New Mexico Stuns UCLA with Dominant Rushing Game, Hands Bruins Third Consecutive Loss

New Mexico Stuns UCLA with Dominant Rushing Attack in 35-10 Victory

The New Mexico Lobos delivered a stunning upset on Friday night, routing the UCLA Bruins 35-10 at the Rose Bowl. New Mexico's potent rushing attack, spearheaded by Damon Bankston, overwhelmed the Bruins, who fell to 0-3 on the season.

Lobos Dominate on the Ground

Damon Bankston led the charge with 154 rushing yards and a touchdown, adding a 43-yard touchdown reception for good measure. Jack Layne contributed two touchdown passes, while D.J. McKinney and Scottre Humphrey also added rushing touchdowns. The Lobos amassed a total of 298 rushing yards, showcasing their dominance in the trenches.

Coach Jason Eck praised his team's aggressive approach. "There's a quote that I love, I'm not sure who said it, but fortune favors the bold, so you got to be aggressive to win games like that," Eck said. "We weren't going to be scared. We don't play these games to try to keep it close. We come to win these games."

UCLA Struggles on Both Sides of the Ball

The UCLA Bruins struggled to find any rhythm, plagued by sloppy play and numerous penalties. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 22 of 34 passes for 217 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. However, the Bruins offense was largely ineffective, and the defense surrendered a staggering 298 rushing yards. The team committed 13 penalties for 116 yards.

A visibly frustrated UCLA coach DeShaun Foster expressed his disappointment. "It's pretty low right now," Foster said about the state of the program. "I've been around this program for a long time, and it's just unfortunate what's going on at this moment. Just not executing."

Turning Points and Key Moments

After a couple of trick plays, the Lobos established their ground game and Humphrey scored a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Layne then threw an 8-yard touchdown to tight end Simon Mapa. UCLA pulled within 14-10 on Mateen Bhaghani's 51-yard field goal in the third quarter, however New Mexico responded with Bankston's 2-yard touchdown run.

Bankston added: "I ain't gonna lie -- me personally, I thought it was gonna be a closer game. But once we got to halftime, and we realized that we had a lot of mistakes and we still had the lead, it was like, let's go ahead and, like, try to pull away from these guys."

UCLA's Season Spirals Downward

The loss to New Mexico marks a new low for UCLA, raising serious questions about the team's trajectory. They were favored by 15.5 points but were outgained 450-326. Coach Foster is now 5-10 early in his second season. Foster maintains that talent is not the problem: “We have enough. We just have to execute. It’s coming down to execution.”

Iamaleava also voiced his support of coach Foster, stating "I totally believe in coach Foster, man. You know, he gives me self-belief every day I come in the building to go and work."

Looking Ahead

UCLA has a bye week before opening Big Ten play on the road against Northwestern. The team faces an uphill battle to turn its season around, with difficult games against Penn State and Michigan State looming. The pressure is on Coach Foster to find solutions and rally his team.