Box Score LAS CRUCES, N.M. – History made. Again.
 
With a 38-29 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, the Aggies are headed to their first conference title game in program history.
 
After falling behind 14-0, the Aggies quickly responded with 17 unanswered points and then used big plays on both sides of the ball to return to Las Cruces, N.M., with their eighth win on the season. This also marks just the fifth time in program history that the Aggies have hit eight wins in a season.
 
Offensively, the Aggies were led by their run game which tallied 220 total rushing yards, led by 85 yards from Star Thomas. On the receiving front, seven different Aggies caught passes, including Trent Hudson and Eli Stowers who were on the receiving end of Diego Pavia's two touchdown passes.
 
Defensively, Mehki Miller put together his best performance as an Aggie – notching nine tackles, one interception returned for a touchdown and one pass breakup. Meanwhile, Keyshaun Elliott was the Aggies' leading tackler with 10 tackles.
 

FIRST QUARTER
After NM State limited the explosive WKU offense to limited yardage on the first two plays of the game, Hilltopper quarterback Austin Reed found Elijah Young who broke a pair of tackles on the way to his 72-yard receiving touchdown.
 
The Aggies' first possession resulted in a three-and-out – giving WKU the ball right back. The home side drove the length of the field once again before quarterback Austin Reed scrambled to punch the ball into the end zone and put the Aggies in a 14-point hole.
 
Finally, the NM State offense got going on the third drive as Star Thomas ran through a gaping hole on the right side of the line and was not touched until he was taken down 40 yards later. This would eventually set the Aggies up in a position to kick a 40-yard field goal which Ethan Albertson stuck through the uprights.
 
After forcing a three-and-out on the next WKU drive, an 18-yard punt allowed the Aggies to begin their drive in plus territory. The Aggies took full advantage of the gift from the WKU special teams as they drove all the way down to the WKU 10-yard line before the quarter expired.
 
Scoring plays: Elijah Young (WKU) receiving TD (72 yards); Austin Reed (WKU) rushing TD (13 yards); Ethan Albertson (NMSU) field goal (40 yards)
 
End Q1: NM State – 3, WKU – 14
 
SECOND QUARTER
With the Hilltopper defense on its heels, the Aggies turned the opening play of the quarter into points as Diego Pavia got the ball to the speedy Jonathan Brady on a jet sweep. Brady then used his speed to get to the edge and find the front left pylon to give the Aggies their first touchdown of the game. With the Albertson extra point, the Aggies scored 10 unanswered points after trailing 14-0.
 
The next Aggie drive was highlighted by a fourth-down conversion in which the Aggies used creative play calling to get the ball in the hands of Trevor Stephens to move the chains. Later in the drive, the Aggies took their first lead of the afternoon as Diego Pavia found Trent Hudson who made an incredible one-handed catch in the end zone.
 
WKU later used its final drive of the half to retake the lead as they utilized 17 plays to go 75 yards en route to a touchdown throw from Austin Reed to Craig Burt Jr. The Aggies nearly benefited from one of the more unusual plays you'll see as the ensuing kickoff drilled Makhilyn Young who stood in the front row of the Aggies' return team. From there, the ball bounced around before Jaxon Heil recovered it at the WKU 15-yard line. Unfortunately, while the ball was on the turf, the game clock ran out and the Aggies were unable to turn the field position into points.

Scoring plays: Jonathan Brady (NMSU) rushing TD (10 yards); Trent Hudson receiving TD (4 yards); Craig Burt Jr. receiving TD (4 yards).
 
End Q2: NM State 17, WKU 21
 
THIRD QUARTER
The first impact play of the second half came from the Aggie punter as Zach Haynes pinned the Hilltoppers inside their own five-yard line as they began their first drive of the second half.
 
Later in the quarter, the Aggies would retake the lead as a seven-yard touchdown pass from Diego Pavia to Eli Stowers capped off a 10-play, 80-yard drive for the Aggies. During the drive, Star Thomas also had his second lengthy run of the night as he scampered for 32 yards after rushing for 40 yards on a run earlier in the day.
 
Scoring plays: Eli Stowers (NMSU) receiving TD (7 yards)
 
End Q3: NM State – 24, WKU – 21
 
FOURTH QUARTER
Early in the fourth quarter, the Hilltoppers looked as though they were on their way to tying the game as they drove the ball deep in Aggie territory, however, the WKU kicker missed his second field goal of the game – putting the Aggies in a position to drive down the field and extend their lead.
 
On the ensuing Aggie drive, NM State drove the ball to the WKU 17-yard line where it faced a crucial 3^rd-and-7. Diego Pavia then connected with Jonathan Brady who worked the ball inside the five-yard line. A few plays later, Eli Stowers powered the ball across the goal line to put the Aggies ahead by two scores.
 
If there was any hope for the Hilltoppers left, it went completely out the door on the next drive when Austin Reed threw an interception to Mehki Miller who returned it 57 yards to the end zone for the Aggies' first defensive score of the season. The touchdown put the essentially sealed the deal for the Aggies as they went ahead by 17 points with less than three minutes to play.
 
The Hilltoppers did manage to score a late touchown that was meaningless to the outcome of the game.
 
Scoring plays: Eli Stowers (NMSU) rushing touchdown (7 yards); Mehki Miller (NMSU) interception return for touchdown (57 yards); Malachi Corley (WKU) receiving touchdown (15 yards)
 
FINAL: NM State – 38, WKU – 29