LAS CRUCES, N.M. - After three weeks on the road, NM State returns to the friendly confines of Aggie Memorial Stadium as they play host to FIU on Wednesday night. The midweek matchup marks the first home CUSA game in program history and will begin a stretch of six-straight games versus league opponents.

Game Information
NM State (2-3, 0-1 CUSA) vs. FIU (3-2, 0-2 CUSA)
Date: October 4, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. MT
TV: CBS Sports Network

• Jordan Kent (PxP)
• Donte Whitner (Analyst)

Radio: The Aggie Radio Network, Powered by LEARFIELD

• Jack Nixon (PxP)
• Cory Lucas (Analyst)

PICK SIX
1 - Wednesday night's meeting with FIU marks the first time in program history that the Aggies will play on a Wednesday.
182.6 - Diego Pavia enters Wednesday ranked 11th in the nation in passing efficiency. This number is also good for best among quarterbacks in CUSA
17.8 - By posting an average of 17.8 yards per completion, the NM State offense ranks third in the nation among FBS teams in this category.
2 - At 435.8 yards gained per game, the NM State offense ranks second in Conference USA.
13 - After playing limited time in the Aggies' first three games, No. 13 Myles Rowser has recorded 13 total tackles and forced a fumble across the last two games.
5 - With eight games remaining on the schedule, the Aggies are in need of five wins to become bowl eligible for the second straight season.
 
BRADY BOOM
In year two with the program, sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Brady has emerged as one of Aggies' go-to targets in the passing game. With five games in the books, the Las Vegas native paces all Aggie receivers with 252 total receiving yards.
 
His 109-yard receiving game against New Mexico marked the second time that Brady has eclipsed the century mark this season. With the performance against UNM, Brady also becomes the first Aggie receiver with multiple 100-yard receiving games since Jared Wyatt did so in 2021.
 
Brady's hot start puts him in elite company as he is the first NM State wideout to have two 100-yard games in the first four outings since Teldrick Morgan did so in 2014 when he had receiving totals of 202 yards in the third game of the season before posting 122 yards in game four.
 
Brady's three touchdowns on the season also ties him for 38th most in the country. He is also side-by-side on that list with fellow Aggie wideout Trent Hudson who also has three touchdown catches this year.
 
SPECIAL TALENT
Since his arrival in 2019, Ethan Albertson has established himself among the top kickers in the country. Last week, Albertson received recognition for his performance against New Mexico as he was named the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week.
 
The award came on the heels of a Saturday performance in which he made a pair of field goals and went a perfect 3-for-3 on PAT attempts.
 
Amid his senior season, the San Diego, Calif., native ranks inside the top-ten in NM State history for field goals made (4th, 34), field goals attempted (7th, 44), field goal percentage (1st, 77.3%), extra points made (7th, 80), extra points attempted (7th, 84) and extra point percentage (1st, 95.2%).
 
DUAL THREAT
After an impressive first season in the Crimson and White, quarterback Diego Pavia already finds himself among the Aggie greats. He currently ranks 21st all-time in program history in career passing yards (2,523) and third in career rushing yards by a quarterback (679).

AIR IT OUT
Between Offensive Coordinator Tim Beck and Wide Receivers Coach Tony Sanchez, the Aggies have formed an offensive attack that produces big play after big play in the passing game. Currently, the Aggies rank third in the nation in passing yards per completion - averagin nearly 18 yards per reception (17.8). Thus far, the Aggies have compiled 13 passing plays of 25 yards or more.
 
BLOCK THAT KICK!
On Sept. 9, the hand of Gabe Peterson helped NM State's special teams unit came up with a blocked point after attempt for the first time since since Dion Henrique did so at Florida on September 5, 2015.
 
TWO FOR TWO
Jordin Parker made his presence felt once again in the win over WIU as he caught his second touchdown pass of the season. With the touchdown, Parker now has two touchdowns on just two receptions to make him the only FBS player with touchdown catches on 100% of his receptions and multiple catches this season.

KINGS OF NEW MEXICO
For the first time since 2017, NM State tallied a win in Albuquerque as they defeated the Lobos 27-17 in its last outing. This also marked the second consecutive win over the Lobos and makes Jerry Kill the first Aggie coach since Dewayne Walker to begin his career with a perfect 2-0 record against the Aggies' in-state rival.
 
In the win, the Aggies were led offensively by Albuquerque native Diego Pavia who finished the night with 203 passing yards, two throwing touchdowns and 99 rushing yards. The 99-yard rushing total marked the most by any Aggie at that point in the season.
 
SATURDAYS ARE FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL... Just not in Las Cruces
NM State is in the midst of a stretch of 63 days in which it will not play a home game on a Saturday. For seven consecutive weeks, the Aggies will either be on the road or hosting a midweek contest.
 
During this period, the Aggies will welcome FIU on Wednesday, Oct. 4, and Sam Houston on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
 
NO LIMITS ON THE AGGIES
As the Aggies enter the heart of their conference season, some of NM State's numbers stack up against the best of the best in the new league.
 
Currently, the Aggies have three individuals who rank inside the top five in the conference in a total of five major statistical categories.
 
Diego Pavia - Pass Efficiency, 1st, 182.61
Star Thomas - TDs, T-4, 4
Diego Pavia - Total Offense, 3rd, 1,341 yards
Diego Pavia - Pass yd/g, 5th, 214.6 yards
Ethan Albertson - Scoring, 4th, 35 pts
 
ATTENDANCE BOOM
Few schools across FBS football saw a larger attendance growth last season than NM State. The Aggies concluded the season averaging 14,993 fans per home game, up 27% from the 2021 season.
 
The Aggie faithful continued this trend into the season opener as 15,356 fans were in attendance to watch NM State battle with UMass on Saturday, Aug. 26. Aggie Nation then upped that number to 17,943 for the Week 1 matchup against Western Illinois.
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES (FIU)
The Aggies will make their home CUSA debut on Wednesday night when they welcome FIU who enters the game with a 3-2 record and its only two losses this season coming at the hands of CUSA opponents.
 
FIU will be led by Head Coach Mike MacIntyre who is in his second season at the helm of the Panthers. Prior to landing in Miami, MacIntyre was the head ball coach at Colorado and San Jose St. While Deion Sanders currently has Colorado in the spotlight, the last time the Buffaloes received any sort of national attention was under MacIntyre when he led CU to 10 wins in 2016 when it also finished ranked 10th in the final College Football Playoff poll.
 
Wednesday's meeting between the Aggies and Panthers will mark just the third all-time meeting between the now-conference foes. Thus far, both teams have won one game in the series to make Wednesday the tiebreaker. This will also be the third time the Aggies host FIU as NM State has yet to make the trip down to South Beach.
 
Offensively, the Panthers are led at the quarterback position by dual threat homegrown freshman Keyone Jenkins who leads the team in passing with exactly 1,000 yards on the season and five passing touchdowns. Jenkins also ranks third on the team in rushing, however, most of the yards on the ground will come from running back Shomari Lawrence who paces the Panthers with 312 rushing yards through four games. On the outside, FIU will be led by Kris Mitchell who, with 459 receiving yards, enters Wednesday with nearly 300 more yards than the next-closes FIU receiver. Mitchell's impressive play on the perimeter has the Jacksonville, Fla., native ranked seventh in the nation in total receiving yards as of Friday night.

Defensively, the Aggie offense will be looking to find openings away from linebacker Donovan Manuel who leads the Panthers in tackles with 54 on the season. Manuel is also one of the best in the country at creating turnover opportunities as he has already forced four fumbles through the first five games of the year. This mark ranks tied for first in the nation at the FBS level.
 
LAST TIME VERSUS THE PANTHERS (10/1/22)
The Aggies' and Panthers' most recent meeting came almost exactly one year before Wednesday when FIU visited Las Cruces on Oct. 1, 2022.
 
In the second all-time meeting, FIU knocked off the Aggies 21-7 in a contest in which all scoring came in the opening two quarters of play. Last year, the Panthers outgained the Aggies 344-221 as FIU quarterback Grayson James threw for three touchdowns and completed 14 of his 20 pass attempts.
 
THE VOICE(S) OF THE AGGIES
NM State broadcaster Jack Nixon returns for his 44thyear of broadcasting Aggie athletics for the NM State radio network. A legend on the Aggie airwaves, Nixon has broadcast over 400 Aggie football contests and over 1,000 Aggie men's basketball games.  An NM State Hall of Fame selection, Nixon will handle of the radio duties with former Aggie Cory Lucas, who joined the broadcaster ahead of the 2017 season.