The final statistics showed that Utah played well enough to beat New Mexico Saturday night.
The Utes finished with 441 yards of total offense compared to the Lobos' 285, with an average gain of 6.0 per play compared to UNM's 3.9.
However, the statistic that killed the Utes was the one that showed they turned the ball over five times compared to the Lobos' two.
"Like I've said a thousand times, turnovers are the second-most important stat other than the final score," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "The biggest thing tonight was turnovers. It's hard to win games when you have five turnovers."
Utah's first four turnovers led directly to touchdowns for the Lobos, with two actually turning into touchdowns.
Quincy Black returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown and the Lobos had short drives after Johnson threw a bad pitch and Brent Casteel fumbled a kickoff return. The killer was Johnson's fumble on an option play at the 2-yard line, which Cody Kase picked up and ran in for the winning score.
The final turnover was an interception by Michael Tuohy at the 10-yard line on the fourth pass of Brett Ratliff's career.
Turnovers weren't the only problems that cost the Utes a victory.
The Utes had eight penalties for 97 yards, and several came at key times. A defensive holding on Eugene Oates early in the second quarter on third-down sack gave the Lobos third-and-7 instead of third-and-19 and they went on to score. In the fourth quarter, the Utes had an offensive pass interference penalty and a personal foul that set them back.
Utah's offensive line looked like a sieve, especially in the second half when the Lobos had eight of their nine sacks, totaling minus-62 yards for Ute quarterback Brian Johnson.
The Utes' punt returner, Marquis Wilson, made some poor decisions, letting a punt go that went an extra 20 yards to the 16 (from where the Utes' fumbled and allowed the Lobos to get the winning score) and then calling for a fair catch at the 8-yard line. But remember, Wilson is just a freshman, playing because the Utes benched Eric Weddle after he fumbled a punt return against Wyoming.
The final mistake of the night may have come from the coaching booth. The Utes had moved down to the UNM 14-yard line with 1:15 still left in the game, thanks to a 21-yard pass to Travis LaTendresse and a 5-yard offside penalty and had 1st down and 5.
Perhaps a running play for Quinton Ganther, who had picked up 98 yards on the night?
No, how about a pass to freshman Freddie Brown, who had caught all of three passes on the year? That pass was batted down and the next pass was intercepted by Tuohy.
Whittingham tried to explain the decision afterward.
"We had one timeout left and when they're bringing seven or eight people blitzing, it's tough to pop a run," he said. "We figured our best percentage was to do what we did. But (Ratliff) forced one in there and they stole it."
E-mail: sor@desnews.com