New Mexico hasn't won a home football game all year and is only 3-6 on the season. The Lobos rank third-from-the-bottom in the entire nation in defense, allowing nearly 500 yards per game.
So why do people here truly believe the Lobos can knock off No. 8-ranked Utah Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.)? And why are the Utes acting genuinely nervous about facing the Lobos?In two words, Stoney Case.
He sounds like a character from the Flintstones (a lawyer perhaps?), but he happens to be one of the most dangerous players in college football.
Just ask BYU, which saw Case throw seven touchdowns in a near-upset 49-47 loss in September. Or ask Fresno State, the latest victim of Case's offensive madness. Last week he ran for three touchdowns and 114 yards and passed for 199 yards and two more touchdowns in a 49-32 victory, handing Fresno a rare home loss.
Case is the leader of a New Mexico offense that ranks No. 3 in the nation in total offense. Case himself ranks No. 2 in the nation in total offense with 318 yards per game and is the No. 1 most productive player, being responsible for 170 points (19 TD passes, nine rushing, one two-point conversion).
"Case will be the most talented quarterback we'll face this year because he can run and throw," said Ute coach Ron McBride, who's been staying awake nights trying to find a way to defense Case.
New Mexico knows what a talented player it has in Case, who got his odd first name from a character in a 1960s TV show called Stoney Burke ("My parents wanted something different," said Case).
"I don't know if there's a player who means more to a team than Stoney Case means to us," said New Mexico coach Dennis Franchione.
Case seems like he's been at New Mexico forever, mostly because he's been starting since his freshman year. Earlier this season he became the first player in NCAA history to pass for 8,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a career. He has a chance to move into third place all-time total offense list behind Ty Detmer and Doug Flutie before he's done.
Even though Case appears to do it all, he does get help. Eric Young is the leading rusher with 523 yards, while Winslow Oliver has 461 yards, despite being hampered with injuries. Case is in between with 477 yards rushing.
Zack Wesley is the top receiver with 41 catches for 419 yards, while Gavin Pearlman has caught 33 passes for 548 yards.
Defensively, the Lobos are young but improving. Freshman linebacker Blake Irwin leads the team in tackles with 101, while another freshman, John Wingate, has seven quarterback sacks and eight tackles for losses.
"New Mexico is really coming of age as a football team," said McBride. "Offensively they've been dangerous the whole year, and the defense is getting better every week. They're a scary football team."
GAME NOTES: Injury-wise, the Lobos will be hurting more than Utah this week. David Sloan, the top receiver among WAC tight ends, suffered a sprained knee against Fresno and is out this week. Linebacker Walter Herring is out for the year after fracturing an ankle in the same game . . . The Lobos have lost five games by a touchdown or less this year. But that's par for the course. Since 1989, they've lost 24 games by a touchdown or less, an average of five games per year . . . While the Lobos have won the last two games with Utah, the Utes won the five games before that, four by six points or less . . . Utah leads the overall series 22-11-2 . . . The Utes plan to have another strong contingent of fans in University Stadium for the game.