ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Devon Dampier scored on a 1-yard run with 21 seconds left and New Mexico beat No. 19 Washington State 38-35 on Saturday night for its first victory over a ranked team since 2003, dashing the Cougars’ slim College Football Playoffs hopes.
Dampier ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries and completed 11 of 25 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown. Eli Sanders added 108 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries for the Lobos (5-6).
“We don’t win without him,” Lobos coach Bronco Mendenhall said about Dampier. “And when your quarterback could run the ball like that, that tough and that physical, with the deception also of having Eli Sanders and NaQuari (Rogers) running the ball, as well. Gosh, well, that’s what winning and really good football teams do, right? They run when they need to, and you stop the run when you have to.”
Dampier ran for 142 yards and both touchdowns in the second half. He moved New Mexico 75 yards on the winning drive after Washington State (8-2) took a 35-31 lead with 3:12 left on John Mateer’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams.
Mateer was 25 of 36 for 375 yards and four touchdowns. Williams had nine receptions for 181 yards and three touchdowns.
“We’ll be defined by what we do next,” Cougars coach Jake Dickert said. “Me, as the head coach, our seniors, our leaders, all of our guys, you have two options, and then you can go out there and fight each other, or you can fight what happened to you and come back ready to work.”
New Mexico took a 31-28 lead with 4:40 left in the game on Luke Drzewiecki’s 21-yard field goal.
Trailing 28-14 at the half, the Lobos tied it in the third quarter on Dampier’s 33-yard touchdown run and Sander’s 26-yard scoring dash.
Takeaways
Washington State: After Washington State moved up and down the field in the first half, scoring four touchdowns and accumulating 357 yards in total offense and punting just once, but the Lobos forced the Cougars to punt on the first three possessions of the second half. Mateer was 3 of 9 for 16 yards in the third quarter
“I thought they were more aggressive defensively in the second half,” Dickert said. “You know, I thought they stayed with a couple different personnel deals. They do a good job schematically on offense.”
New Mexico: The Lobos remained in position to become bowl eligibility in Mendenhal’s first season.
Poll implications
The Cougars will drop after the loss.
Up next
Washington State: At Oregon State next Saturday.
New Mexico: At Hawaii on Nov. 30
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