The New Mexico football team headed home from Wyoming with more than a loss to open Mountain West Conference play.

They bring with them a potential quarterback controversy, too.

The Lobos (2-3, 0-1) dropped a 35-26 decision at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyo., surrendering 191 yards to Cowboys running back Harrison Waylee and four field goals to kicker John Hoyland.

With its offense languishing in the second half after Wyoming’s defense delivered several big hits on UNM starting quarterback Dylan Hopkins, the Lobos inserted sophomore DC Tabscott and then true freshman Devon Dampier.

It was Dampier who shone brightest. He engineered a pair of second half touchdown drives, rallying the team back from a 29-12 deficit to make it a one-possession game in the waning moments.

He finished with 41 yards and two touchdowns, adding 71 yards on six carries. He was inserted after Tabscott was on the field for just one play to start the fourth quarter. He immediately had back-to-back runs of 11 yards each, sparking a five-play drive that ended with Dampier’s 14-yard scoring pass to Jeremiah Hixon to make it 29-19.

Dampier made his college debut in the season opener against Tennessee Tech and has spent much of his time in the top three on the depth chart at QB. He said Hopkins, who passed for 162 yards and a touchdown before heading to the sidelines with an apparent leg injury, was his biggest supporter.

“Dylan had my back; he told me, ‘Hey, bro, go out and ball and do what you do,’ ” Dampier said.

The problem, UNM coach Danny Gonzales said afterward, wasn’t the play of the QBs. It was, as it has been all season, an issue of defense.

“Our tackling was atrocious today,” he said. “I mean, that had been an issue for us, bad tackling. I thought the tackling hadn’t been very good, which led to them having opportunities.”

Wyoming (4-1, 1-0) entered as a 14-point favorite, but UNM struck first when Hopkins led the Lobos down the field for an early touchdown. The extra point was blocked and returned the distance to put both teams on the board with the Lobos up 6-2. It was a 12-9 Wyoming lead at halftime, a final UNM drive halted at the Cowboys’ 26 when Hopkins was rocked by a blind-side blitz by Wyoming safety Wyett Eckeler.

The hit lifted Hopkins off his feet, dislodging the ball in the process. A shoestring tackle by JC Davis saved a potential touchdown return.

“They got to Dylan a little bit; we had a hard time protecting him [because] they were sending six or seven [pass rushers],” Gonzales said. “So our best chance to be successful was to give Devon an opportunity in the second half.”

Hopkins’ leg injury was enough to keep him on the sidelines for one or two possessions, Gonzales said, but when Dampier starting moving the offense he decided to keep things as they were.

Dampier’s second touchdown pass was an 11-yard throw over the middle to DJ Washington, who needed a push from an offensive lineman to get him across the goal line. It got the Lobos within 32-26 with 1:12 left.

An onside kick moments later was recovered by Wyoming, setting up Hoyland’s fourth field goal of the day.

The Lobos head into a bye week before an Oct. 14 home game against San Jose State. Gonzales said he will evaluate the quarterback situation during that time but declined to say a change was in order.

“That’s a true freshman playing in his first real football game,” Gonzales said of Dampier. “I thought he did an unbelievable job. Devon has an unbelievable future, and we’re going to kind of need to find a way to keep him around here. And I hope everybody in Albuquerque is listening to that.”