The 1964 New Mexico Lobos football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) during the

1964 NCAA University Division football season The NCAA was without a playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A, during the 20th century. The NCAA recognizes Division I-A national champions based on the final results of polls including ...

. In their fifth season under head coach

Bill Weeks William Weeks (October 20, 1929 – May 2, 2006) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of New Mexico from 1960 to 1967, compiling a record of 40–41–1. Weeks was an All- Big Seven Conf ...

, the Lobos compiled a 9–2 record (3–1 against WAC opponents), tied for the WAC championship, were ranked No. 16 in the final UPI Coaches poll, and outscored opponents, 185 to 190. Fullback Chuck Kelly and defensive tackle Wayne Tvrdik were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Stan Quintana with 794 passing yards, Joe Harris with 582 rushing yards and 614 receiving yards, and Claude Ward with 42 points scored. Three New Mexico players were selected by the

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

(UPI) as first-team players on the 1964 All-WAC football team: Quintana; Tvrdik; and guard

Jack Abendschan Jack Abendschan (born December 18, 1942) is a former Canadian Football League offensive lineman and placekicker who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1965 through 1975. Professional career Jack Abendschan began his career with the Sask ...

. The UPI also selected Quintana as the 1964 WAC Player of the Year, citing his versatility and outstanding play on both offense and defense. Quintana ranked third in the WAC with 1,249 yards of

total offense Total offense (or total offence) is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage to the ...

, fourth with 794 passing yards, and fifth with 455 rushing yards (including an 80-yard run against Colorado State). He also set a WAC record for interception return yards (including a 93-yard return against Wyoming), and his average of 7.3 yard of total offense per play in 1964 remains a New Mexico school record. Though New Mexico shared the WAC title with Arizona and Utah, neither of them made a bowl appearance due to fewer bowl games at the time. The Lobos defeated the Wildcats but lost to the Utes, which led to the three-way tie atop the WAC standings.

Schedule

References

{{Western Athletic Conference football champions

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

New Mexico Lobos football seasons Western Athletic Conference football champion seasons

New Mexico Lobos football The New Mexico Lobos football team is the intercollegiate football team at the University of New Mexico. The Lobos compete as a member of the Mountain West Conference. Their official colors are cherry and silver. The Lobos play their home games a ...