New Mexico's 6-Man Pressure Success Against Montana State

While New Mexico’s game against Montana State ended in disappointment, it was an entertaining battle filled with standout moments on both sides of the ball. In this article, we’re focusing on New Mexico’s effective use of 6-man pressures, a strategy that yielded significant results, including a strip-sack touchdown, and two turnovers on downs.. The Lobos brought 6-man pressures seven times during the game, only conceding a first down on one occasion. Let’s break down each instance.

Q1 | 2nd and 10 | 10:45

In this 6-man pressure, New Mexico aligned in a 4-down under front to the field. The Lobos brought the Nickel and Mike while stunting the nose across the center’s face. Montana State, unfortunately for them, ran play-action protection, pulling the guard and sliding the line back toward the pressure. The center couldn’t get back to the Mike linebacker quickly enough, resulting in a sack, a fumble, and a fumble return for a touchdown. These pressures are designed to stress the center by flashing a defensive lineman across their face and then bringing two defenders into the vacated A and B gaps.

Q1 | 4th and 8 | 2:14

On this pressure, the Lobos presented a boss front with both backers mugged. This time, they ran a 6-man peel pressure, keeping a safety in the MOF (middle of the field). The pressure looked similar to the previous one with slight variations. The defensive tackle popped out on this play, possibly as a rule when the slide came his way, but I’d still classify it as a 6-man peel pressure.

Q3 | 2nd and 10 | 9:38

New Mexico brought a double A-gap cross dog pressure by the Mike and Will linebackers. The Mike read the zone run by Montana State and scraped down the line to get in on the tackle. The safety, who was man-to-man on the tight end, did an excellent job coming downhill when he saw the tight end engage the defensive end, helping to make the tackle.

Q3 | 3rd and 5 | 9:04

On the following play, New Mexico brought the same pressure out of a different alignment. Montana State called a rollout and threw a comeback just short of the sticks, resulting in a 4th down.

Q4 | 4th and 3 | 6:23

Facing another 4th down, Montana State once again felt the heat from a 6-man pressure. This time, the Lobos brought double edge pressure from the Mike linebacker and the Nickel. Montana State failed to block either, resulting in a critical turnover on downs in favor of New Mexico.

Q4 | 1st and 10 | 1:20

For their second-to-last 6-man pressure, the Lobos brought another peel pressure. This time, they stunted the nose while bringing the Mike and Will linebackers on a cross dog path—a nice variation of a pressure they had run a few times already.

Q4 | 2nd and 5 | 1:16

On the very next play, New Mexico brought the exact same pressure, but the defensive end lost his footing, allowing the quarterback to escape and find his running back late. The running back, who had been lost in the wash after making a cut block, made a great hustle play to get open.

Conclusion

New Mexico’s defense executed a series of creative 6-man pressures on key downs throughout the game, achieving impressive success. The only slip-up came on the final pressure, where the Lobos lost track of the running back after a cut block. Overall, their aggressive approach put Montana State under constant pressure, showcasing the effectiveness of well-timed blitzes.