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College Football


NCAA Game Summary - Nevada Vs. New Mexico

POSTED: 9:27 pm EST December 22, 2007

(Sports Network) - Donovan Porterie completed 20-of-36 passes for 354 yards with two touchdowns to lead the New Mexico Lobos past the Nevada Wolf Pack, 23-0, in the second annual New Mexico Bowl.

With starting running back Rodney Ferguson ruled academically ineligible earlier this week, Paul Baker rushed for a career-high 167 yards for the Lobos (9-4), who captured their first bowl victory since the 1961 Aviation Bowl.

"It started off the first couple of carries, five yards, 10 yards, the offensive line got the holes open and you saw what happenend," Baker said of his performance. "I did the best I could do out there."

Travis Brown caught seven passes for 120 yards and a score for New Mexico, which came into Saturday's game with five straight losses in bowl games.

Marko Mitchell had six receptions for 96 yards for the Wolf Pack (6-7), who were shut out for the first time since September 27, 1980.

Colin Kaepernick struggled behind center for Nevada, completing just 13-of-31 passes for 137 yards.

"We didn't do a good job with any consistency on the run game or the pass game," said Nevada head coach Chris Ault. "Colin Kaepernick didn't have a chance to get into any type of rhythm. We just shot ourselves in the foot."

Luke Lippincott led the ground game with only 40 yards for the Wolf Pack, who dropped to 3-5 all-time in postseason play.

It didn't take long for the Lobos to find the end zone as they scored on just the third play of scrimmage to open the game. Porterie and Marcus Smith connected for a 66-yard catch-and-run touchdown down the right sideline to take an early 7-0 lead.

With 2:22 remaining in the opening quarter, New Mexico extended its lead to 14-0 after a wide-open Brown hauled in a 39-yard touchdown reception over the middle.

John Sullivan's 53-yard field goal with just over six minutes to play in the second quarter gave the Lobos a 17-point advantage.

After forcing Nevada to go three-and-out, New Mexico went up 20-0 with 2:48 remaining in the first half after Sullivan split the uprights with a 45- yarder.

After a scoreless third quarter, New Mexico tacked on three more points with 4:18 remaining in the final frame as Sullivan kicked a 37-yarder.

The Wolf Pack were never able to get back into the game as the Lobos defense allowed them past midfield just once the entire second half.

Game Notes:

Porterie was named offensive MVP of the game...Saturday's game marked the first meeting between these schools on the gridiron since 1941...New Mexico has just three wins in 11 all-time postseason contests since taking part in the 1939 Sun Bowl...The Lobos lost to San Jose State in last year's inaugural bowl game here in Albuquerque...The Wolf Pack blocked two field goal attempts by Sullivan.

Nevada

News

Nevada
2007 SEASON IN REVIEW: While it is certainly not something the Nevada Wolf Pack is going to advertise to highly these days, the team's 23-0 loss to New Mexico in last year's New Mexico Bowl was the ended a 329-game scoring streak, dating back to 1980. Three weeks prior the offense was just fine as it rang up a 49-10 triumph over Louisiana Tech to finish the regular season at 6-6 and earn a postseason berth. Considering how badly the 2007 season started for the Pack, earning an extra game was rather remarkable. The team opened with a meeting against nationally-ranked Nebraska and was tossed around and looked rather listless in a 52-10 setback. The following week Nevada suffered a 36-31 loss to Northwestern, also on the road, which put the possibility of a postseason in real jeopardy. Nevada earned a bit of a reprieve and gained some measure of confidence with a 52-17 blowout of Nicholls State at home and then took the Fremont Cannon with a 27-20 triumph over in-state rival UNLV. However, the Pack did itself no favors by scheduling Western Athletic Conference powers Fresno State and Boise State in back-to-back weeks. The contest with the Bulldogs at home left Nevada with a 49-41 loss, but the BSU meeting provided for one of the most exciting games in college football, a four-overtime decision that fell in favor of Boise on the blue turf, 69-67.

Scoreboard

Sat, Nov. 24FINAL
Nevada (5-6) 0
New Mexico (7-4) 23

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