MWC notebook: New Mexico coach suspended for 10 days without pay

First-year New Mexico coach Mike Locksley won't be on the sidelines for his team's next game on Oct. 24 against UNLV — which, ironically, could be the 0-6 Lobos' best chance for a victory this season.

The school suspended Locksley from coaching for 10 days without pay, and for the UNLV game, as punishment for punching receivers coach J.B. Gerald on Sept. 20.

Locksley was issued a reprimand by athletic director Paul Krebs after the incident. That was followed by an investigation by the UNM human resources office, which issued the suspension on Tuesday.

In Locksley's place, defensive backs coach George Barlow will coach the Lobos during this bye week and in the game against UNLV.

Locksley has taken responsibility, and has apologized, for his actions. During Tuesday's teleconference, before the sanctions were handed down, the coach said he would accept whatever punishment that would be meted out.

"I obviously made a poor choice in judgment with the incident," he said. "Whatever the administration decides, it's what I have to live with, much like our players when they make bad decisions and there are penalties involved. ... You learn from them, you move on and hopefully you grow from them. ... There's obviously going to be fallout from a situation like this, but I'm hoping and I believe that it will make us a stronger team and a stronger program because of it."

Gerald, who had worked with Locksley previously at Illinois, filed a police report but did not press charges. He has been on paid leave since the incident.

NOT THINKING ABOUT BCS: TCU coach Gary Patterson, whose team is 6-0 and is ranked No. 12 in the country, was asked how much focus there is in his program on the Bowl Championship Series.

"The competition is tough enough that we really don't have time to focus on the BCS. Right now, we have all we want with the Rams of Colorado State," Patterson said. "We don't even have the BCS standings yet. I told everybody we had to get through the first seven ball games and, if we were more successful than not, then maybe you could have conversations about it.

"With Colorado State and BYU in the next two weeks, we'd better keep our noses down because that's a lot of football."

The Horned Frogs have won seven consecutive games dating back to last season and are tied with Kansas for the fourth-longest win streak in the nation, trailing only Florida (15), Iowa (10) and Texas (9).

TAKEAWAYS: Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming are among the top 16 in the country in turnovers gained and interceptions. In turnovers gained, the Falcons are No. 1 with 20, the Rams are tied for 12th with 15 and the Cowboys are tied for 14th with 14.

Wyoming is tied at No. 4 nationally with 10 interceptions, while Air Force and Colorado State have nine picks apiece, which is good for No. 8 in the country.

e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com