for Syracuse. The Orange is 3-0 so far this season, having given up 27 points in three games.
Gonzales probably knows more about Long's 3-3-5 defense than anyone but Long himself, but he's teaching it to a lot of his players for the first time.
Again, Lobos have nine games left. Handicapping the rest of the season, based on Saturday, is a waste of time.
"Our football team is hurting," Gonzales said. "Give (the Aggies) credit, they made enough plays to win the football game.
"But there's a lot of football left to be played. I like the trajectory of this football team. There's a lot to play for, and that one outcome doesn't change the trajectory of the season."
He should feel that way, and so should his players.
Yet, whatever happens the next two months, the Lobos have lost to the Aggies. Again.
For now, that's all there is.
