New Mexico 38, BYU 28 BYU's loss to New Mexico, the first since 1980, was a heartbreaker because of the closeness of the game. Through three quarters, the statistics were near a mirror image. In first downs, the teams were tied at 14. In rushing yards, they were even at 125 and in passing there was a difference of just one yard (BYU 153, UNM 154). Turnovers were equal at one apiece. The difference in the amazingly even contest Saturday came on the Cougars' first drive of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Kevin Feterik pitched the ball high to Jaron Dabney, and the freshman halfback was unable to hold on. New Mexico recovered the fumble on the Cougar 20-yard line. Brian McKenzie's 133 yards on 24 carries (two touchdowns) will likely be overlooked in the postgame Cougar depression of having missed out on an opportunity to control its destiny in the WAC Mountain Division race (Utah upset Rice in Salt Lake City Saturday, giving BYU the chance, assuming it had defeated New Mexico.) It was the second time in three weeks that the Cougars missed such an opportunity. Brian McKenzie started Saturday's game off with a bang, sprinting 62 yards for a touchdown on the Cougars' third play from scrimmage. The senior running back's 133 yards brings his season total up to 1,859, good for sixth on the All-Time BYU rushing list behind Jamal Willis (2,970), Lakei Hiemuli (2,710), Jeff Blanc (2,663), Pete VanWalkenburg (2,492) and John Ogden (2,363). 1st 2nd 3rd 4th f byu 7 14 7 0 28 unm 14 7 7 10 38 cougars 28 lobos 38 final 1st quarter new mex - Chris Shelton 4-yard catch from Graham Leigh(Cason kick) byu - Brian McKenzie 62-yard run(Pochman kick) new mex - Reginald Johnson 3-yard run(Cason kick) 2nd quarter byu - Aaron Cupp 60-yard catch from Kevin Feterik(Pochman kick) new mex - Milton Thomas 5-yard catch from Leigh(Cason kick) byu - McKenzie 6-yard run(Pochman kick) 3rd quarter new mex - Leigh 5-yard run(Cason kick) byu - Marjin Hooks 14-yard catch from Feterik(Pochman kick) 4th quarter new mex - Thomas 18-yard catch from Leigh(Cason kick) new mex - Colby Cason 20-yard field goal BYU - UNM Game Recap Source: Blue & White Sports Network 1st Quarter The Lobos kick off to BYU to begin the game, but Jaron Dabney fumbles the ball. New Mexico recovers on the BYU 22. Six plays later, on 3rd and goal from the 5-yard line, Graham Leigh finds fullback Chris Shelton in the endzone for the score. BYU answers quickly, however. On the Cougars third play, Brian McKenzie finds a huge opening and rumbles 62-yards for the touchdown. KEY PLAYS: 15-yard pass from Kevin Feterik to Ben Cahoon. Fireworks continue to fly with the Lobos coming right back for the score. Reginal Johnson dives in from 2-yards out to give New Mexico back the lead. KEY PLAYS: 19-yard run by Dion Marion, 18-yard pass from Leigh to Pascal Volz. 2nd Quarter Following a New Mexico punt to begin the quarter, the Cougars tie the score in quick fashion. On 2nd and 12, a fake reverse leaves Aaron Cupp wide-open down the sidelines for the 60-yard touchdown pass from Feterik. New Mexico comes back with an impressive drive of their own. On third-and-goal from the 5, Leigh hits a wide-open Milton Thomas for the score. KEY PLAYS: 4 third-down conversions,  Leigh to Thomas for 21-yards, Leigh to Jamie Oliver for 22-yards. Offenses continue to shine as BYU adds another touchdown on a 5-yard run by McKenzie. KEY PLAYS: Feterik to Cahoon for 16 and 14-yards, Feterik to Cupp for 17-yards. 3rd Quarter New Mexico begins the 3rd Quarter with another impressive scoring drive. Quarterback Graham Leigh takes the ball in for the touchdown from 5-yards out. KEY PLAYS: Leigh to Brian Messer for 24-yards, Leigh to Pascal Volz for 23 and 13-yards. BYU ends the 3rd Quarter with a bang, knotting the score once again. On 3rd-and-goal from the 14-yard line, Feterik found Margin Hooks on the fade pattern for the score. KEY PLAYS: McKenzie and Dabney 10-yard runs for first downs. 4th Quarter BYU's Jaron Dabney fumbles for the second time in the game deep in Cougar territory setting the Lobos up on the BYU 25. Two plays later, Leigh finds Thomas in the endzone from 17-yards out for the score. With four minutes left, BYU gets the ball back once again with a chance to tie the score. The Cougars continue, however, to spudder out offensively and are forced to punt with 2:40 left in the game. New Mexico puts the game out of reach with a late field goal by Colby Cason with :17 seconds left in the game. KEY PLAY: 36-yard run by Leigh. Statistics BYU New Mexico First Downs 15 19 Rushes-Yards 35-120 44-211 Passing Yards 182 171 Sacks-yards lost 0-0 0-0 Passing (Att-Comp-Int) 10-22-0 13-23-0 Punts-Average 8-39.6 7-45.4 Fumbles-Lost 5-2 1-1 Penalties-Yards 4-35 9-64 Time of Possession 26:53 33:07 Individual Statistics Rushing BYU- McKenzie 24-133, Dabney 3-5, Snowden 1-minus 2, Feterik 7-minus 16. New Mexico- G. Leigh 16-102, R. Johnson 10-47, Marion 5-39, Shelton 13-23. Passing BYU- Feterik 10-22-0-182. New Mexico- G. Leigh 13-23-0-171. Receiving BYU- Cupp 4-87, Cahoon 3-56, Horton 1-18, Hooks 1-14, McKenzie 1-7. New Mexico- Volz 5-64, M. Thomas 3-45, Shelton 2-13, Messer 1-24, J. Oliver 1-21, Marion 1-4. Att: 30,363