Quarterback Brett Hundley stresses game prep


New Mexico State has not reached a bowl game since 1960, the longest streak in FBS football. It has finished with a winning record just three times in the past 34 seasons — a stretch that spanned membership in four different conferences. Under new head coach Doug Martin, it has lost its first three games by a combined 93 points.

Hardly the challenge Nebraska posed in Lincoln last week, but Brett Hundley said he needs to help make sure the Bruins don’t let up before Saturday’s game against the Aggies — currently listed as 42-point underdogs. As one of the team captains, the quarterback said he would be responsible for making sure younger players don’t relax in the days ahead.

“All these teams are big-time people,” he said. “They may not look the best. Their record may not show it, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to take them just like we came out for Nebraska.”

Hundley also addressed freshman safety Tahaan Goodman’s public frustrations. In a since-deleted tweet on Sunday, Goodman wrote in part: “I guess I aint good enough and havnt been working hard enough to touch the field.”

“We’ll sit down and have a talk or something like that,” Hundley said. “At the end of the day, you come from being a top athlete, to now playing in college, where everybody came from being a top athlete. You’re competing against the best of the best …

“You’ve got to understand that not everything will be the way you want it to be.”

— Hundley praised how precocious some of the freshmen were, most notably right guard Alex Redmond and linebacker Myles Jack. “Myles Jack is a straight monster on the field,” he said. “He’s going to be a fun one to watch.”

Head coach Jim Mora said Jack will play some offense down the line.

— After taking a conference-high 52 sacks last season, Brett Hundley is feeling much more comfortable behind this year’s offensive line. He was sacked three times against Nebraska, but one was due to him holding on to the ball for much too long.

“It’s not just feeling comfortable with them,” he said. “It’s me being comfortable in the pocket, understanding I can’t do certain things in the pocket. I’ve got to know where they’re blocking, where they’re trying to create the pocket. It goes both ways.”

— On UCLA’s No. 13 AP poll ranking, its highest since 2007: “It’s a blessing. It’s pretty cool to be up there. But at the end of the day, we’re trying to be No. 1.”

— Hundley was asked if he thought UCLA was becoming “Oregon South” in terms of offense. “I think we bring our own unique swag to the offense. … Oregon’s doing great things on offense. It’s known around the nation,” He said. “UCLA’s will be soon enough.”