Steve Curtis - Behind Enemy Lines: New Mexico

Steve Curtis | September 17th, 2026

Oklahoma will return home Saturday looking to recover from its 17-10 loss at Michigan.

New Mexico’s first two games revealed the kind of team waiting for the Sooners.

The Lobos want to run the football, force defenders toward the line of scrimmage and attack the space that opens behind them.

So far, that approach has worked.

New Mexico has rushed for 522 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

Scottre Humphrey has led the way.

The former Montana State transfer has rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries, with most of his production coming after contact.

He has been particularly effective when New Mexico gets him to the perimeter, where the Lobos have produced some of their most explosive runs.

Kiefer Sibley provides another option.

The former North Texas running back has gained 93 yards on 12 carries, averaging nearly eight yards per attempt.

Together, Humphrey and Sibley give New Mexico a productive pairing out of the backfield.

But they are not the only threats.

Quarterback Toa Fa’avae has added 86 rushing yards and a touchdown. Much of that production has come when passing plays break down, giving the Lobos another way to punish defenses that lose contain.

New Mexico’s success has not come from consistently overpowering opponents through the middle.

Instead, the Lobos have found most of their room on the edges.

They have averaged more than 10 yards per carry outside the left end and more than five outside the right. Runs directly to either side of the center have averaged fewer than three.

That distinction matters.

New Mexico’s rushing totals are impressive, but the story is not simply that the Lobos can line up and move defenders wherever they want.

Their offense depends on reaching the perimeter, creating space and allowing its playmakers to turn solid blocking into explosive gains.

That rushing threat has opened the passing game.

Luke Moga has handled most of the work at quarterback, completing 17 of 27 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

Fa’avae has added another 139 yards and a touchdown.

Neither has thrown an interception.

Moga has been the more consistent passer, particularly when New Mexico uses play action.

He has completed eight of 10 play-action attempts for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Without it, his completion percentage drops and the offense becomes much less efficient.

The run game does not simply complement New Mexico’s passing attack.

It creates it.

When linebackers step toward the line of scrimmage, Moga looks for openings behind them. His only two completions of at least 20 yards both attacked the middle of the field and resulted in touchdowns.

The Lobos have not consistently completed those shots.

But they have made the successful ones count.

Tight end Cade Keith has been the biggest beneficiary.

Keith leads New Mexico with 96 receiving yards and a touchdown despite catching only five passes. He has worked inline, from the slot and out wide, allowing the Lobos to move him around before attacking the middle of the field.

Outside, Troy Omeire and DJ Darling have provided similar explosiveness.

Omeire has caught four passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. Darling has only two receptions, but they have produced 44 yards and another score.

New Mexico does not have a receiver dominating the target share like Michigan did with JJ Buchanan.

Instead, the Lobos have several players capable of turning one coverage mistake into a touchdown.

The offensive line has made that approach possible.

New Mexico has not allowed a sack through two games. Left guard Malik Aliane has been the group’s most consistent blocker, while right tackle Tyler Lawrence has surrendered only one pressure.

Cole Millward has been the weak point.

Millward has moved between left tackle and right guard while allowing four pressures, twice as many as any other New Mexico offensive lineman.

Still, the group has given Moga enough time to carry out play fakes and attack downfield.

While the offense has been built around explosive plays, the defense has been driven by pressure.

New Mexico has generated 38 pressures and eight sacks through two games.

The defensive ends have led that effort.

Brett Karhu has recorded eight pressures and three sacks, establishing himself as the Lobos’ most dangerous pass rusher. Darren Agu has added five pressures and another sack from the opposite side.

Karhu and Agu give New Mexico a legitimate pairing off the edge.

The Lobos have also been willing to bring pressure from behind them.

Linebacker Clay Martineau has recorded four pressures on 11 pass rushes, while cornerback Drew Speech has added a sack of his own.

Eight different defenders have recorded at least one sack.

That variety makes New Mexico more difficult to protect against than a defense relying exclusively on its front four. Opposing offenses must identify where the extra rusher is coming from before worrying about how to block Karhu and Agu.

The defense has been less imposing against the run.

Karhu has been significantly better at rushing the passer than setting the edge, while New Mexico’s most reliable run defenders have come from the second level.

Linebackers Nick Wheeler and Jaxton Eck have consistently finished tackles and prevented successful runs from becoming explosive ones.

The group has also tackled well as a whole.

New Mexico has missed only eight tackles against the run, a significant contrast from an Oklahoma defense that has struggled to finish through its first two games.

The secondary has taken advantage of the pressure created in front of it.

Opposing quarterbacks have thrown four interceptions and only one touchdown against New Mexico.

Joshua Barnes has recorded an interception and a pass breakup. Jahmir Torres has not allowed a completion on four targets, while safety Austin Brawley has helped limit damage over the middle.

The raw numbers suggest a dominant secondary.

The tape underneath them reveals something slightly different.

New Mexico has allowed only 20 completions for 167 yards, but nearly three-quarters of those yards came after the catch.

One 75-yard touchdown accounted for almost half of the total.

Outside of that breakdown, the Lobos have consistently kept the ball in front of them and forced offenses to earn every yard.

Taken together, New Mexico’s first two games revealed a team built around creating and preventing explosive plays.

The Lobos use the run game to stretch defenses toward the sideline, force defenders into conflict and create openings for play action over the middle.

Defensively, Karhu and Agu create pressure off the edge while an opportunistic secondary waits for mistakes behind them.

That formula has allowed New Mexico to control its first two games without asking either quarterback to carry the offense.

But it also reveals where the Lobos can be attacked.

Their rushing success has come primarily on the perimeter rather than through the middle. Their passing production depends heavily on play action, and their defensive ends have been far more effective attacking quarterbacks than stopping running backs.

Saturday will show whether those strengths hold up against Oklahoma.

If the Sooners set the edge and force New Mexico to consistently run between the tackles, the Lobos will lose the foundation of their offense.

If Oklahoma commits to its running backs, it can keep Karhu and Agu from controlling the game as pass rushers.

New Mexico has already shown it can punish mistakes.

Now the Lobos must prove they can create the same explosive plays against the most talented team they have faced this season.