LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Looking to finish the season on a high note, the NM State football team travels to Mobile, Ala., for an 11 a.m. kickoff against South Alabama this Saturday, Nov. 3.
 
Brock Bowling will once again have the call on Saturday while former NC State head coach Tom O'Brien serves as the analyst on the ESPN3 broadcast. Aggie fans can also listen to NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon and former NM State football player, Preston Williams, on the Aggies' flagship station 99.5 FM KXPZ or listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggie fans trying to catch the game on TV can watch the ESPN3 broadcast on their desktop or mobile device. In addition, fans with AppleTV, Chromecast, Roku and other webcast products that have the WatchESPN function can catch the game on their television set.
 
SOUTH ALABAMA LINKS: NM State Notes | South Alabama Notes | Live Audio | WatchESPN | @NMStateFootball | @JagsFootball
 
EYING THE JAGUARS
Saturday's contest between NM State and South Alabama will be the first meeting between the two teams. The Jaguars are 5-6 overall and 1-6 Sun Belt action when the two teams square off in Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 11 a.m. (MT) on Saturday while NM State checks in at 3-8 and 2-5 in Sun Belt play.
 
The Jaguars had a great non-conference season, beating the likes of Mississippi State (21-20) on the road in their season-opener and then a ranked San Diego State (42-24) team at home handedly. However, South Alabama has struggled in conference play with its lone win coming against Georgia State. USA will playing for bowl eligibility as well as it sits at 5-6 on the year.
 
Dallas Davis under center for USA ad is averaging 246.9 yards per game through the air with nine touchdowns, but has also thrown nine picks. Davis has thrown for 2,222 yards so far this season with a 123.70 efficiency rating. He's also fourth on the team in rushing with 176 net yards and two runs into the end zone.
 
Xavier Johnson paces the running game for South Alabama, checking in with 633 yards on the ground with an average of 5.0 yards per rush and seven TDs. Tyreis Thomas is second on the team with 300 net yards on the ground for 4.1 yards per rush, but just trails Johnson by one with six rumbles into the end zone.
 
Gerald Everett has been the go-to target for Davis this season, bringing in 43 catches for 648 yards for four touchdowns. Josh Magee is right on his tails with three catches to the house for 533 yards on 40 receptions. However, Davis has thrown to 17 different targets so far this season.
 
The Jaguar defense has picked up opposing quarterbacks eight times while recovering nine of the 14 forced fumbles in 2016. South Alabama is fourth in scoring defense between SBC teams and third in total defense, allowing just 367.8 yards to its opponents.
 
HOME SLATE WRAP UP
With the 2016 home slate all wrapped up for NM State, the Aggies finished the year 3-2 at home. The last time NM State had 3 or more wins at home during the season was back in 2007 when it was 4-3 in Aggie Memorial Stadium.
 
DYNAMIC DUO
Rodney Butler (150), the nation's leading tackler, and Dalton Herrington (98) combined total of 248 tackles is second-most by any two players in FBS football with Virginia's pair of Kiser (134)/Blanding (120) in the lead with 254 combined tackles.
 
GOING OUT WITH A BANG
Senior linebacker Rodney Butler has had a senior season every player would hope to have. The Palm Springs, Calif., product has led the nation (FBS) in tackles in 11 of the 13 weeks since the Aggies' season-opener on Sept. 3 at UTEP. Should Butler finish the season as the nation's leading tackler, he would only be the third Aggie ever to do so in program history, joining Jimmy Cottrell (179, 2005) and Derrick Richardson (137, 2008).
 
His 364 career tackles is fourth-most amongst active FBS football players and No. 23 amongst Division I football players. His 7.91 career tackles per game is ranked 10th compared to other FBS players while his 157 solo tackles ranks him 45th amongst active FBS football players. In addition, his 207 assisted tackles sit him at No. 2 on the active career list and No. 16 compared to active Division I football players. Butler's 44 assisted tackles for loss also places him at No. 26 on the FBS active career list.
 
FIRST ONE IN THE BOOKS
Connor Cramer took his first snap under center in Division I on Saturday and took most of the snaps against Appalachian State at home. The transfer from New Mexico Military Institute picked up his first-career touchdown pass when he connected with Tyrian Taylor for a 54-yard bomb in the second quarter as well.
 
The redshirt junior wrapped up his first game 10-of-24 from the air for 93 yards through the air and a team-high 74 yards on the ground.
 
MOVIN' ON UP
Heading into Saturday's game, Rodney Butler sits in a tie for seventh on the all-time tackles list with 364, tying D'Wayne Taylor (364, 1998-01). Butler needs 10 tackles to pass Bob Kinder (373, 1983-86) for sixth all-time and 15 tackles to pass Leo Barker (378, 1979-83) for fifth all-time.
 
Butler's 150 tackles this season is good for eight-best in a single-season at NM State. With one game remaining, he could move up as high as third place with 15 tackles.
 
IN THE NATION
Heading into week 14 of the 2016 season, several players as well as the team ranks in the top-50 nationally amongst Football Subdivision Teams.
 
Senior linebacker Rodney Butler still leads the nation in total tackles with 150 (13.6/game). Fellow linebackers Dalton Herrington (98), Terrill Hanks (91) and Jacob Nwangwa (85) checks in at 40th 66th and 105th, respectively, in the country. The three Aggies also claim the top-10 spots in the Sun Belt Conference, checking in at Nos. 1, 3, 8 and 11. In the solo tackles department, Butler sits in 30th with 57 (5.2/game). Butler and Jaden Wright's three forced fumbles rank them 22nd in the nation and third in the SBC while Hanks' two FFs is tied for seventh in the league. Jaden Wright also moved into 23rd in the country with four interceptions on the year and third in the Sun Belt.
 
Offensively, Tyler Rogers is ranked No. 33 in the country with 258.8 passing yards per game while his total of 2,588 has him sitting at No. 50. His 22.00 completions per game is good for 18th in the country and first in the SBC.
 
Freshman Peyton Theisler sits at No. 49 in the country after averaging 41.9 yards per punt through 11 games.
 
AROUND THE BELT
Entering this weekend, NM State is in third when it comes to total offense (4,513 yards) behind league leader Troy and second in the passing offense (2,829 yards) category.
 
Tyler Rogers continues to lead the Sun Belt in total offense with 291.2 yards per game while his 258.8 passing yards per game is second in 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. 8). Hanks is also tied for eighth with 11.5 tackles for loss while Butler's three forced fumbles has him tied for third amongst SBC players. Jaden Wright is tied for third with four interceptions on the year.
 
UP NEXT
The 2016 season will have come to an end for the Aggies after their game at South Alabama on Saturday. NM State will look back at the positives from this season and build upon that in spring ball before ramping it up again for the 2017 season.