Lobos again picked last in MWC preseason poll

Jul 19, 2023 Updated Jul 19, 2023
After a winless conference campaign in 2022 and a 5-42 record in league play over the past six seasons, the University of New Mexico football team was again a near-unanimous pick to finish last in the preseason Mountain West poll.
Compiled by the league’s media and released Wednesday at the annual MWC media days in Las Vegas, Nev., the poll had perennial power Boise State as the overwhelming top pick. Air Force was second, followed by Fresno State and San Diego State.
The 2023 season marks the elimination of the two-division format the MWC used for several years. All 12 teams are now part of a collective group.
Boise State garnered 28 of the 36 first-place votes for 433 points from the panel of media. Air Force had two and Fresno State had five. The others went to San Diego State and UNLV. The Lobos had just 60 points in the poll, a distant last place behind 11th place Nevada’s 92 points.
Only one Lobo, sophomore Christian Washington, was named preseason all-MWC, doing so as a kick returner. He averaged 26.7 yards on 16 returns as a freshman last season. He had a 100-yard return for a touchdown against Boise State, earning him MWC Freshman of the Week honors in the fall.
Ten of the 12 teams had at least one all-conference selection, led by five from Wyoming. That includes the preseason defensive player of the year, Cowboys linebacker Easton Gibbs. The offensive player of the year is San Jose State senior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro while San Diego State’s Jack Browning, a punter and kicker, is the top special teams player.
The Lobos open their season Sept. 2 on the road at Texas A&M. The home opener comes the following week a Tennessee Tech.
UNM announced the start times for all six of its home games. Tennessee Tech and New Mexico State (Sept. 16) kick off at 6 p.m., and the San Jose State (Oct. 14), Hawaii
(Oct. 21) and UNLV (Nov. 4) games start at 4 p.m. The home finale will be Nov. 24 against Utah State at 1:30 p.m.