Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 16, 2019 33 Steve Virgen believes Davie needs to win at least five games this season — a feat Virgen said he would be "surprised" to see accomplished. Yet how Davie treats his players off the field will matter more. "I was talking to the athletic direc- tor [Eddie Nuñez], and this might sound really trite, but he said that it doesn't have to do with wins and losses," Virgen said. "He just wants the program to be going in the right direction — a good culture and some good morale." Greater concerns overtook Davie when after the Lobos' 39-31 victory versus Sam Houston State Aug. 31 he had to be rushed to a hospital for a "serious medical condition" that involved chest pains. It was unclear at the time whether he would be able to make the trip to Notre Dame. OFFENSE Since last season, Davie had to re- place both his offensive and defen- sive coordinators. To lead the offense, he hired Joe Dailey from Liberty, a team that beat the Lobos 52-43 on Sept. 29 last year. Dailey will continue to run the spread offense — a system put in place two years ago when the Lo- bos transitioned away from the triple option. There has been uncertainty, however, as to which quarterback will lead the attack. "Part of it is probably gamesman- ship and part of it is strategy, but I also think he's still figuring it out," Virgen said. "There's a slight expec- tation that all of them might play." It's hard to say what this means for Notre Dame. Virgen acknowledges that part of Davie's logic behind hav- ing an open quarterback competi- tion during the season could be so redshirt sophomore Tevaka Tuioti, who many expected to be the starter heading into fall camp, can catch up. Tuioti missed a significant portion of fall camp to be with his family. "I think in a perfect world, they want Tevaka Tuioti to be the guy," Virgen said. "But he's had a rough fall camp because his grandfather was ill and he recently passed away. "Ideally he'd be the starter because he had a great spring and the offense is just run at a better pace when he's the signal-caller." Last season, Tuioti started three games for the Lobos before going down with an ACL injury against Liberty. In his three starts, he threw for 439 yards with a 55.8 completion percentage, and tossed five touch- downs versus just two interceptions. He also rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts. The other three quarterbacks are senior Sheriron Jones, a junior col- lege transfer who played his first two seasons at Tennessee; redshirt fresh- man Trae Hall, who did not see the field last season; and junior Brandt Hughes, another junior college trans- fer who came from Butte College in California. Hughes started the contest versus Sam Houston State, but did not re- turn after halftime due to a shoulder injury. Jones finished the contest and helped secure the win with a pair of rushing touchdowns. New Mexico's prime strength is likely its offensive line, where four former starters return. Junior center and captain Kyle Sta- pley, who was named to the Riming- ton Award watch list before the sea- son, leads the way. Per Pro Football Focus, he gave up a sack or earned a penalty on only four of his 806 snaps last season. Another notable offensive lineman is senior left tackle Javon Mosley, who has an NFL body at 6-7 and 335 pounds with agile feet. The most productive returning of- fensive skill player is senior wide re- ceiver Elijah Lilly, who accumulated 375 yards and five touchdowns on 21 receptions last season. During much of fall camp, the 6-0, 159-pound speedster was hobbled by a hyper- extended knee. But a junior college transfer is poised to step in and fill the void. "The one who's probably had the best offseason is [junior wide re- ceiver] Jordan Kress," Virgen said. Senior Ahmari Davis was named the Lobos' starting running back, but New Mexico will likely go with a committee approach at that position. Both Davis and redshirt sophomore Daevon Vigilant ran for 185 yards last season. Another running back likely to see the field is redshirt sophomore Bryson Carroll, who was actually re- cruited as an option quarterback. DEFENSE New Mexico struggled mightily on the defensive side of the ball in 2018, surrendering 36.2 points per game, which ranked 113th in the Football Bowl Subdivision. New defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson, who was promoted from within the program, must turn the unit around while replacing nine starters. "I have nothing but great things to say [about Peterson]," Virgen said. "He's a spark plug. He ended up do- ing some drills with the players, and he's just a funny guy because he re- ally mixes it up and players like him. GAME PREVIEW: NEW MEXICO Facts & Figures NEW MEXICO AT NOTRE DAME Game Info Date: Sept. 14, 2019 Site: Notre Dame Stadium (80,795) Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129) and on Notre Dame's IMG affiliates. Series Facts: This will be the first meeting between the two programs. Head Coaches: New Mexico — Bob Davie (34‑54, eighth season); Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (82‑35, 10th season). Noting New Mexico: Since 2006, the Lobos have played in just four postseason contests — the New Mexico Bowl each time — and are 4‑8‑1 in bowl games all time … New Mexico finished the 2018 season 113th nationally in scoring defense (36.2 points allowed per game) and 97th in scoring offense (23.4 points per game) … UNM also finished 126th nationally in yards per game (298.2 yards per game) a year ago … The Lobos ranked 95th nationally in turnover margin per game last year, losing 0.4 more turnovers than they gained … Despite moderate on‑field success, UNM has had just five head coaches since 1992 (including George Barlow, who was the interim head coach for eight games in 2011) … According to Sports‑Reference.com, New Mexico has never been ranked in the Associated Press poll … Since joining the Mountain West Conference prior to the 1999 season, the Lobos have never finished in first place.