Lightning, heavy rain and even a few snowflakes seemed to be exactly what New Mexico needed against Wyoming on Saturday in Laramie, Wyo.
The Lobos came back in force after a one-hour, 43-minute weather delay in the second quarter and promptly scored two TDs to beat the Cowboys 20-3 on Saturday.
Play had resumed on a soggy field for less than two minutes when Travis Brown grabbed a 63-yard reception from Donovan Porterie for a 10-3 Lobos lead with 43 seconds left in the half.
New Mexico coach Rocky Long said Wyoming had the momentum before the delay, but Brown's big touchdown changed everything.
"Coming out of the delay, that play put the momentum in our favor," he said of Brown's TD.
Halftime was limited to three minutes. Then, early in the third quarter, Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween fumbled on the Cowboys' own 2-yard line and Ian Clark recovered to score for the Lobos (4-2, 1-1 Mountain West Conference).
John Sullivan kicked a 41-yard field goal at the end of the third for the final score.
Long said the back-to-back touchdowns may have disoriented Wyoming (4-2, 1-1).
"When you're down by that much, sometimes your normal game plan goes out the window. They started throwing it more than I'm sure they wanted to," he said.
"They have two great running backs and they run the ball really well, so them having to throw it a little more probably takes you out of your normal game plan."
Devin Moore, who'd been the conference rushing leader with a 114-yard average, had just 30 yards rushing for Wyoming. Wynel Seldon had been averaging 74 yards but managed just 8 against the Lobos.
Brown finished with 94 yards on four receptions for New Mexico. Rodney Ferguson kept closer to his 112-yard rushing average than Moore or Seldon; he had 89 yards rushing on 26 carries.
Wyoming linebacker Ward Dobbs said Ferguson got slippery and difficult to tackle.
"This was a tough, physical game," Dobbs said. "It was a tough loss for us, and there were some big plays that we couldn't recover from. You wish the lightning didn't come because it obviously didn't play in our favor."
The weather delay began 2 1/2 minutes before halftime. Lightning flashed right after Billy Vinnedge kicked a 26-yard field goal for Wyoming, tying the game 3-3. NCAA rules require a 20-minute wait after any lightning bolt.
Rain, occasionally mixed with snow, fell for the next two hours before finally letting up.
New Mexico scored on its first possession of the game on a 39-yard Sullivan field goal.
AIR FORCE 45, COLORADO ST. 21: At Fort Collins, Colo., Chad Hall and Shaun Carney set school yardage records as Air Force beat Colorado State.
The Falcons (5-2, 4-1) scored four first-half touchdowns on their way to the blowout win.
Hall, a senior wide receiver, ran for four touchdowns and a single-game school-record 256 yards. It was his third 100-yard rushing performance against the Rams, and his fifth overall.
Carney completed only one pass in the first half, but the 12-yard completion to Hall was enough to set the school record for passing yards. Dave Ziebart, who played from 1976-79, had the old record of 4,789 yards. Carney finished the game with 52 yards passing and a touchdown.
Colorado State quarterback Caleb Hanie threw three first-half interceptions and the Falcons capitalized, returning one for a touchdown and turning another into a scoring drive.
A half-empty Hughes Stadium watched Colorado State (0-6, 0-3) struggle to have any sustained drives. The game was delayed 45 minutes because lightning knocked out power to some parts of the stadium. Many fans drove away before the game started and many more chose not to brave the rain and strong winds, leaving at halftime.