PHOTOS BY GREG BRYAN / arizona daily star

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ALBUQUERQUE — The Arizona Wildcats were trailing by eight points late, but Willie Tuitama was struggling.

Fourth-and-one, and the clock was ticking.

Fifty seconds left. Forty-five seconds left.

Tuitama checked New Mexico's defense, caught the snap, turned and flung the ball to Mike Thomas.

Thomas, the team's star wide receiver, didn't see it coming.

The same can't be said for the Wildcats, who — despite a year's worth of warnings — walked right into a trap game against their regional rival.

Arizona turned the ball over five times, reverted to the same lack of discipline and execution that doomed last year's team, and fell 36-28 in front of 32,337 fans at University Stadium.

So much for a 3-0 start.

The momentum Arizona (2-1) gained in blowout wins over Idaho and Toledo has dried up and blown away. The Wildcats must now post a winning season in Pac-10 Conference play to be guaranteed a bowl berth.

"We by no means thought we had arrived," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "We knew we had to play our butts off today. We have to show more maturity. We have to play better on the road."

And they have to play better under center.

For the first time in two years, Tuitama — the team's biggest perceived strength — was a liability. Tuitama fumbled twice and was intercepted twice, part of a five-turnover debacle that kept Arizona from improving to 3-0 for the first time since 2001. Given a chance to tie the game with 1 minute 27 seconds remaining, he fizzled.

The Wildcats took over at their own 38-yard line, down by eight. Tuitama was chased from the pocket on first down, and was forced to throw the ball out of bounds. He threw wide of a receiver on second down.

Facing third-and-10, Tuitama connected with freshman Juron Criner over the middle for nine yards. As the clock ran, Tuitama scrambled to the line of scrimmage. He saw Thomas, but the wide receiver didn't see him.

"There's not much to say," Tuitama said.

UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes' biggest criticism was reserved for his senior quarterback, who struggled to read New Mexico's complex defensive schemes. Tuitama completed 27 of 50 passes for 321 yards. His three touchdowns were basically negated by his turnovers.

"He played as bad as I've seen him play," Dykes said. "I wish I had an explanation. It was little things we've had since Day 1. … We couldn't make the right decisions. It was kind of an embarrassing performance, really."

Said Tuitama: "A lot of things happened because of me, and I have to man up to it."

The Wildcats lost to the Lobos a year ago in nearly identical fashion, fumbling away repeated chances to score in a 29-27 loss. New Mexico outplayed them in 2007 — and again on Saturday.

"We talked about it for 365 days …" Dykes said.

While Arizona fumbled and bobbled, New Mexico forged ahead. Tailback Rodney Ferguson rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Donovan Porterie snapped out of an early-season funk to post his best game yet. He competed 13 of 17 passes for 89 yards.

Porterie's biggest play of the game was a catch.

New Mexico was at Arizona's 25 late in the first quarter when Porterie connected with Ferguson on a swing pass. Ferguson ran toward Arizona's sideline before pulling up with the ball and throwing it across the field to Porterie. New Mexico's quarterback ran unabated down the sideline for a 25-yard score. New Mexico led 10-7.

"That was a really good call at the right time and it was well-executed," UNM coach Rocky Long said.

New Mexico's defense made great plays, too.

Lobos linebacker Clint McPeek stripped the ball from UA tailback Nicolas Grigsby on the first play of the second half, and teammate Glover Quin returned it 29 yards to Arizona's 10. On the next play, Ferguson punched the ball in on a 10-yard run to make it 27-14.

Arizona trailed by 15 points late, but cut it to within a score when Tuitama hit Criner for a 28-yard touchdown pass.

It wasn't enough.

"We just have to bounce back," Tuitama said. "That's what it is."

Road kill for Lobos