LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State football team looks to return to the win column on Saturday, Oct. 22, when it plays host to Georgia Southern for its Tough Enough to Wear Pink game at 6 p.m. Saturday's contest is also sponsored by New Mexico's Agricultural Community.
 
NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon will have the call with former NM State football player, Preston Williams, serving as the analyst on the Aggies' flagship station 99.5 FM KXPZ in Las Cruces. Aggie fans can also listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free.
 
GEORGIA SOUTHERN LINK: NM State Notes | Georgia Southern Notes | Live Audio | ESPN3 | @NMStateFootball | @GSAthletics_FB
 
WHERE TO WATCH
On top of Saturday's game being shown on ESPN3, Aggie fans in the Land of Enchantment and Borderlands can catch the game on tape delay via Comcast on channel 77. Jeff Siembieda will have the call on ESPN3 while Danny Knee serves as the analyst.
 
THE MATCH UP
Entering Saturday's match-up, NM State sits at 2-4 on the year and 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play while Georgia Southern is 3-3 overall and 2-1 in SBC action. The Eagles picked up early SBC wins over South Alabama on the road and UL-Monroe at home before falling to Arkansas State 27-26 on the road.
 
The Aggies trail the all-time series 2-0 since Georgia Southern joined the conference. NM State dropped last year's meeting 56-26 on the road at Statesboro, Ga., and fell 38-26 in the very first meeting between the two teams in 2014 at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
 
Georgia Southern's attack has been mostly on the ground, rumbling in for 1,600 yards of rushing offense to its 932 passing yards. Saturday's battle on the gridiron will see two styles of offense with Georgia Southern attacking from the ground while the Aggies look to air it out and give All-American running back Larry Rose III some room to do what he does best with the rock.
 
The Eagles have a multitude of running threats in Matt Breida, Wesley Fields, Favian Upshaw, Kevin Ellison, L.A. Ramsby and DeMarcus Godfrey. Breida paces the team with 337 net yards on the ground and one touchdown while Fields is right behind with 321 yards on the ground. Upshaw and Ellison, both quarterbacks are mobile with their feet, checking in with 395 and 270 yards apiece, respectively. Ellison has run into the end zone three times compared to Upshaw's two. 
However, it is Ramsby who has found his way into the end zone the most on the team with five. The redshirt junior has logged 217 yards on 40 carries and 5.4 per carry. He's also broken for a team-long of 61 yards. Rounding out the 100-plus yards crew for Georgia Southern is Godfrey who has 124 yards on the ground in just 14 carries.
 
In the air, Myles Campbell and Wesley Fields lead the team with two catches to the house while BJ Johnson III (269) and Montay Crocket (228) lead the team in receiving yards, respectively. Campbell has had the longest catch to date with a 63-yard haul while Crockett and Fields both have a long of 44 yards.
 
CAREER WATCH

• Tyler Rogers (35) needs to throw two more touchdowns to pass Jamie McAlister (1979-82, 36) for sixth all-time in passing touchdowns.
• Rogers (5,511) will also need 260 yards passing to leap ahead of Joe Pisarcik (1971-73, 5,770) for third all-time in passing yards.
• Rogers (41) can move into fifth-place in touchdowns at NM State if he logs four this Saturday, passing both Buck Pierce (2001-04, 44) and Charley Johnson (1958-60, 43).
• Larry Rose III (2,953) needs just 19 rushing yards on Saturday to pass James "Preacher" Pilot (1961-63, 2,971) for third all-time in rushing.
• Rose III (3,487) just needs 108 all-purpose yards on Saturday to pass Kim Locklin (1981-84, 3,594) for seventh on the all-time list.
• Sitting at 162 career-points scored, Rose III needs a touchdown on Saturday to crack the top-10 in scoring.

 
IN THE NATION
Through six games in 2016, several players as well as the team rank in the top-25 nationally amongst Football Subdivision Teams. The Aggies as a team rank No. 19 national in fourth-down conversions, completing 6-of-9 (.667) attempts this season. The two defensive touchdowns for NM State are also good for 14th in the country while its 308.8 passing yards per game is good for 17th in the nation.
 
Senior linebacker Rodney Butler still leads the nation in total tackles with 89 (14.8/game). Fellow linebackers Dalton Herrington (49) and Terrill Hanks (52) checks in at 20th and 49th, respectively, in the country. The three Aggies also claim the top five spots in the Sun Belt Conference, checking in at Nos. 1, 3 and 7. In the solo tackles department, Butler sits in eighth with 39 (6.5/game). The two forced fumbles for Butler and Hanks also places them in 31st-place amongst FBS players.
 
Offensively, Tyler Rogers is ranked No. 21 in the country with 293.0 passing yards per game while his total of 1,758 has him sitting at No. 24. His 22.17 completions per game is also good for 19th in the country and second in the SBC. Tyrian Taylor's 22.15 yards per reception is good for first in the Sun Belt and eighth in the country.
 
Freshman Peyton Theisler sits at No. 32 in the country after averaging 43.4 yards per punt through six games.
 
AROUND THE BELT
Entering this weekend, NM State leads the conference in passing offense with 308.8 yards through the air per game. Its 27.0 points per game is good for fourth-highest in the conference trailing league leader Troy, 39.2, while its 436.3 yards of total offense is just behind the Trojans.
 
Tyler Rogers continues to lead the Sun Belt in total offense with 322.7 yards per game while his 293.0 passing yards per game also leads the league.
 
On the defensive end, NM State has three represented in the league's top-10 tacklers list in Rodney Butler (No. 1), Dalton Herrington (No. 3) and Terrill Hanks (No. 7) while Jacob Nwangwa is tied for 23rd. The two forced fumbles for Butler and Hanks have them tied for third in the SBC.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies had a rough game in their final trip up to Moscow, Idaho, to play in the Kibbie Dome last weekend. NM State started off strong thanks Jared Phipps who picked of UI's Matt Linehand in the end zone off of a deflection. Tyler Rogers and company quickly worked down the field in their first possession to get ahead 6-0.
 
Idaho responded right back with a touchdown of their own, but NM State quickly regained the lead when Rogers threw a dart to the tight end, Clayton Granch, for a 10-yard strike to regain the 13-7 lead. However, the lead was short-lived as Idaho scored 20 unanswered points and never looked back.
 
Backup Nick Jeanty came in late in the fourth quarter and threw a 45-yard bomb to Jaleel Scott with 1:12 left to play in the game as NM State left Moscow with a 55-23 loss.
 
MOVIN' ON UP

• After last week's game, Tyler Rogers moved into fourth all-time in career-passing yards with 5,511 – passing K.C. Enzminger (1998-01, 5,416).
• Rogers moved into fourth-place with 5,955 yards of total offense after last week, passing Buck Pierce (2001-04, 5,661).
• His two TD passes last week also saw him move into seventh in career touchdowns with 41, jumping Jamie McAlister (1979-82, 40).

• He also edged out Phil Vinson (1986-89, 811) in the passing attempts category and now sits in fifth with 812.

 
FAST AND FURIOUS
The NM State offense is no short of fire power this season as the Aggies scored TDs in five separate occasions where it took less than a minute.
 
UNM – 2Q – 4 Plays, 21 Seconds
UNM – 2Q – 2 Plays, 17 Seconds
UK – 1Q – 2 Plays, 23 Seconds
UK – 1Q – 1 Play, 8 Seconds
UK – 2Q – 3 Plays, 20 Seconds
IDAHO – 1Q – 3 Plays, 47 Seconds
 
TEXAS A&M KICKOFF TIME SET FOR OCT. 29
Kickoff between the NM State football team and Texas A&M has been set for 5:30 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU in Kyle Field as announced by the SEC on Monday.
 
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS
So far this season, the Aggies have had plays of 30-yards or longer 13 separate times. Of those 10, three have resulted in touchdowns - two coming against Kentucky and one against Idaho. These explosive plays have come from eight different players with Tyrian Taylor leading the team with three followed by Royce Caldwell and Johnathon Boone at two apiece.
 
FEELIN' GOOD AT HOME
With its win against UL-Lafayette on Oct. 1, the Aggies tallied their second-straight win at Aggie Memorial Stadium and the first time since 2007 where NM State has started the year 2-0 at home. The Aggies look to make it three-in-a-row on Saturday when they take on Georgia Southern
 
UP NEXT
NM State hits the road the following week as it heads east to College Station, Texas, to take on the other Aggies, Texas A&M, in front of a nationally televised audience on Oct. 29 at 5:30 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU.