SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 9, 2013
New Mexico 45, Air Force 37: Quarterback Cole Gautsche rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another as the host Lobos snapped a three-game losing streak.
Kasey Carrier ran for 179 yards and Jhurell Pressley added 87 yards and a pair of scores as New Mexico (3-6, 1-4 Mountain West) piled up 451 yards on the ground to halt a five-game skid against Air Force (2-8, 0-6).
Freshman Nate Romine threw for 188 yards and a career-best three touchdowns and ran for another score for the Falcons, who tumbled to their eighth loss in nine games. Anthony LaCoste rumbled for 177 yards on 21 carries and Garrett Griffin, Jalen Robinette and Garrett Brown each caught scoring passes for Air Force.
Gautsche threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the Lobos bolted to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, but the Falcons got within 21-14 at halftime when Romine led a pair of 13-play scoring drives, running in from a yard out to cap one and tossing a 19-yard scoring pass to Brown.
Romine threw two more TD passes in the third quarter but Pressley answered them with scoring runs of 3 and 61 yards as the Lobos took a 35-28 lead into the fourth. Air Force's Broam Hart scored on the first play of the final quarter but Gautsche followed with an 11-yard scoring run with 10:32 to play and Justin Adams kicked a 24-yard field goal eight minutes later to make it 45-34.