New Mexico’s Teriyon Gipson took the first play from scrimmage 75 yards to the end zone and later added an 84-yard touchdown run in leading the Lobos to a 48-21 win against South Dakota Thursday in the season opener for both teams.
Gipson carried eight times for 181 yards as part of a triple-option attack that compiled 428 yards on the ground against USD. Add quarterback Austin Apodaca’s game-high 172 yards thru the air and some change and the Lobos totaled 615 yards of offense.
Chris Streveler, who transferred to USD from Minnesota, earned the start at quarterback for the Coyotes and scored on touchdown runs of 55 yards and 42 yards on South Dakota’s first two possessions of the game as USD took a 14-7 lead. He finished with 131 yards rushing on 16 carries. He also completed 10-of-13 passes for 117 yards including a screen pass to Tacari Carpenter that went for a 41-yard touchdown in the third quarter to cut New Mexico’s lead to 38-21.
New Mexico scored on eight of its first 11 possessions and averaged nine yards per play. The Lobos also scored 17 points off three South Dakota turnovers.
South Dakota returns to Vermillion and will host Weber State for its home opener at 2 p.m. Saturday inside the DakotaDome.
