LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State football team gets set for a road clash with 2017 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl opponent Utah State on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. MT inside Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah.
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggie fans who cannot make it to the game can watch exclusively on
Facebook Live. Chris Hassel is on the play-by-play for Saturday's action with Bruce Gradkowski serving as the analyst and Kristen Balboni down on the field as the sideline reporter.
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.
UNCHARTED
New Mexico State fans looking to get an inside look into the Aggies preparation for the 2018 season following a historic 2017 can check out just what it takes in the four-part web series 'Uncharted' that can be found here on
YouTube. The series chronicles the start of the season for NM State all the way back to training camp with a lead in to the season opener and beyond.
SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State enters Saturday's contest sitting at 0-1 overall after falling just short of an upset over No. 11 Michigan State on Sept. 1. USU saw success both individually and as a team against a highly touted Spartan squad.
Tight end Dax Raymond had a career game at No. 11 Michigan State last weekend as he caught a career-high seven passes for a career-best 76 yards, including three receptions for 55 yards in the first half alone. Of Raymond's seven catches in the game, six resulted in a first down for USU, with three of those receptions occurring on third down. Junior running back Darwin Thompson rushed for a pair of touchdowns in his first-ever game for Utah State last weekend.
Utah State's defense played a strong role in the red zone against Michigan State forcing the Spartans into a pair of field goals. On MSU's second drive of the game, they had first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal to make the score 7-6 for USU. Then on the Spartans first drive of the fourth quarter, they had first-and-goal at the 3-yard line, but had to settle for a 24-yard field goal to make the score 30-24 for MSU.
Utah State went 3-3 at home inside Maverik Stadium during the 2017 season and is 29-9 in its last 38 home games, which includes a 21-9 record under head coach Matt Wells. USU has won four-straight non-conference home games and sits at 16-3 in its last 19 non-conference home games, including an 8-2 mark under Wells.
Utah State returns 18 starters, nine on offense and nine on defense, and 47 letterwinners from last season, which rank as the third-most in the nation behind Florida (19) and Michigan State (19). When you add in its two returning specialists, USU's 20 returning starters are tied for the third-most in the nation behind Baylor (22) and Michigan State (22), and tied with Florida (20), Michigan (20) and UAB (20).
Despite returning 18 starters from last season, Utah State had seven players make their first-career start last weekend at No. 11 Michigan State with senior wide receiver Jalen Greene, redshirt junior linebacker Tipa Galeai, redshirt junior defensive end Fua Leilua, junior running back Gerold Bright, junior cornerback DJ Williams, sophomore safety Shaq Bond and redshirt freshman offensive tackle Alfred Edwards.
Utah State is 17-12 under Wells following a loss and has not started a season 0-2 since 2009. Furthermore, USU has lost back-to-back games just seven times in six seasons under Wells. Utah State has won 14 of its last 24 games played during the month of September, including 11 straight at home, and is 1-3-1 all-time in games played on Sept. 8 as NM State looks to cut into those records.
WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
On Friday, Dec. 29, the New Mexico State football team made history in Arizona Stadium against Utah State. As head coach
Doug Martin said, "It was poetic that Larry Rose scored that touchdown." That touchdown was the game-winner in overtime to take home the 2017 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl over Utah State, 26-20, effectively ending the 57-year bowl drought for the Aggies.
The game opened up with early scores for both sides. NM State struck first on its opening drive when
Dylan Brown split the uprights on a 23-yard field goal attempt. The lead did not last long, however, as Utah State returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to go up 7-3 just 3:59 into the game.
NM State erased that deficit in a hurry when
Jason Huntley answered with a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown to give the Aggies a 10-7 advantage with 10:47 left in the opening quarter.
Early in the third quarter, Utah State lined up for a field goal, this from 49 yards out, looking to take the lead. With the help of a raucous NM State crowd, the team again pressured the kicker and he missed his second attempt of the game.
An interception on the next drive for the Crimson & White gave USU the ball back just past midfield. Then on a 41-yard pass, coupled with a defensive pass interference, Utah State sat on the NM State one-yard line.
The opposition sat just three feet away from grabbing a six-point lead. That was until
Terrill Hanks made a great play and jumped a pitch to the running back and recovered the fumble to hold the score at 13-13, which stood heading into the fourth quarter.
After a short punt in the fourth, Utah State began their drive at the NM State 24-yard line. They then moved the ball down the field and capped the drive off with a one-yard rushing score to grab a 20-13 advantage with 13:28 remaining.
NM State would remain behind by seven for the next 6:58 of action. Then a great pass from
Tyler Rogers to
Jaleel Scott saw the receiver haul it in and keep his foot inbounds for the score. This would tie the game up at 20 and the Arizona Bowl did not see a winner in regulation.
After winning the toss and selecting to defend, NM State's defense stood strong and held Utah State to a fourth-and-goal. Utah State lined up for a 28-yard field goal, but the attempt knocked off the upright and the kick was no good.
This gave NM State the opportunity to take home the trophy. The team did just that when
Larry Rose III found the hole and broke off for a 21-yard score to win the 2017 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl for NM State with a final score of 26-20.
IN THE NATION
After the opening weeks in college football, here is where New Mexico State players rank nationally:
#2 Terrill Hanks (LB)
Rk. Category Value
8 Fumbles Recovered 1
#23 Ron LaForce (S)
Rk. Category Value
10 Tackles Per Game 13.5
#3 Matt Romero (QB)
Rk. Category Value
11 Passing Yards 373
#16 Payton Theisler (P)
Rk. Category Value
19 Punt Average 45.5
LAST TIME OUT
The New Mexico State football team traveled to Minneapolis, Minn. for the first road trip of the season to take on Big Ten opponent Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium on Thursday night. After the game opened with a pair of punts for both sides, a turnover on the Aggies third drive turned in to points for the Golden Gophers. A dropped pass was intercepted right at midfield and Minnesota (1-0) drove down the field and capped it off with a seven-yard touchdown pass to put NM State (0-2) behind 7-0 just 9:12 into the game.
Minnesota's next drive saw a turnover of their own on a fumble give NM State the ball just 12 yards from the end zone. The first play of this drive saw a rush go backwards, but then on 2nd & 11
Matt Romero found
Izaiah Lottie in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard score to tie the game up 7-7.
The second quarter opened with the Crimson & White sitting at the Minnesota 26-yard line on second down with five yards to go. The next play went back two yards to set up a fourth down where
Dylan Brown came on the field and knocked down a career-long 45-yard field goal that put NM State ahead 10-7 with 14:10 left in the half.
After the promising opening drives, the Aggies gave up 41 unanswered points and fell to the Golden Gophers, 48-10.
UP NEXT
Following the road clash with Utah State, the New Mexico State squad returns to the City of Crosses to square off with Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. MT inside Aggie Memorial Stadium.
