Jason Eck, New Mexico win 11th straight at home

For 3 quarters this was a fistfight, and nobody was getting clear of anybody.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

Heading to the 4th, New Mexico leads NDSU 14-9. These teams are beating the heck out of each other.

That's the fun part of putting NDSU on a Mountain West schedule. The Bison came in 6-1 and don't hand you anything for free. New Mexico ran for 187 yards and held them to 53 on the ground, and it was still a 5-point game going into the 4th. Somebody had to make a play, and it was the defense, which is how this Lobos team has been winning all year.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

ELECTRIC New Mexico leads the nation in takeaways. A pick-six to go up two scores in the fourth.

With 10:57 left, senior DB Austin Brawley picked off Nathan Hayes and took it back for 6, and 14-9 became 21-9. It's his 2nd pick-six of the season, which makes him the first Lobo with multiple defensive touchdowns in a year since 1991. New Mexico finished with 2 interceptions, and that's been the floor all season. The Lobos have forced at least 2 takeaways in every game, and no other FBS team can say that. NDSU got a late touchdown back, but the pick decided it.

So it's 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Mountain West, in front of 34,794 people, the biggest crowd for anybody not named New Mexico State since 2005. National college football people are noticing, too. When the guys who cover the whole sport are tweeting exclamation points about the Lobos at 11:30 Mountain on a Saturday night, something real is going on.

Stephen Brooks

@StephenM_Brooks

Jason Eck. Dude.

The guy in the middle of it is Jason Eck. He came over from Idaho, won 9 games last year, signed a new 5-year contract and has the Lobos winning in a way that's actually sustainable: run the ball, choke off the run, take the ball away. The home number is what jumps out. The building got loud enough that the crowd was chanting his name before the clock hit zero.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

11 straight home wins for New Mexico, its longest run since 1928. Jason Eck is 10-0 at home. Fans chanted “Jason Eck” as the clock wound down.

11 straight home wins is the longest streak New Mexico has had since 1928, and the school record is a 12-game home run from that era. 1 more win at University Stadium ties it. Then there's the other side of a run like this: Eck's name is already coming up for other jobs, and every week the Lobos keep stacking takeaways that talk gets louder. For now, New Mexico is unbeaten in conference play, the defense is a nightmare, and Albuquerque gets to enjoy it.