Talk about starting a new job off on the wrong foot! Pity Danny Gonzales, whose debut season as head coach at New Mexico in 2020 coincided with the pandemic and serious restrictions being placed on his team. Forced to relocate to Las Vegas for the abbreviated 2020 campaign, and deal with myriad restrictions at home the following year, the Gonzales regime hardly had a chance to gain traction -- which it hasn't. The nation's worst offense over the past two campaigns somehow plumbed new depths of ineptitude a season ago by barely gaining 228 yards per game, and even made fellow Mountain West stragglers like Nevada and Hawaii look potent by comparison. To wit: New Mexico didn't score more than 10 points in any of its games past midseason! 

Nonetheless, thanks in part to his contract buyout, Gonzales has somehow survived into a fourth year, though he'll now have to give it a go without sage and decorated defensive coordinator Rocky Long, an alum and former HC who had enough and opted to escape for a similar gig for 2023 far, far away at Syracuse... 

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of New Mexico's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Mountain West season.

Mountain West preview: Conference winner | Air Force | Boise State | Colorado State | Fresno State | Hawaii | Nevada | New Mexico | San Diego State | San Jose State | UNLV | Utah State | Wyoming

2023 New Mexico at a glance

• Last Year: 2-10 SU, 3-8-1 ATS, 6-6 O/U
• Returning starters: Offense 4; Defense 2
• Win total: 3.5 (Over +115, Under -115)

What do you need to know about New Mexico before locking in your Mountain West futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Mountain West futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!