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LARAMIE, Wyo. — For the New Mexico Lobos, there is life after Tulsa.

The Lobos, relying on a back-to-basics offense and a run-tough defense, beat Wyoming 38-28 Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium.

With the victory, UNM is 2-2 on the season and 1-0 in Mountain West Conference play. It was the Lobos’ first victory in a conference opener since 2005. Wyoming is 0-4, 0-1.

The win reverses (for now, at least) the negative momentum that began with a 40-21 loss to Tulsa on Sept. 12. The Lobos lost 34-10 at Arizona State the next week.

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Would the Lobos, had they lost to Wyoming, have had any chance to reach their stated goal of at least six wins and bowl eligibility? They won, making the question moot (for now).

“I thought today was a key game for us, a key, key game for us,” UNM coach Bob Davie said.

Davie wasn’t talking merely about the victory in a conference opener, coming on the heels of two defeats. Crucial, as well, was UNM’s ability to run the triple option with major success, something it hadn’t done in those losses.

The Lobos finished with 302 yards rushing and an average of 6.4 yards per attempt.

“I knew coming in this was a key game for us offensively, just to get back to our identity (the running game) and having some success with our identity,” Davie said. “That’s why it was a huge game for us.”

It clearly was a huge game for UNM quarterback Lamar Jordan, who rushed for 147 yards and passed for 107. The redshirt sophomore produced a touchdown on the ground, a 56-yard option keeper on the game’s second play from scrimmage, and one through the air — a 64-yard throw to Carlos Wiggins in the second quarter.

Jordan’s early touchdown seemed to set the tone for the afternoon. The Lobos led by as many as 21 points, twice, and never trailed.

“It’s good going to 2-2, especially with this game next week, probably the biggest game that we have all year for the state of New Mexico,” Jordan said.

The Lobos play downstate rival New Mexico State on Saturday in Albuquerque.

New Mexico likely wouldn’t be 2-2 today if not for a defense that held Wyoming running back Brian Hill, who was averaging 8.1 yards per carry entering the game, to 49 yards on 18 carries.

“(If) you asked me the game plan, it was getting our identity on offense and stopping No. 8 (Hill) on defense,” Davie said. “You look at that, and I think we did a pretty good job.”

The game plan against Hill, UNM linebacker Dakota Cox said, was simple enough.

“Wrap him up,” Cox said. “Don’t let him go north and south. Guys were focused in, and once it started rolling, it kept rolling. We started getting in the backfield, and it was a great day.”

The UNM defense finished with 10 tackles for loss and three sacks of Wyoming quarterback Cameron Coffman.

Coffman had plenty of success in the passing game, throwing for 366 yards and all four of Wyoming’s touchdowns. But Coffman twice had passes intercepted in the fourth quarter, first by safety Markel Byrd and later by Cox, thwarting any comeback hopes the Cowboys harbored.

“When you have a defense that gives you two turnovers a game, I tell them all the time, that’s a win,” Jordan said.

Jordan and junior Austin Apodaca had shared playing time in New Mexico’s first three games. Davie had said earlier in the week that both likely would play at Wyoming, unless things clicked right away with Jordan as the starter.

Things pretty much clicked. Apodaca played only in mop-up time at the end of the afternoon.

The game took on seeming blowout proportions in the second quarter, after running back Richard McQuarley’s 3-yard touchdown run gave UNM a 28-7 lead with just 1 minute, 21 seconds left in the first half. But Wyoming, running its two-minute offense to near perfection, needed just 55 seconds to draw within 14 points at halfime.

McQuarley struck again midway through the third quarter, however, bolting up the middle for a score on a fourth-and-1 play from the Wyoming 43.

The final score was as close as the Cowboys got the rest of the way.

Box Score: New Mexico 38, Wyoming 28

2015 Lobo football cumulative season statistics