ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Say this for Idaho State: They didn’t quit.

They just ran out of gas.

Playing on the road for the third straight week to open the season, playing their second FBS team in that span, playing without their starting quarterback, playing without their starting running back and some of his backups, they had a lead in the fourth quarter in Albuquerque.

They just couldn’t finish the job as the Lobos scored the last 15 points in a 32-22 loss.

After the game, ISU head coach Cody Hawkins was proud of the fight his club showed, but frustrated because they couldn’t finish what they started so well.

“I mean, I feel good about our team and I told these guys that I love them, win, lose or draw, but the reason it eats at you, man, it really does because... you want to be able to finish in the fourth quarter,” he said.

The loss dropped the Bengals to 0-3 on the season. It’s the second time in the three losses Idaho State had a lead in the fourth quarter, but didn’t get the win.

“This is a game that we knew we had a shot to win if we played well,” Hawkins said. “And you just felt like you had it in your hands. To have the lead in the fourth quarter and then let it slip away from you is obviously a bummer.”

After Tytan Mason ran it in from 3 yards out to give the Bengals a 22-17 lead with 10:40 left in the game, the Lobos (1-1) took over.

A nine-play drive was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Damon Bankston to give New Mexico the lead for good at 25-22 after a successful two-point conversion.

Idaho transfer and starting Lobo quarterback Jack Layne had four completions on the drive, two of those went for 22 and 25 yards to Arizona transfer Dorian Thomas. A pass interference penalty on ISU’s Gabe Tahir helped keep the drive alive. That was one of nine penalties on Idaho State, costing them 99 yards for the afternoon. New Mexico by contrast only had two penalties all game.

ISU got the ball back with 7:16 remaining, only needing a field goal to tie the game, but couldn’t move the ball and punted it back to UNM.

The Lobos took over with 5:28 to go and promptly reeled off another nine-play drive, eating up most of the clock, then sealed the game on a 1-yard run for a score by Scottre Humphrey.

The key play on that drive — as it turned out, the key play in the game — was on 3rd-and-10 when Layne found Zhaiel Smith on the right side. Smith caught it 6 yards down the field, then ran for five more back-breaking yards to get the first down before being tackled by Teilor Tuioti.

Layne has now faced Idaho State for four straight seasons and has yet to lose. His first three wins came as the Vandals’ quarterback.

New Mexico head Jason Eck, who also came from Idaho, is also 4-0 against ISU.

But he knows it was a tough test Saturday.

“I expected them to come in and fight,” Eck said. “I was hoping that we could have extended the lead and taken control of the game sooner than we did, but they have a good team. They’re tough-minded. They played UNLV to a seven-point game.”

Layne opened the scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run. Then after Bengal kicker Trajan Sinatra booted the first of his three field goals, UNM got another touchdown on a huge chunk play.

Humphrey broke up the middle and went 61 yards to open up the lead to 14-3. It was the third straight week ISU gave up a massive running play. Humphrey ran for 141 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns on the day as the Lobos totaled 216 on the ground. In the three games the Bengals have played, opponents have gashed them on the ground to the tune of 826 yards.

But to their credit, ISU didn’t go away.

Eagle High grad Davis Harsin, the son of former Auburn and Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin, found Michael Shulikov from 30 yards out to cut the lead to 14-10.

Sinatra gave ISU a 16-14 advantage on a pair of field goals in the third quarter. The first was good from 56 yards, tying for the third longest in program history. He then connected from 33 yards out.

He’s now a perfect 6-for-6 on the year.

“He just hits such a clean ball... we had a ton of faith in him,” Hawkins said. “We know that if we can get to the 38, he was going to have a shot to bang it.”

UNM got a field goal to retake the lead. Mason scored early in the fourth quarter to give it back to the Bengals, but in the final 10:33 of the game, New Mexico ran 20 plays compared to Idaho State’s eight to wrap things up.

Harsin went 17-of-26 for 181 yards and a touchdown along with an interception. Jackson Sharman, who also saw time at quarterback for ISU, was 11-of-13 for 84 yards.

Harsin was also the Bengals’ leading rusher at 60 yards. ISU did a much better job on the ground than in last week’s loss at Southern Utah. The running back-by-committee approach racked up a respectable 121 yards.

Ian Duarte caught eight balls for the Bengals and Shulikov caught four. Shulikov led ISU in receiving yards with 74.

For New Mexico, Layne went 13-of 22-for 155 yards. Thomas caught five passes for a modest 54 yards although he did have those two big catches on the first of the two fourth-quarter drives for the Lobos.

Idaho State outgained New Mexico in total offense, 386 to 371, and had more first downs, 21 to 20.

ISU now gets a much-needed bye week.

The Bengals will return Sept. 20 for their home oepner against NCAA DII Lincoln College of California. The Bengals then open conference play on Sept. 27 at Northern Colorado, a club that has won only eight games in the last five seasons.