Preview: Michigan vs. New Mexico

 

Scottre Humphrey (image via X)

New Mexico is coached by Jason Eck, who comes to UNM from FCS Idaho. Eck is a former Wisconsin offensive lineman under Barry Alvarez. Eck went 23-16 in three seasons at Idaho and replaces former BYU and Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who took the head coaching job at Utah State.

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NEW MEXICO RUSH DEFENSE
Last year's rushing offense wasn't great. But it's also not back. Kalel Mullings (948 yards, 12 TD) and Donovan Edwards (589 yards, 4 TD) are gone, and so are four offensive linemen who started games: Myles Hinton, Josh Priebe, Dominic Giudice, and Andrew Gentry. (Gentry will start at right tackle for BYU, former backup Jeff Persi will start at left tackle for Pitt, and Giudice will start at left guard for Missouri.) Meanwhile, 23 of Jordan Marshall's 31 carries came in the ReliaQuest Bowl, and Alabama transfer Justice Haynes ran for 448 total yards in 2024. Michigan's offensive line will be redshirt sophomore Evan Link, fifth year senior Giovanni El-Hadi, fifth year senior Greg Crippen, redshirt sophomore Brady Norton, and redshirt freshman Andrew Sprague from left to right. New Mexico has a new head coach in former Idaho head man Jason Eck, but the New Mexicans finished #126 in rushing yards allowed per game last year (212.9) and #129 in yards allowed per carry (5.42). Things got better down the stretch, but they let four teams average more than 6.7 yards per carry, including FCS Montana State in the 2024 season opener, who ran for 362 yards on 7.7 yards per attempt. They have 53 new players on the roster, including 16 new names in the defensive two-deep, so this is a new team. But still. They have 245 lb. defensive ends, a 265 lb. defensive tackle, and then a nose tackle who's 6'3", 325 lbs. but played for Texas Southern last year. The top returning tackler is weakside linebacker Randolph Kpai (6'3", 221), a fifth year senior. Fifth year senior edge Gabriel Lopez (6'3", 246) finished fourth on the team with 5 tackles for loss. Even with Michigan's revamped offense, this should be a major advantage for the Wolverines.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

PASS OFFENSE vs. NEW MEXICO PASS DEFENSE
Just like the running game, the passing game will be mostly brand new, too. Your 2025 starting quarterback is freshman Bryce Underwood (6'4", 228), the #1 overall recruit in the nation. Also, he has zero collegiate passing yards. He is big and strong and fast and has zero career passing attempts. His arm is very strong, but have I mentioned he's never played college football before? New offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey helped to train #3 overall pick Drake Maye, now of the New England Patriots, when they were at UNC together. The Tarheels finished #72 in passing yards per game and #76 in passing efficiency last season with not-Drake Maye. Transfer WR Donaven McCulley (6'5", 215) was last seen catching 2 passes for 21 yards and 1 touchdown last year, but before that, he was Indiana's leading receiver in 2023 with 48 catches for 644 yards and 6 scores. Michigan is also counting on WR Semaj Morgan (27 catches, 139 yards, 1 TD in 2024) and TE Marlin Klein (13 catches, 108 yards). Michigan fans will have to keep an eye on pass protection, especially at left tackle with Evan Link, who struggled mightily in pass protection at right tackle last year. You might have thought that New Mexico opponents were so busy running over them that they didn't need to pass, but no . . . they threw the ball on them, too. In fact, New Mexico finished #129 in passing yards allowed per game (279.2), #125 in yards allowed per attempt (8.5), and #126 in pass efficiency defense. Remember how bad Michigan was on offense last year? New Mexico was that bad on defense, against both the run and the pass. One name to know for the Lobos is Keyshawn James-Newby, a transfer edge from Idaho who had 15.5 sacks over the past two seasons for the Vandals. This will be his first year at the FBS level, but he has put up numbers in the past.
Advantage: Michigan

RUSH DEFENSE vs. NEW MEXICO RUSH OFFENSE
Michigan made its living down the stretch on defense, and that should be the case once again in 2025. While the strength of the defense last season was the defensive interior, where Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant both became first round picks, this year's strength will be at inside linebacker. Ernest Hausmann (89 tackles) and Jaishawn Barham (66 tackles) led the team in stops in 2024 and both return at inside linebacker in 2025. Meanwhile, fifth year senior Rayshaun Benny will have a chance to shine at defensive tackle after playing in the shadow of Graham and Grant the past few years; he made 29 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss as a backup last year. New Mexico was able to put together a 5-7 record last year, but with that defense, the wins were because of the offense. They finished #2 in yards per game (253.6) and #1 in yards per carry (6.7), but star QB Devon Dampier is gone. In steps junior transfer RB Scottre Humphrey (5'10", 209) from Idaho, who ran 199 times for 1,386 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, and Weber State transfer Damon Bankston (5'10", 186), who ran 177 times for 1,104 yards and 6 touchdowns. The offensive line averages 312 pounds, including transfers from Air Force and Alabama A&M. Humphrey is a north-south battering ram, but he's going to have a tough time finding running room against Michigan's front seven.
Advantage: Michigan

PASS DEFENSE vs. NEW MEXICO PASS OFFENSE
Michigan is without the Arizona Cardinals new cornerback starter Will Johnson, a legend in Ann Arbor, so that's a big loss. But the Wolverines return two corners who started a big chunk of games in 2024 in Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry, the latter of whom is now a full-time cornerback after spending the first half of last season at nickel. Rod Moore is still working back from injury, so Michigan has three new starters in safety Mason Curtis, safety Brandyn Hillman, and nickel T.J. Metcalf. Edge T.J. Guy finished #19 in the conference in sacks (5.5) last season despite being a backup and will now start, with potential first- or second-day pick Derrick Moore. New Mexico QB Jack Layne (6'2", 206) is a redshirt junior who was Idaho's starter last year. He worked through an elbow injury and only played about half the season, completing 64.5% of his throws for 14 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He's not very big, not very fast, and not very strong-armed, but he's supposedly pretty smart and accurate. His top receiver is expected to be Iowa/Kansas State transfer Keagan Johnson (6'0", 199) who made 29 catches for 359 yards and 1 touchdown a year ago in Manhattan. Tight end Dorian Thomas (6'4", 239) is a redshirt sophomore transfer from Arizona and is expected to be a key component of the offense.
Advantage: Michigan

ROSTER NOTES

• New Mexico QB Jack Layne's uncle is former Ohio State and NFL linebacker Greg Bellisari. Booooooooooooooooooooo!
• New Mexico players from the state of Michigan include: K Luke Drzewiecki (Utica Eisenhower)

LAST TIME THEY PLAYED . . .

• Michigan and New Mexico have never played football against each other

PREDICTION

• Michigan 38, New Mexico 7