LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State football team travels to Lafayette, La. to take on former Sun Belt foe Louisiana on Saturday, October 13, at 3 p.m. MT on Cajun Field.
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggie fans can watch the game between the Aggies and Ragin' Cajuns live on
ESPN+. Dan McDonald is set to handle the play-by-play with Garald Broussard serving as the analyst.
LISTEN UP!
Fans can also listen in to every Aggie game this season on the Aggie Sports Network with NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer
Jack Nixon on the call and Cory Lucas as the analyst. The broadcast can be heard on the flagship station, 99.5 FM KXPZ or with the TuneIn app.
Affiliates:
Alamagordo - 103.7 FM KNMZ
Albuquerque - 1150 AM KNMM
Carlsbad - 1240 AM KAMQ
El Paso - 1380 AM KHEY
Gallup - 1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas - 107.1 FM KMDS
STAY CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State football team all season on Twitter by following @NMStateFootball, on Instagram by following @NMStateFB and through Facebook.com/NMSUFootball.
LOOKING AT THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Louisiana enters Saturday's game with a 2-3 overall record and 1-1 mark in conference play. The Ragin' Cajuns just ended a three-game losing streak taking down Texas State on the road, 42-27, this past Saturday.
Sophomore running back Elijah Mitchell shined during Louisiana's win at Texas State, where he finished with a team-high and career-high 191 yards rushing, scoring three times on the ground on 21 attempts. The night for Mitchell was the 14th-best performance in Ragin' Cajuns history, was the seventh-ranked performance this past week in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the 22nd-best performance so far this season in the FBS.
To this point in the season, Louisiana's wide receivers have been heavily involved with Louisiana's passing offense, with Louisiana's wide outs catching 67 percent of all passes thrown and completed this season (60-of-90). Senior Rhyeem Malone leads the unit in receptions with 21 and he is followed up by junior Ja'Marcus Bradley's 16 receptions and senior Keenan Barnes has caught 12.
Louisiana junior Bennie Higgins and sophomore Chauncey Manac have been a force on the defensive front for Louisiana so far this season. Higgins is leading the conference in sacks with 3.5 and he is the team leader in tackles for loss with 5.5. Higgins has 17 tackles on the season and has added two quarterback hurries. Manac has 22 tackles through five games, and he's second on Louisiana in tackles for loss with 4.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, one pass break-up and four quarterback hurries.
IN THE NATION
Halfway through the 2018 college football season, NM State along with a handful of Aggies are ranked in the top-25 nationally.
As a team, NM State is ranked in the top-25 in six categories…
Rank Category Value
8 Blocked Punts 1
10 Blocked Kicks 2
12 Defensive Touchdowns 2
13 Fumbles Recovered 6
17 Team Sacks Per Game 3.17
24 4
th Down Conversion Pct. .667
Individually, the Aggies have three players ranked in the top-25 nationally as well…
#10 Izaiah Lottie (WR)
Rank Category Value
2 Punt Return Touchdowns 1
#51 Roy Lopez (DL)
Rank Category Value
5 Fumbles Recovered 2
#23 Ron LaForce (DB)
Rank Category Value
18 Tackles Per Game 10.7
LAST TIME OUT
The New Mexico State football team welcomed fellow independent Liberty to Aggie Memorial Stadium for homecoming on Saturday night in the first of two matchups between the two independents during the 2018 season. An offensive shootout saw the Aggies only trail in the first quarter and have six different players score en route to a 49-41 victory over the Flames.
Liberty (2-3) opened the game with a commanding opening drive. After six plays for the Flames saw the team gain 53-yards, the opposition finished the series off with a 22-yard rush for an early score to put NM State (2-4) behind 7-0 just 2:17 into the contest.
After the Aggies elected to punt on their first drive, the defense came up big when Liberty took over. On first down, NM State linebacker
Shane Jackson came flying around the edge and sacked Flames quarterback Stephen Calvert, forcing a fumble that was recovered by
Roy Lopez at the Liberty 24-yard line.
Starting with great field position, NM State used a 20-yard pass to
Anthony Muse to set up a 1
st & Goal just three yards from the end zone. After a pair of failed attempts, running back
Christian Gibson lowered his shoulder and barreled in for a two-yard touchdown rush that tied the game up at 7-7.
Late in the game, the Aggies were able to expand upon their lead for some insurance. The ball was handed off to Gibson who looked to be stopped right around the line of scrimmage, but the senior running back bounced off a tackle and reversed field for a 66-yard touchdown rush that gave the Aggies a 49-35 advantage.
In desperation time, Liberty was again forced to pull out all the stops to keep the comeback hopes alive. On 4
th & 7, the Flames converted on a pass attempt to give the team a 1
st & Goal from the six-yard line. This set of downs ended with a one-yard touchdown rush. Looking to make it a seven-point game, Liberty lined up for the point after, but NM State's
Cedric Wilcots II made a jump at the line to get up and block the extra point to hold the Aggies 49-41 lead.
NM State was forced to punt on its final offensive drive that gave the Flames the ball back at its own 13-yard line with 2:10 remaining. After Liberty was able to move the chains, the NM State defense then came up big when
Jassavia Reese got a sack to force a 3
rd & 20 for the visitors from their own 16. Then on a fourth down attempt, the Aggies forced an incomplete pass to take over on downs and close out a thrilling 49-41 win over the Flames.
NOTABLES: LAST GAME
- Anthony Muse reeled in his first touchdown catch of the season, and fourth of his career.
- Chrstian Gibson's rushing touchdown in the first quarter was the Aggie's first rushing score by a running back during the 2018 season.
- Jason Huntley ran for his first rushing touchdown of the season.
- The 573 yards of total offense was the most for NM State since gaining 622 yards at Texas State on 11/4/17.
- Shane Jackson recorded the second forced fumble of his Aggie career and first since doing so against Utah State in the Arizona Bowl on 12/29/17.
- Josh Adkins' 34 completions was the most by an NM State quarterback since Tyler Rogers has 40 against South Alabama on 12/2/17.
- O.J. Clark set a new career-high in receptions with 10 and receiving yards with 145.
- DeMarcus Owens recorded his first interception of the 2018 season, fourth for the team and sixth of his career.
- Bryce Roberts hauled in his first touchdown of the season. This was his first since doing so against Arkansas State on 10/28/17.
- Drew Dan recorded a career-high in receiving yards with 75.
- Josh Adkins totaled 402 passing yards and is the first Aggie with 400+ since Tyler Rogers threw for 451 against South Alabama on 12/2/17.
- Adkins' four passing touchdowns was the first time an NM State quarterback has done so since Rogers against Georgia Southern on 10/14/17.
- This was the first time the Aggies have had four or more players with a receiving touchdown since playing against Texas State on 11/19/16.
- Gibson's 66-yard touchdown rush was the longest since Jason Huntley ran for a 50-yard score at Arizona State on 8/31/17.
- NM State had six different players score a touchdown for the first time since playing UTEP on 9/19/15.
- This was the first time NM State's first two wins of the season came in back-to-back weeks since 2014.
- The victory was the first win in program history for the Aggies over a team from the state of Virginia.
UP NEXT
Following the road clash with the Ragin' Cajuns, New Mexico State returns to the City of Crosses to host another Sun Belt member as Georgia Southern enters Aggie Memorial Stadium for a game on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 4 p.m. MT for Ag Day.
