Daily Lobo 08/14/2023

Daily l obo

The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895

Monday, August 14, 2023 | Volume 128 | Issue 1

Board of Regents approve RPSP requests

By Maddie Pukite @maddogpukite

Passed unanimously, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes presented the Legislative Research and Public Service Projects

Funding requests for FY 2024 - 2025 to the Board of Regents at their meeting on Thursday, Aug. 10.

The largest RPSP request for 2025 was $11,941,700 for athletics to improve student-athlete welfare, recruitment and “enhancing the uni-

versity’s brand”; it was $3.5 million more than last year’s request.

The athletics request is one of two categorical requests, which are approved for a purpose, rather than a specific project. The other is a $1,097,900 request for educational television like New Mexico PBS.

Categorical requests are alongside 23 new requests and 29 expansion requests. A new request of $997,946 would support the Accelerating Resilience Innovations in Drylands Institute for education and

research on how to preserve the people’s economy and the ecosystem of New Mexico.

Environmental concerns were also brought up during the public comment. Several spoke about the Board of Regents filing to require “review and consideration” of the Health Equity and Environmental Impacts regulation.

The HEEI regulation would stop projects that cause air pollution in overburdened communities. The rule is currently awaiting a public

Legislative meeting highlights plans for a school year alongside AI

By Lily Alexander @llilyalexander

Faculty at the University of New Mexico are preparing for the impact of artificial intelligence for the upcoming academic year after professors weighed its benefits and risks at a Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee meeting on July 24.

The committee was created by the New Mexico Legislative Council

in May. AI was one of three topics the committee discussed, and the subject was given additional meeting time to develop legislation.

The meeting took place at the UNM Los Alamos branch. Melanie Moses, a computer science professor, and Lydia Tapia, a professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science, represented UNM.

Tapia discussed the current AI research taking place at UNM, including in the fields of medicine and robotics. She also broke down the

past, present and probable future of AI and chatbots.

“Because they’re getting easier and everywhere, it’s becoming even easier to interact with them. They’re gonna be everywhere in our lives,” Tapia said.

In the English department, Diane Thiel – Regents’ Professor and associate chair – regularly confronts AI in her work and fears its ramifications for the arts and humanities.

see Legislative page 2

Recycling plant on fire

hearing by the Air Board to vote on its adoption.

Feleecia Guillen, UNM Leaders for Environmental Action and Foresight Director of Communications, asked the board how filing in opposition to the HEEI regulation aligns with the sustainability goals advertised by the school.

“Why did the board choose this course of action, seemingly without aligning it with the values of equity and inclusion outlined in the UNM 2040 framework? This framework

underlies the university’s – our commitment – to social justice, health equity and inclusivity, yet the actions of the board appear to be inconsistent with these principles,” Guillen said.

Several employees of UNM-H also voiced concerns about short staffing at the hospital during public comment. Union members from the Committee of Interns and Residents and District 1199 representing

see Board page 7

Inside this Lobo

Ortiz-Ruiz & Lifke: Trans and non-binary students report mixed experiences with SHAC (pg. 2)

Davidson: NM United: Raining champions come to town, United drops game 3 - 0 (pg. 4)

UNM’s Film students & fauclty stand with the strike

By Elizabeth Secor @esecor2003

In early May, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Union soon followed, striking in early June.

As the 2023 fall semester begins at UNM, film students are looking at their future field without regrets despite the strikes, senior Michael Madrigal – who’s in the Film Department – said.

“The people that are holding all the money and holding all the power like to grift and cut corners, and don’t like to pay the small workers like us. And yet … I haven’t really run into anyone (in the film department) that said, ‘I don’t want to do film, I’m making a mistake,” Madrigal said.

In 2022, Netflix expanded to Albuquerque and studios claimed

they would bring in job opportunities, as well as millions of dollars to Albuquerque, according to a Deadline article.

Next to Netflix studios is Mesa del Sol where many of the University’s film classes are housed. The Film Department’s head count has nearly doubled since the fall 2019 enrollment, and many students and faculty are seeing the effects of the strike.

University of New Mexico film professor Matthew McDuffie is passionate about the strike after seeing how the current work environment has impacted his daughter and kids’ godfather. McDuffie cited Mandy Moore as a well known actress who is being paid pennies in residual checks from her shows on streaming platforms.

“It’s about money, in that people aren’t getting paid. And that the careers of an actor and the careers of a writer are not possible anymore,” McDuffie said.

see Strike page 3

Bulger: OPINION: 2023 Lobo’s football schedule predictions (pg.4)

Pukite: OPINION: Summer reads that helped me love reading again (pg. 6)

Isabella Frasco / @bellafrasco / Daily Lobo

A man stands in front of the fire that erupted at a recycling plant at the 5300 block of Hawking Drive SE in Mesa del Sol, Albuquerque, New Mexico on Sunday, August 6.

Playground AI

Prompts used by Playground AI (The-University-of-New-Mexico-NewMexico-Lobos-wolf-cherry-redsilver-classes-mountains-sandia).

Trans and non-binary students report mixed experiences with SHAC

Legislative from page 1

“Writing is an art and a field of communication,” Thiel said. “If art and essential communication are outsourced to artificial intelligence, we are likely to lose far more than we will gain.”

The project, “Making AI Generative for Higher Education,” will take place for over two years at UNM.

Leo Lo, dean and professor of the College of University Libraries and Learning Services, leads the research project in collaboration with other universities and the company, Ithaka S+R.

The research will focus on teaching, learning and information discovery, Lo said. The six-person team will interview faculty to assess their needs to support them, then implement a university-wide AI policy. The Center for Teaching & Learning, Lo said, is also hosting a session before the fall semester to help returning faculty learn how to use AI in their teaching.

“We need to support both instruc-

By

Over the past two years, several trans and non-binary University of New Mexico students have reported mistreatment and lack of access to hormone therapy at Student Health and Counseling, according to Juniper Reimagined’s outreach coordinator, Ophelia Aragon. This has resulted in a delay of medically necessary gender-affirming care.

Juniper Reimagined is a Queer and trans student alliance at UNM amongst several LGBTQ student organizations on campus. Five student members of Juniper Reimagined have said they had a poor experience with SHAC, including trans and non-binary individuals who said they have dealt with being misgendered, Aragon said.

SHAC’s website says that it follows the World Professional Association

for Transgender Health recommended standards of care to ensure students receive care in an environment that feels safe, welcoming and affirming.

Juniper Reimagined Vice Presi-

dent Mara Cox said she noticed a lack of education on LGBTQ issues amongst SHAC staff members. Cox made an appointment to receive gender-affirming care in February 2022; five months later was when she received her hormone replacement therapy.

James Wilterding – a practitioner at SHAC who works with patients seeking gender affirming care –said they will typically have at least two visits with a patient during the intake process to conduct a gender identity history interview to make sure there experiences are consistent with gender dysphoria.

“We do an interview with them and (they) talk to us about what’s going on … (We) talk about their

story and how they’ve come to understand that they might be wanting to seek a form of gender affirming care,” Wilterding said.

When seeking treatment in February, Cox said to receive gender-affirming care at SHAC, she was asked questions about feelings of dysphoria to get treatment. Tentative about her dysphoria, Cox said that this delayed her access to help.

“I went in to learn a little bit more about the care that I would go through, but they didn’t really elaborate on that all too much because I didn’t get past that first step,” Cox said.

Juniper Reimagined President August Fowler is a fourth-year student at UNM who has had good experiences, until a change in provider led to negative encounters. He has been going to SHAC for HRT for the past year, which is when he first started hormones.

tors and students on their AI literacy. Right now, most of us don’t really know much about the technology, the implications, the ethics,” Lo said.

At the July meeting, Moses brought up concerns that AI might worsen the existing issue of misinformation.

“We certainly live in an ecosystem where there is a tremendous amount of misinformation, particularly in social media, and the real concern with generative AI is that it will be very good – it already is – at producing convincing stories that sound true – that are convincing, but are in fact just based on falsehoods,” Moses said.

Thiel’s most recent poetry book, “Questions from Outer Space,” addresses the way technology has been misused in a society unprepared for the fallout, which she related back to AI.

“The scaffolding cannot yet handle the ethical questions AI is ushering in for all fields,” Thiel said. “Already, our uses of technol-

“(The first provider) was always great about not misgendering anyone, not deadnaming anyone,” he said.

During the transition to a new provider, Fowler sought a reproductive health care procedure at SHAC. He said he felt uncomfortable after several SHAC staff members misgendered him.

“The whole procedure, (the provider) just felt pretty dismissive and not super considerate,” Fowler said.

Wilterding said that students can add their preferred pronouns in the health history questionnaire located in the student health portal. Cox said that despite a negative experience, SHAC is capable of providing good care as it has done so for her and other students.

“For the most part, I think it’s just educating the current gender provider as much as possible, and amending any issues that might

ogy have supplanted deep thinking, creative approaches and complex analysis to a significant degree.”

The potential of AI when employed by creative people is a superpower, Lo said, however it requires effort, critical thinking and communication skills, especially when used in the classroom. Lo said he wants people to use AI to its full potential.

“I want our instructors to be fluent in AI so that they know how to teach their students to use it in the right way,” Lo said.

AI could potentially be a useful tool, but Thiel said one that’s applications need to be considered. “We would be wise to remember the cautions of dystopian novels and films that communicated such concerns about AI developing beyond humans’ means to manage it.”

Lily Alexander is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @llilyalexander.

have come up in the past,” Cox said. “I think the biggest thing that SHAC could do is encourage more modern conceptualization of what gender and sexuality are so that there is that broader view.”

Milan Ortiz-Ruiz is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo. com.

Lauren Lifke is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo. com.

Milan Ortiz-Ruiz & Lauren Lifke

Weston Quintana / @wesss_jpg / Daily Lobo

The Student Health and Counseling Resource building on Cornell Drive, taken on Friday, July 14.

Strike from page 1

Streaming is not the only issue. McDuffie also spoke about the impacts of artificial intelligence in the field.

“I don’t believe that AI can live the life of a human being and bring the sort of soul and humor, and the absurdity of life,” McDuffie said. “But they can certainly use it to generate ideas, which is what people are for.”

The strikers wrote in demands on May 1 that “AI can’t write or rewrite literary material; can’t be used as source material; and [works covered by union contracts] can’t be used to train AI.”

Background actors are concerned about the companies paying them for a day’s work while scanning them to use their likeness throughout a project. McDuffie said they have a friend in the industry who was paid about $100 to be scanned and then used multiple times in a film.

UNM seniors Madrigal and Jack Justice have participated alongside

strikes to show solidarity. Madrigal recreated a photo from his freshman year in front of Netflix studios, however this time he’s holding a picket sign.

“Going into freshman year of college ... and taking a picture up at the studios thinking, ‘Wow, this is someplace I really can’t wait to work … And then going into my last year of college, taking a picture at the same exact place with the idea, ‘I would really love to maybe work here someday, but we need to see some serious change before that happens,’” Madrigal said.

Justice has been a part of SAG since he was 11, joining in 2011 after being a child actor. Justice said seeing the strike firsthand is something he can see himself looking back on in years to come.

“You want to cross that picket line and go into studios right now and help them, or what? It’s a big moment for us, and I think it’s going to

be cool,” Justice said. “Years from now, when we have a great agreement and look back on this moment, where were you? What were you doing? Were you on that picket line?’”

SAG-AFTRA has not been contacted to continue negotiations, however negotiations between WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers resumed on Friday, Aug. 11 according to TvInsider.

“There’s a large amount of people in the department that are very, very optimistic, very hopeful. They’re not naïve, they’re very aware that the industry we’re going into is tricky,” Madrigal said.

Elizabeth Secor is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo. com or on Twitter @esecor2003.

Courtesy Photo

Jack Justice and friends attend the protest at Netflix Studios. Image courtesy of Jack Justice.

LOBO SPORTS

By BillyJack Davidson @ BillyJackDL

The New Mexico United’s 22nd match of the season took place on Aug. 12 against the current second ranked team in the Western Division – San Antonio FC.

The game went long with minute before half time and an extra seven minutes additional by the end –still not enough time for the boys in black and gold. United lost to San Antonio 3 - 0; all three goals were made in the first half, the first made within the two minute mark.

It was the worst way a team could start out, United Coach Eric Quill said. #18 Rida Zouhir of San Antonio secured a goal off of a corner kick two minutes into the match. This changed the atmosphere of the game, and allowed San Antonio to take control and start with a blistering.

The game continued with San Antonio dominating the ball for most of the first half-hour, and in the 29th minute, their second goal was secured off a free kick. United did not give up as the midfielders and forwards were scrappy, playing well against the direct playstyle

By Thomas Bulger @ thomasbulger10

The University of New Mexico football team will begin to get back on track after a 2 - 10 season last year. This year on their schedule, six of the teams they played against went to bowl games, two were last season division winners and three are teams that go by the nickname “Aggies.”

Sept. 2. Texas A&M - Last Season: 5 - 7 - Bowl Game: None

This should be a loss for the Lobos against the Aggies. The team will go to College Station, Texas to collect their $1.6 million check for playing A&M. UNM played another member of the Southeastern Conference in their 38 - 0 loss against Louisiana State University last season. While the team might not be ready to compete against any team from the SEC, it will be a great learning opportunity to see how close the team is.

Sept. 9. Tennessee Tech - Last Season: 4 - 7 - Bowl Game: None

The home opener will end in a win for the Lobos. The Golden Eagles play in the Football Championship Subdivision below the Lobos. Talent trumps all in football and, in theory, any FBS team should beat an FCS team. Last season’s

of San Antonio.

To make it worse, just 10 minutes after the second goal, San Antonio’s #19 Christian Perano scored the third goal.

Both teams subbed in different players and United seemed to get back into their form to start, particularly #10 – Amando Moreno.

Moreno was one of the most active players on the field, keeping up the pressure to score while goalie Alex Tambakis began to put a fire in his belly and made sure every shot on the goal San Antonio had was either saved or deflected.

“I’m really proud of the way we started off the second-half of the game. We needed to get that first goal for us – something to put life back into the team and at least try to make up the three nil loss,” Quill said at the post-game conference.

Even with Tambakis and Moreno playing their best, it wasn’t enough against San Antonio’s un-movable defense. The second-half displayed the team’s ability to maintain control of the game in a passive way, not over-exerting their options for scoring while never letting United score a single goal.

“San Antonio has a very distinct playstyle – one that’s a mental-

ity challenge, really. I had hoped we would be able to stand up to the challenge, but it just wasn’t one of those nights,” Quill said.

During the second-half, San Antonio had two injuries – setting off the seven minutes of extra time. This also caused United to receive their one and only red card of the game, prompting a free kick that did not change the score. Quill and defender Josh Suggs wanted to personally apologize to the fans for the performance, but urged that this was not the end.

“It’s hard having three losses in a row, and then what happened tonight. But we just have to move on as fast as we can, focus on training and be ready for San Diego,” Suggs said.

It was a rough game for United fans to watch. Despite the outcome, United played well against San Antonio, who is known for their overwhelming ability.

New Mexico United will be playing their next game in San Diego on Saturday, Aug. 19.

BillyJack Davidson is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo. com or on Twitter @BillyJackDL.

NM United: Reigning champions come to town, United drops game 3 - 0 OPINION: 2023 Lobo’s football schedule predictions

The Lobos will have a very competitive start to conference play in Laramie, Wyoming but it will end in a loss. The last conference win the Lobos had was against Wyoming on Oct. 23, 2021 in a 14 - 3 game. Last year, the Lobos lost 27 - 14 against the Cowboys. With a depleted secondary quarterback, Andrew Peasley, he will be able to throw the ball downfield more confidently than the past couple of seasons.

Oct. 14. San Jose State - Last season: 7 - 5 - Bowl Game: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Late last season, the Spartans were close to winning their division and their success will continue while competing for a top spot in the conference. This will be a loss for the Lobos. When healthy, their offense and defense is dynamic and can play with anyone in the Mountain West.

opener, the Lobos triumphed over Maine in a 41 - 0 win and the team should do something similar to Tennessee Tech.

Sept. 16. New Mexico State -

Last season: 7 - 6 - Bowl Game:

Quick Lane Bowl

The Battle of I-25 will be played in Albuquerque this season and will be a competitive loss for UNM. Unfortunately, these programs are just in two different places. While

Volume 128 Issue 1

the Lobos lead the rivalry in all-time wins, the Aggies’ rebuild is ahead of schedule. The Lobos lost 21 - 9 to them. While a good crowd can change the pace of the game and they will have more stability in their offense, NMSU will find ways to score.

Sept. 23. Massachusetts - Last Season: 1- 11 - Bowl Game: None UNM may have been secondto-last in scoring last season, but

The New Mexico Daily Lobo is an independent student newspaper published on Monday except school holidays during the fall and spring semesters. Subscription rate is $75 per academic year. E-mail accounting@dailylobo.com for more information on subscriptions.

The New Mexico Daily Lobo is published by the Board of UNM Student Publications. The editorial opinions expressed in the New Mexico Daily Lobo are those of the respective writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the students, faculty, staff and regents of the University of New Mexico. Inquiries concerning editorial content should be made to the editor-in-chief.

All content appearing in the New Mexico Daily Lobo and the Web site dailylobo.com may not be reproduced without the consent of the editor-in-chief. A single copy of the New Mexico Daily Lobo is free from newsstands. Unauthorized removal of multiple copies is considered theft and may be prosecuted.

Letter submission policy: The opinions expressed are those of the authors alone. Letters and guest columns must be concisely written, signed by the author and include address and telephone. No names will be withheld.

UNM Land Acknowledgement statement

UMass was dead last. This will be a win for the Lobos. If the offense doesn’t score, it won’t matter because the defense should be able to contain the Minutemen all-game. Their offense averaged 4.0 yards per play. The Lobo’s defense just needs to shut down their ability to run the ball.

Sept. 30. Wyoming - Last Season: 7 - 6 - Bowl Game: Arizona Bowl

Oct. 21. Hawaii - Last Season: 3 - 10 - Bowl Game: None

This will be another competitive loss for UNM. The conference’s worst defense (HIU) meets the worst offense (UNM) from last year. Hawaii likes to throw the ball. Quarterback Brayden Schager threw 400 attempts – the second most in the conference – with a 55.3% completion percentage. Without the talented safeties of last

see Football page 7

Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New Mexico – Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache – since time immemorial, have deep connections to the land and have made

Zacaria Adonicam / @ZAdonicam / Daily Lobo

Fans cheering on United in the Supporters Section at Isotopes Stadium for the NM United versus San Antonio FC game on Saturday, August 12.

Jessica Baca / @Jessica_Baca_ / Daily Lobo

#26 Tate Zimmerman tackles #87 Max Lantzsch at a spring practice at University Stadium on Friday, February 24.

hospital workers asked for a living wage in contract negotiations with the University.

“UNM residents are the second lowest paid residents in the region, and the issue of retention and pay are not unrelated. If UNM wants to retain us they need to pay us a livable wage. Ultimately, it’s the people of New Mexico who will suffer with the physician shortage. We are asking for a 12% pay raise for all intern residents and fellow physicians at UNM,” Priya Gupta, a first-year pediatrics resident with Service Employees International Union, said. Stokes presented five new requests for the Health Sciences Department alongside three expansion requests, including a $5,617,300 request for health equity for all New Mexicans to “accelerate the growth of the healthcare workforce.”

“It will assure community-driven

priorities, via two centers of excellence focused on rural and non-Hispanic Latino. It will implement cross-cutting training, education and clinical service to better serve communityacademic partnerships, and will advance collaboration within the existing offices at the Office of Community Health,” Stokes said.

Other health science requests include $2,400,000 to incorporate AI into medical training and practice, an expansion request of $4,700,000 to admit 10 more nursing students a year, for a total annual class size of 50 and further support the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

The University is also requesting almost $3 million for student mental health and wellbeing to allow Student Health and Counseling to add more mental health counselors to staff as well as offer temporary housing and meal plan support.

The regents gave permission for the Real Estate Department to negotiate a price for land they want the University to buy, before asking for permission from the Regents to use the Regents’ Endowment to cover the costs of the property.

The Regents’ Endowment is otherwise used for scholarships – a concern brought up during the meeting. With the new permission, all purchases still have to be approved by the Regents before the money is given from the endowment and the purchase of 1801 Las Lomas Road. NE is approved.

Maddie Pukite is the editor-inchief at the Daily Lobo. They can be contacted at editorinchief@ dailylobo.com on Twitter @maddogpukite

Jessica Baca / @Jessica_Baca_ / Daily Lobo

The Health and Sciences building at The University of New Mexico on Sunday, August 13.

By Maddie Pukite @maddogpukite

For those of you who might also reminisce on days spent reading in middle school, entranced by some make-believe world, but haven’t been able to fall head over heels for a paperback since – this is a list of four books that I feel will help you take the jump.

I’ve spent the past six months attempting to get back into reading fiction – never able to convince myself to open a book, much less finish one. Halfway through the year, I’ve compiled a list of four of my favorite summer reads – ones I’ve felt have been a good reintroduction to reading for pleasure.

Lake Lore

By: Anna-Marie McLemore

What I love most about this book is how it blended both the mystical and ordinary. The book handles neurodivergence, Queerness and identity in an honest, straightforward way. The mystic elements do not detract from or infantilize these topics, but rather strengthen the plot and allow for a more nuanced discussion of how culture, race and tradition also impact them.

This book was the perfect introduction back to reading fiction. Being a young adult novel, the style of writing is pretty easy to digest but nothing in the plot is lost because of it. The magical elements of the book do this perfectly by adding layers to the action while also being easy to follow. The pacing and plot of the book also moved at a good pace

with no part dragging on for too long. I have long loved to be swept up into a mystical world, and “Lake Lore” welcomed me right in.

Daisy Jones and the Six

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Much like “Lake Lore,” once I started reading “Daisy Jones and the Six,” I could not put it down. When starting to read again, it is of the utmost importance that you don’t force yourself to read something you hate. The book is written as if it were dialogue from an interview the author was having with members of a band. This might take a moment to get the hang of, but the reader is never confused by who’s speaking, even with an extensive amount of characters.

This book is like being a fly on the wall as the drama goes down. Watching all of the dynamics play out between the six band members, Jones and all of their various friends and love interests is messy, but told in a way that makes you care for and become invested in the growth of the characters.

Content warning: this book handles topics of addiction and abuse.

We Were Liars

By: E. Lockhart

With a prequel now on the shelves, I figured I should start with the first. Out of all the books on the list, this would probably be my least favorite, but it was the thriller-mystery I needed to keep reading. This book is the most confusing. There is a long list of characters that took me a while to keep sorted in my head, but I do think that each one added to the plot and was worth

getting to know.

Unlike the other books on this list that are hard to put down, this one keeps you reading because you are left wondering how it will end until it finally does. This was exactly what I needed in a book when I wasn’t really in the mood to read. It kept me guessing and interested.

Content warning: this book handles topics of trauma and chronic illness.

The Alchemist

By: Paulo Coelho

This book is the most unlike the others, but my favorite read from the summer by far. This book has made its mark in history as life-changing, as the reviews on the back cover insisted as well as an inscription on the inner cover from a past reader. I scoffed but read nonetheless.

The book tells a hero’s journey and is written in very simple, elegant prose for roughly 200 pages. It might deter you at first as it doesn’t follow a typical speech pattern, but I beg you to keep reading. While the story is distant and fabled, I’ve never reflected or sat with a book and my thoughts as long as I have with this one.

As the summer comes to a close, I hope you can find a book that might provide an oasis or moment to think and reflect as the chaos of fall comes to approach.

Maddie Pukite is the editor-inchief at the Daily Lobo. They can be contacted at editorinchief@ dailylobo.com on Twitter @maddogpukite

Courtesy Photo

Front covers of the books, “We Were Liars,” “Lake Lore,” “Daisy Jones and the Six” and “The Alchemist.” Images courtesy of Amazon.

Football from page 4

season, if UNM can’t find a way to protect the backfield it will be a loss.

Oct. 28. Nevada - Last Season:

2 - 10 - Bowl Game: None

This will be the Lobos first conference win of the season. Last year, Nevada was the only other Mountain West team to win zero conference games. UNM shouldn’t have to worry about the passing game on defense and just needs to slow down their running to secure the win.

Nov. 4. UNLV - Last Season: 57 - Bowl Game: None

The Lobos will defeat both Nevada-based teams. Last season’s matchup ended in a 31 - 20 loss, but the game was tied 17 - 17 going into the fourth quarter, and this year they play in Albuquerque. UNLV fired their head coach last season despite a three-win improvement. They might see another improvement but their fast paced offense

could be taken aback by the Lobos gritty defense.

Nov. 11. Boise State - Last Season: 10 - 4 - Bowl Game: Frisco Bowl

The Broncos will again prove to be too much for the Lobos this year. The conference runner up dominated the Lobos last season and will likely do the same again. Last year, the Lobos were down 24 - 0 early in the fourth quarter and were only able to score on a 69 yard pass and a 100 yard kick-return to end the game 31 - 14.

Nov. 18. Fresno State - Last Season: 10 - 4 - Bowl Game: LA Bowl

The conference champions will take care of business in Fresno this year. The Lobos lost against them last year 41 - 9, and this late in the season every game will be a mustwin if this team is competing for a top spot in the conference.

Nov. 24. Utah State - Last Season: 6 - 7 - Bowl Game: First Responder Bowl UNM will end the season on a loss against the third and final Aggies. Last season, Utah led the conference in total offensive plays. Utah’s defense only started to break down after too many snaps, and if Utah can continue to extend their drive, they will be able to break down the Lobo defense.

The predicted finish for the Lobos is a 4 - 8 season with two conference wins. It will be an improvement on last year, but if the offense remains stagnant and the defense takes a step back from last year, it will be difficult to predict how the fan base will react.

However, the men’s basketball season last year proved that if a team is ready to compete, the fans will be ready to support their team.

We see you there, thinking about getting tested for HIV.

Knowing is better than not knowing, and it only takes about 20 minutes to learn your HIV status.

Jessica Baca / @Jessica_Baca_ / Daily Lobo

31 Jalen Washington miss a pass during spring practice at University Stadium on Friday, February 24.

Thomas Bulger is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.

com or on Twitter @thomasbulger10