New Mexico runs for 476 yards in rout of Louisiana-Monroe

Jadon Boatright returned an interception 40 yards for a score 76 seconds into the game, and New Mexico added three more first-quarter touchdowns on Saturday in a 59-17 romp of Louisiana-Monroe.

That was exactly the way the Lobos wanted to get the game started.

"We definitely we need turnovers," said Boatright of his first career interception. "We've been struggling turnover-wise so that definitely helped us out, especially at the beginning of the game, starting off the game with a pick-6 and getting us already up 7-0. That helped us a lot. As soon as I picked it, I saw all green; I knew I was going back with it."

Tyrone Owens finished with 171 yards rushing on nine carries, including an 83-yard scoring run, as New Mexico (4-3) piled up 476 yards on the ground.

The Lobos got touchdowns from eight different players, withElijah Lilly returning a kickoff 93 yards for a score to open the second half.

The lone bright spot of sorts for the Warhawks (2-5) came from reserve quarterback Caleb Evens, who completed 12 of 15 passes for 120 and one score.

But with three other runners topping 65 yards, New Mexico's three lost fumbles were not a factor.

The Lobos only completed seven passes - all to different receivers - for 146 yards; their third-best total of the season.

New Mexico's defense finished with five sacks and limited the Warhawks to 235 total yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

New Mexico: After a series of close games (and one blowout loss to then-No. 19 Boise State), the Lobos needed to put the hammer down on somebody and Warhawks provided the perfect foil. It was a game that was never in doubt for New Mexico.

"This was great for our confidence," Lobos coach Bob Davie said. "It's no secret we gave up 40 points in a row for three weeks (games). But we did play offenses that really do keep you off balance."

With Louisiana-Monroe running an offensive scheme that New Mexico will see again as the season progresses, Davie was hoping to see just this kind of performance

"We knew we had a chance to get some rhythm tonight just because we've been kind of doing the things over and over," he said. "From a schematic standpoint, ULM is a lot like what Hawaii, Nevada, and really Utah State will be running so hopefully we can get on a little bit of a roll, defensively."

ULM: There was little for Louisiana-Monroe to take away from this performance as it was dominated from the outset and did little to remain competitive. Without quarterback Garrett Smith, redshirt freshman Will Collinsmissed all seven of passes with one interception before being replaced by Evans.

"We just got out coached, out played, really didn't have enough juice, not near enough juice and that's on me," said Warhawks coach Matt Viator. "We've got to be more ready to play than that. We've got to have more juice than that and we didn't. It's nothing really in particular because it was really the whole thing when you look at it. To come in and play a team like this, you better have some juice and we didn't."

UP NEXT

New Mexico says aloha with a trip to the island Saturday, facing Hawai'i. The Lobos have won the last six meeting in the series.

Louisiana-Monroe, which has lost five of its last six, plays at Arkansas State on Saturday. The Red Wolves are tied for the top spot in the Sun Belt.

Louisiana-Monroe builds early lead, beats Texas State 40-34

 Will Collins threw two touchdowns passes, Ben Luckett ran for two more scores and Louisiana-Monroe held on to beat Texas State 40-34 on Saturday night.

Luckett had 100 yards rushing, and Duke Carter ran for 104 yards and a third-quarter touchdown for Louisiana-Monroe (2-4, 1-2 Sun Belt).

Tyler Jones ran for two touchdowns and Stedman Mayberryhad a scoring run for Texas State (2-4, 0-2).

Jones ran for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Bobcats up 14-10 late in the first quarter. Collins threw touchdown passes on consecutive drives, Luckett ran for his second score, and Craig Ford's 40-yard field goal stretched the Warhawks' lead to 33-14 at halftime.

The Bobcats' Stan Kanu had a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown. Damani Alexcee recovered Luckett's fumble and ran the ball 50 yards into the end zone, and Jones' 16-yard scoring run with about three minutes left capped the scoring.

Jones led the Bobcats to the Warhawks 32 before throwing an incomplete pass as time expired.

Rehknow's FG as time expires lifts Idaho past ULM 34-31

Austin Rehkow's fourth field goal, a 27-yarder as time expired, lifted Idaho to a 34-31 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night.

Rehkow scored the first nine points of the game as the Vandals (3-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) raced to a 16-0 lead after one quarter before the Warhawks (1-4, 0-2) rallied.

Louisiana-Monroe tied the game at 31 with 2:28 to play asGarrett Smith took advantage of an Idaho blitz and broken coverage for a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ajalen Holley. However the Vandals replied with a six-play drive, highlighted by Aaron Duckworth's 40-yard run. Duckworth finished with 121 yards and a touchdown, which made it 24-7 early in the second quarter, on 16 carries.

Smith scored on a 6-yard run and hooked up with Xavier Brown on a 44-yard score to cut the deficit to 24-21 at the half.

After a field goal tied it in the third quarter, Matt Linehan and Jordan Frysinger hooked up on a 71-yard score to make it 31-24.

Smith threw for 302 yards but was intercepted three times.

Auburn steamrolls Louisiana-Monroe, 58-7

Sean White threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns, Kerryon Johnson rushed for 146 yards and a pair of scores, and Auburn steamrolled Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday 58-7.

Auburn (3-2) kept the momentum from last week's win over LSU going, as the Tigers scored touchdowns on eight of their 11 drives against the overmatched Warhawks (1-3). Auburn raced out to an early 28-0 lead behind White's 3-yard rushing touchdown, his 48-yard pass to freshman Kyle Davis, and Johnson's two short-yardage runs. Louisiana-Monroe got on the board with a 2-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half, but didn't score again.

White finished 14-of-17 in two-and-a-half quarters of action with a quarterback rating of 239.3 before giving way to backup John Franklin III midway through the third quarter. Franklin scored on his second play, an 80-yard dash up the middle, to extend Auburn's lead to 49-7.

The Tigers outgained Louisiana-Monroe 688-251. Auburn racked up 309 yards in the third quarter alone, the same amount it gained in the entire first half.

THE TAKEAWAY

AUBURN: The red zone issues that plagued Auburn against LSU were nonexistent. The Tigers scored touchdowns on four out of the five trips inside the 20, and the only trip they didn't score on came from the backups with less than a minute remaining.

LOUISIANA-MONROE: The Warhawks drop their third consecutive game, but will get a chance to right itself against Idaho on a more level playing field.

UP NEXT

AUBURN: Travels to Starkville to play Mississippi State next Saturday.

LOUISIANA-MONROE: Returns home to host Idaho next Saturday.

Sack, blocked FG seal tight 23-21 win for Georgia Southern

Chris DeLaRosa and RJ Murray teamed for stout defense in the final 90 seconds with a sack and a blocked field goal as Georgia Southern held on for a 23-21 victory over Louisiana-Monroe Saturday night.

After falling behind by two scores, Georgia Southern (3-0) reeled off 23 straight points to go up 23-14 early in the fourth quarter. But the Warhawks (1-2) rallied to within 23-21 on a 10-yard scoring pass from Garrett Smithto Marcus Green with 10:12 left to play. Louisiana-Monroe was driving for a potential go-ahead score when DeLaRosa dropped Smith for a loss of 10 yards and Murray made a leaping, one-handed block of the ensuing 41-yard field goal attempt with 1:16 to play.

Georgia Southern gained 345 yards rushing and held the ball for 41:37. Younghoe Koo kicked three field goals.

Smith's first TD pass broke Georgia Southern's streak of 155 minutes without allowing a TD, dating back to 2015.

Mayfield leads No. 14 Oklahoma past ULM 59-17

Oklahoma can finally talk about Ohio State.

Baker Mayfield passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns in a half of work, and the 14th-ranked Sooners beat Louisiana-Monroe 59-17 on Saturday night in a warmup for their showdown with the Buckeyes.

Oklahoma lost its opener to Houston and fell from No. 3 to No. 14 in the AP poll , but its home matchup with fourth-ranked Ohio State next week offers a chance to return to its place among the nation's top teams.

"They're obviously a good program," Mayfield said. "Everybody knows that. I feel confident in what we're doing right now, and I think we're going to keep progressing. I think it'll be a good matchup."

Mayfield took the blame for the loss to Houston, saying he forced throws at times in the second half and took too many sacks. He bounced back well.

"Baker, I thought, was really decisive and quick getting the ball out in a lot of spots," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "Threw it really well."

Joe Mixon rushed for 117 yards, and Samaje Perine ran for two touchdowns as the Sooners (1-1) outgained the Warhawks (1-1) 640 yards to 350.

Garrett Smith passed for 251 yards and two touchdowns and R.J. Turner caught seven passes for 135 yards for ULM. Smith was a dual threat in the opener when he ran for 150 yards and a touchdown in a win over Southern. He was one-dimensional against the Sooners, finishing with five yards on six carries.

Mayfield completed 10 of 11 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter to help the Sooners take a 21-0 lead.

Mark Andrews opened the scoring with a 39-yard touchdown grab. Andrews has four receptions this season, including three for touchdowns. Dimitri Flowers added an 8-yard touchdown catch, then Perine's 1-yard blast up the middle made it 21-0.

"Things obviously weren't going our way in the first half, and we were overmatched and playing against a good football team," ULM coach Matt Viator said.

Austin Kendall replaced Mayfield in the second half, and he passed for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

"As much as anything, (it was about) keeping Baker healthy in the situation we're in, and Austin's a true freshman who needs to play," Stoops said.

THE TAKEAWAY

LOUISIANA-MONROE: The Warhawks felt they defended better in the second half, though they were playing against mostly reserves. Both teams scored 17 points after the break.

"Hopefully, we got a little bit better and learned something tonight to use for next week," Viator said.

OKLAHOMA: The Sooners re-established their run game. They gained just 70 yards on 26 carries against Houston, but bounced back with 288 yards on 46 attempts against ULM. Mixon, a sophomore, finished with the third-highest rushing yardage total of his career.

Perine's two touchdowns gave him 39 in his career, tying him with Joe Washington for seventh in school history.

"I thought Joe and Samaje did a great job early," Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. "I thought we really played well up front. We had good balance offensively."

PREGAME FOCUS

Oklahoma's coaching staff was concerned about how many big plays the Sooners' cornerbacks gave up against Houston. He said aside from two busted coverages in the third quarter that resulted in long touchdown catches of 73 yards by Turner and 43 yards by Alec Osborne, the Sooners defended the pass well on Saturday. Aside from those two plays, ULM passed for just 156 yards.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK

Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook attended the game and drew a loud cheer when he was shown on the video board. Mayfield entered the postgame press conference with a T-shirt with the phrase, "In Russ We Trust" on the front.

RECORD CROWD

The announced attendance of 87,037 was a record for the stadium. The south end had been partially open since the stadium opened in 1923, but an upgrade turned it into a bowl and added an 8,500 square-foot video board and luxury seating.

UP NEXT

LOUISIANA-MONROE: at Georgia Southern.

OKLAHOMA: Hosts Ohio State in a game the Sooners must win to have a realistic shot at returning to the College Football Playoff.

Louisiana Monroe runs away from Southern 38-21 in 2nd half

 Garrett Smith fired a touchdown pass to Marcus Green, then ran for another score as Louisiana Monroe broke open a close game after halftime while defeating Southern 38-21 Saturday night.

Smith hit Green with a 28-yard pass, bumping the Warhawks' lead to 21-12,Craig Ford added a 24-yard field goal and Smith scored from the 13, pushing the lead to 31-15. Smith hit 20 of 33 passes for 208 yards.

The Warhawks (1-0) led 14-12 at the half after Southern's Raul Albuquerque capped a long drive with a 38-yard field goal in the final minute before the break. Albuquerque nailed field goals of 42, 38 and 28 yards but missed a point-after kick in the first half. Southern is 0-1.

Austin Vaughn capped the scoring with a 6-yard run in the final minute of play.