LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After a historic 2017 season that culminated in the New Mexico State football team breaking a 57-year bowl drought and winning the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, the Aggies make their return to Aggie Memorial Stadium in week zero when they play host to Wyoming on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. MT.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggie fans who cannot make it to Aggie Memorial for the season opener can catch the game between NM State and Wyoming on ESPN2. Anish Shroff is on the play-by-play with Ahmad Brooks serving as the analyst and Roddy Jones on the sideline.
 
This is the first time the Aggies have played on any ESPN linear network at home since 2009 (ESPNU) and the first time on ESPN2 at home since 2007.
 
LISTEN UP!
Fans can also listen in to the game 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.
 
GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS!
NM State football fans can purchase tickets by calling the Pan American ticket office at (575) 646-1420. Season ticket requests can also be placed by visiting the NM State athletics website or by clicking here. Season tickets can be purchased for $60.
 
SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
The Wyoming Cowboys enter Aggie Memorial Stadium in Week Zero with a vaunted defense coming off an 8-5 season that saw the team win the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl over Central Michigan, 37-14.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys have been ranked in the top-10 during the preseason by multiple publications. The defense returns five 2017 All-Mountain West honorees, including First-Team All-Mountain West and Bronko Nagurski Watch List safety Andrew Wingard. On the line, Wyoming brings back senior Carl Granderson who led all Mountain West defensive linemen with 77 tackles last year, including 16 for loss and 9.5 sacks. Another threat coming from the interior is Outland Trophy Watch List honoree Youhanna Ghaifan. Ghaifan ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 23 nationally in tackles for loss (15.5) in 2017 as a sophomore.  
 
Wyoming's offense looks to replace its key player from last season in quarterback Josh Allen who was selected seventh overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 2018 NFL Draft. As announced on Monday, Aug. 20, the team has turned the reins of the offense over to redshirt freshman quarterback Tyler Vander Waal. Looking to rely on experience outside of the play-caller, the Cowboys offense returns numerous upperclassmen, including seven potential starters in the season opener.
 
Last season, Wyoming outscored opponents 305-228 (23.5-17.5 per game). On the road, Wyoming did not fare as well going 2-3 with losses in two of its first three clashes away from home. The Cowboys have not won their first road game of the season since 2013 when they took down Air Force, 56-23.
 
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
New Mexico State is the only school in the Football Bowl Subdivision to enter the 2018 campaign without its leading passer, rusher, receiver and tackler from the previous season.
 
TCU was the only exception with two players sharing the leading receiver title – one returns while the other graduated. The Horned Frogs also returned their leading rusher, but lost their leader in rush attempts from 2017. Seven teams – Appalachian State, Georgia State, Hawaii, Houston, UCLA, USC and UTSA - have lost three of the four statistical leaders.
 
Senior Nick Jeanty, junior college transfer Matt Romero and redshirt freshman Josh Adkins currently vie for the starting quarterback role. In the backfield, the Aggies retain the elusive Jason Huntley, who had 1,317 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns last season, and see the return of a key 2016 asset in Royce Caldwell. The receiving core lost Jaleel Scott to the NFL but returns its remaining starters in Jonathan Boone, Anthony Muse, OJ Clark and Anthony Muse who combined for 138 receptions and 10 touchdowns in 2017. The defense returns nine of its 11 starters and looks to build on an already impressive record-breaking 2017, led by linebacker Terrill Hanks.
 
WATCH OUT!
The national spotlight is staring to get set on the NM State football squad following a successful 2017 season. A pair of Aggies, Jason Huntley and Jamin Smith, were named to national preseason watch lists heading into 2018.
 
Huntley was named to the 2018 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List, as announced by SPORTyler and the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, and to the Paul Hornung Award Watch List.
 
The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award recognizes the nation's college offensive player of the year who was either born in Texas, graduated from a Texas high school and/or played at a Texas-based junior college. The player must also exhibit characteristics that define Earl Campbell, including integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, community and tenacity.
 
The Paul Hornung Award, now in its ninth season, is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football by the Louisville Sports Commission, and football legend and Louisville native Paul Hornung. 
 
A threat both in the backfield and on special teams, Huntley finished the 2017 season with 1,316 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. This saw the Arlington, Texas native rush for 420 yards on 70 carries and add 39 receptions for 363 yards out of the backfield. Huntley also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns over the final four games of the season. His 100-yard kickoff return touchdown in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl tied for the longest in program history.
 
Smith was recognized for his stout play on the gridiron and valuable contributions to the community as he was named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List.
 
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented annually at the All Sports Association's Awards Banquet in Fort Walton Beach. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
 
MOVEMENT ON THE STAFF FRONT
The NM State football staff added a few new faces on the sidelines and in the booth for the 2018 season. The team welcomed on Ronnie Pentz as the defensive ends coach and co-special teams coordinator, former Aggie quarterback Chase Holbrook has moved from working with the tight ends to now serving as the team's quarterbacks coach, Chili Davis was promoted to a full-time coach in charge of tight ends and two new graduate assistants have made their way to the City of Crosses.
 
Ronnie Pentz (Defensive Ends/Co-Special Teams)
Pentz joins NM State after spending the last five seasons at San Diego as the special teams and tight ends coach. During his tenure with the Toreros, the special teams unit has been ranked consistently in the top-25. Prior to USD, he spent four seasons on the staff at Southern Utah University, with the last three as special team's co-coordinator, and two seasons as tight ends coach.
 
Chase Holbrook (Quarterbacks)
Chase Holbrook, who played for NM State from 2005-08, enters his second season as a coach at his alma mater in 2018. After spending the 2017 season as the tight ends coach, Holbrook will coach the quarterbacks in 2018. Holbrook returned to his alma mater in 2017 after spending the 2016 season working under Mike Leach at Washington State as a quality controls coach. 
 
Chili Davis (Tight Ends)
Chili Davis begins his first season as a full-time assistant with the program in 2018. Davis will coach the tight ends this season. Davis was elevated to a full-time assistant coaching position after serving as the offensive graduate assistant working primarily with the wide receivers alongside assistant coach Cory Martin.
 
Jacob Lemming (Defensive Graduate Assistant)
Jacob Lemming joins the New Mexico State football staff as a defensive graduate assistant for the 2018 season. Lemming comes to the City of Crosses after a pair of coaching stints that followed an FBS football career. He recently served as the tight ends coach at Benedictine University before joining the Aggies. Before joining the coaching ranks, Lemming was a defensive back at Bowling Green State University.
 
Brock Sherman (Defensive Graduate Assistant)
Brock Sherman enters his first season as an offensive graduate assistant on the New Mexico State football staff. As a coach, he served on a Division II National Championship winning staff, while winning two as a player. As a graduate assistant during the 2017 season, Sherman helped coach the defensive line and linebackers for the Bearcats. During his time, the Bearcat defense was named the Division II top-ranked total defense in 2016 and 2017. As a player, Sherman was named a team captain for the 2015 Division II National Championship winning Northwest Missouri State squad.
 
A STORIED HISTORY
Dating all the way back to the inaugural season for NM State football in 1894, the team has always come to play on opening night. Over the course of three centuries, NM State has racked up an impressive 68-54-3 (.551) record in its season openers. The last victory in the opener happened for head coach Doug Martin and the Aggies when they took down Cal Poly, 28-10, back on Aug. 26, 2014.
 
LOOKING BACK
A lot has changed since NM State and Wyoming last squared off on the gridiron. Let's take a look at just how different times were when the Crimson & White last played the Cowboys back in 1953:
• Jan. 7 – US President Harry Truman announces American development of the hydrogen bomb.
• Feb. 28 – Francis Crick and James Watson discover the chemical structure of DNA
• Mar. 26 – Dr. Jonas Salk announces vaccine to prevent polio.
• May 29 – Edmund Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) are first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
• June 2 – Queen Elizabeth II crowned the queen of England.
• July 26 – Fidel Castro leads a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks, intended to spark a revolution in Cuba.
• Sept. 16 – Price of gas moves to 20 cents per gallon.
• Dec. 1 – Hugh Hefner publishes 1st edition of Playboy magazine, featuring Marilyn Monroe as the magazine's first centerfold.
 
UP NEXT
Following the season opener the New Mexico State football team hits the road to take on BIG Ten challenger Minnesota on Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. MT in TCF Bank Stadium.