ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Some national media outlets said he was the best college football hire of the offseason. New Mexico head football coach Bronco Mendenhall will make his debut with his new team on Saturday in front of a national audience.
The Lobos home opener against Montana State will be broadcast on FS1 during Week 0. It’s an opportunity for Mendenhall and the program. “Will impressions be formed about me and our team on Saturday? How could they not be,” said Mendenhall. “There are all kinds of challenges to a week zero games, but there are all kinds of benefits to a week zero game and so we have both. At this stage for the program, for all eyes to be on us, what better way to start?”
Mendenhall, who is a former UNM defensive coordinator, put together a successful career making programs competitive. He did it at BYU and Virginia and has led his team to 16 bowl appearances in 17 years. His plans are the same at New Mexico. He wants to make the program successful. He believes he can do so with great preparation from his coaching staff to the team. In fact, Mendenhall loves to have his team so prepared that he doesn’t have to do much talking on game day.
Players are so trusted that they learn how to lead effectively. “I work hard to be irrelevant on game day and that might sound counterintuitive, but that just means the team has been so well prepared, they’re so confident, they’re so united, the player leadership is such in place,” said Mendenhall. “Our adjustments are already set that I can watch and enjoy what work we put in. It’s atypical. If someone were to mic me up on game day, expecting that would be valued content, it would be a lot of silence.”
Montana State will come to New Mexico favored to win and ranked fourth in the country in the FCS Top 25. Game time at University Stadium on Saturday is 2 p.m.