Damon Bankston ran for 154 yards and a touchdown and added a 43-yard touchdown reception, leading New Mexico to a stunning 35-10 upset over UCLA on Friday night. The victory was the Lobos’ first ever against a Big Ten opponent.
Quarterback Jack Layne threw for 152 yards and two scores, while D.J. McKinney and Scottre Humphrey each contributed a rushing touchdown for the Lobos (2-1). The win marked New Mexico’s first victory over a power conference team since defeating Arizona on September 13, 2008.
Entering the game as a 15.5-point underdog, New Mexico dominated the line of scrimmage, with first-year coach Jason Eck’s offense amassing 298 rushing yards on 46 carries.
“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 (0-3) struggled with discipline and execution, committing 13 penalties for 116 yards. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 22 of 34 passes for 217 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
“It’s pretty low right now,” said UCLA coach DeShaun Foster. “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.”
After establishing their ground game early, the Lobos took the lead on Humphrey’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. A fourth-down, 8-yard touchdown pass from Layne to tight end Simon Mapa extended the lead to 14-0. UCLA answered with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Iamaleava to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala.
The Bruins narrowed the gap to 14-10 with a 51-yard field goal in the third quarter, but New Mexico responded decisively. The Lobos mounted a punishing 13-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Bankston’s 2-yard touchdown run to regain control of the game.
“I ain’t gonna lie — me personally, I thought it was gonna be a closer game,” Bankston said. “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… try to pull away from these guys.”
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