Rocky Long doesn't believe in moral victories. He wants real wins.

For Long, the game may have come down to one fourth-quarter play.

New Mexico was on BYU's 13-yard line and poised to score. Lobo quarterback Tate Smith made a pass to Jermaine McQueen for a touchdown that would have made it 14-9.

But the official threw a flag and called a block-in-the-back penalty against New Mexico offensive tackle Byron Bell.

The call turned a touchdown into third-and-22. The Lobos ended up turning the ball over on downs.

"The officials obviously blew a call that changed the entire momentum of the game," Long said in his post-game press conference. "It's criminal that they changed the momentum of the game like that. It's ridiculous that one call can change all the momentum of the game and take the game away from one team.

"We might not have won the game anyway, but it should have been a hell of a game to the end and the officials took it away from us."

As far as the decision not to kick a field goal on fourth-and-22 after the disputed call, Long was quick to defend his choice.

"We were kicking into the wind and thought we had to score a touchdown," he said.

Running back Rodney Ferguson was more disappointed than angry with the call.

"The ref's job is to call the play," said Ferguson, who rushed for 86 yards on 24 carries. "So if that's what he calls, that is what it is."

The Lobos did a good job against the vaunted BYU offense in the first half, holding the Cougars scoreless in the first quarter and giving up just one TD in the second quarter.

New Mexico had 105 yards rushing in the first half and dominated the time of possession.

But things were different for the Lobos in the second half. Playing catch-up with the Cougars, they only had 25 yards on the ground and 107 yards in the air.

Long said that nothing philosophically changed for the Lobos in the second half.

"Other than the long drive we gave up, we were playing how we wanted to play," Long said. "So the game plan was the same."

But that game plan didn't help the Lobos in the second half.

"We weren't executing as good as we were in the first half," Ferguson said. "The game is in the details. To be able to run the ball, you've got to be good from linemen to running backs to wide receivers. We weren't right on track."

Lobo defensive captain and linebacker Zach Arnett was disappointed in the way his side of the ball performed, giving up 382 total yards to the Cougars.

"Obviously we didn't make enough plays and they did," Arnett said. "That is the way the game goes."

Long was respectful of his former defensive coordinator's team.

"BYU is a great football team," the 11th-year head coach said. "They deserve their ranking."

However, Long's parting shot sums up his feelings about the way his Lobos were treated in Provo.

"It's unbelievable when one team has pull and another does not," Long fumed.