LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The Aggies will travel to Virginia to battle with Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 9, after dismantling Western Illinois to earn their first win of the season. The meeting with the Flames will also be the first CUSA game for the Aggies since joining the conference on July 1, 2023.

Game Information
NM State (1-1, 0-0 CUSA) at Liberty (1-0, 0-0 CUSA)
Date: September 9, 2023
Time: 4:00 p.m. MT
TV: ESPN+

• Matt Warner (PxP)
• Joe Jauch (Analyst)
• Emily Austen (Sidelines)

Radio: The Aggie Radio Network, Powered by LEARFIELD

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

PICK SIX
650 - The Aggie offense compiled 650 total yards of offense in the win over Western Illinois on Saturday. This number marks the eighth-most net yardage by any FBS offense this season.
7 - Seven different Aggies scored touchdowns to take down the Leathernecks. This is the second time the Aggies have accomplished this feat in the last four games.
5 - With five passing touchdowns on the season, Diego Pavia sits just one touchdown throw shy of his season total from last year.
1 - Saturday's game against Liberty will mark the inaugural CUSA contest for NM State. It is also the first conference game the Aggies will compete in since Dec. 2, 2017.
11 - The Aggie offense put together three separate 11-play scoring drives against Western Illinois.
-13 - Western Illinois' rushing game produced negative 13 yards during the second half of Saturday's game.

FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
In the Aggies' dominant 58-21 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 2, the NM State offense rushed for 270 yards and threw for 380 to total 650 total yards. This offensive explosion ranks eighth in the nation in total yards in a single game by any FBS team this season.
 
MOVING THE STICKS
With 49 total first downs this season, the NM State offense ranks third among all FBS programs. This season, the Aggies have achieved 19 first downs on the ground, 23 through the air and seven by way of penalty.
 
BRADY BOOM
In year two with the program, sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Brady has already emerged as one of Aggies' go-to targets in the passing game. Following the Western Illinois game in which he recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game, Brady is now averaging 75 yards per game to lead the Aggies and rank inside the top 100 of all FBS receivers.
 
The 102-yard game from Brady marked the first time an Aggie receiver eclipsed the century mark since Jared Wyatt did so on Nov. 27, 2021, against UMass.
 
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 this season.
 
Parker is also one of just 37 FBS athletes with multiple receiving touchdowns this year - joining fellow Aggie Trent Hudson who caught two touchdowns in his debut with the Aggies on Aug. 26.
 
DIEGO DISHING 'EM OUT
Diego Pavia threw three touchdown passes on Saturday against the Leathernecks to mark the fifth straight game with multiple touchdown throws for the Albuquerque native. With five touchdown passes through the first two games, Pavia is already just one touchdown throw shy of his season total from 2022 when he began the season with no touchdown passes through the first six games of the season.
 
With the hot start, Pavia ranks fourth at the FBS level in touchdown passes (5), passing yards (565) and yards per completion (17.66).
 
In total, Aggie quarterback duo ranks fourth in passing yards per completion at 19.03 - behind only Air Force, Tulane and Cincinnati.
 
SPREAD THE LOVE
In Saturday's win over the Leathernecks, seven different Aggies reached the end zone to mark the second time this feat was accomplished in the Aggies' last four outings. Touchdown scorers were Star Thomas (2), Makhilyn Young (1), Monte Watkins (1), Eli Stowers (1), Jonathan Brady (1), Bryce Childress (1), Jordin Parker (1).
 
Along these same lines, nine different Aggies caught at least one pass for the second straight week. In total, NM State quarterbacks combined to complete 17 passes for 380 yards with Diego Pavia responsible for 16 completions and 317 yards through the air.
 
SUPER SECOND HALF
On Saturday, NM State outgained Western Illinois 435-85 in total offense in the second half of play. Additionally, the Leathernecks tallied negative 13 rushing yards during the final two quarters of action.
 
The lopsided production also helped the Aggies outscore Western Illinois 38-7 during the closing 30 minutes of action.
 
TACK ON THE YAC
The Aggie wideouts were dominant running with the ball as 260 of Saturday's 380 receiving yards against Western Illinois came after the catch.
 
Bryce Childress' 77 yards after the catch paced all Aggie receivers on Saturday while Jonathan Brady turned in 67 yards after the reception to rank second. In total, six Aggie receivers tallied 20 or more yards after the catch against the Leathernecks.
 
EAST COAST CONNECTIONS
The trip covering over 1,800 miles will mean a return to the home state for the lone Virginia native on the Aggies' roster - tight end Kareem Burgess.
 
While the list of Virginia-born players is short, NM State Head Coach Jerry Kill did recently spend some time in the Old Dominion as he served as Assistant to the Head Coach on the Virginia Tech staff in 2019.
 
The Aggies do have one staff member with direct connections to Liberty University as Offensive Consultant and Recruiting Assistant Spencer Jones spent two years of his playing career at Liberty. The former Flame began his playing career as a quarterback before transitioning to wide receiver. In two years before transferring to Oklahoma, Jones appeared in 22 games while hauling in one touchdown catch to help the Flames knock off Baylor in 2017.
 
A NEW HOME: CONFERENCE USA
After spending the previous five seasons as one of just six schools at the FBS level to be labeled an Independent, the Aggies are now officially members of Conference USA and will open conference play this Saturday when they visit Liberty.
 
The last time that NM State resided in a football league was in 2017 when it competed as members of the Sun Belt - finishing 7-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play on its way to earning a spot in the Nova Home Loans Arizona bowl to end a 57-year drought without a bowl game.
 
The Aggies represent one of four new programs in CUSA as they were joined by Jacksonville State, Liberty and Sam Houston when they made the transition on July 1. Meanwhile, the league also consists of five returning members (FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Western Kentucky)
 
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.
 
THROUGH THE UPRIGHTS
Since his arrival in 2019, Ethan Albertson has established himself among the top kickers in the country. Amid his senior season, the San Diego, Calif., native ranks inside the top-ten in NM State history for field goals made (7th, 30), field goals attempted (t-7th, 39), field goal percentage (1st, 76.9%), extra points made (8th, 73), extra points attempted (9th, 77) and extra point percentage (94.8%)
 
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 25th all-time in career passing yards (2,015) and 10th in career rushing yards (520).
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES (LIBERTY)
The Aggies will head to Lynchburg, Va., this weekend in search of their second straight road win over the Flames after knocking off Liberty 49-14 in the final road game of 2022. In total, the Aggies are 2-3 all time against Liberty with series wins coming in the first ever meeting and most recent meeting.
 
This season, the Aggies will run into a new-look Liberty team that will be lead by first-year head coach Jamey Chadwell who took over for Hugh Freeze after Freeze departed for Auburn. Chadwell begins his first season at the helm of the Flames' program after steering Coastal Carolina to three straight seasons with at least nine victories.
 
As was the case in the 2022 meeting between the Aggies and Flames, the Liberty offense will be led by dual-threat quarterback Kaidon Salter. Last year, the sophomore from Cedar Hill, Texas, threw for 101 yards with one touchdown on 12 completions against the NM State defense. Through one game, Salter is the Flames' leader in passing yards (143) and rushing yards (82).
 
Salter will look to connect with senior wide receiver Treon Sibley who leads all Liberty wideouts with 56 receiving yards on three catches.
 
Defensively, Tyren Dupree paces the Flames in tackles with 10 while Jerome Jolly Jr. leads the Liberty secondary after opening the season with a two-interception performance against Bowling Green on Saturday.
 
THE VARSITY NETWORK
Last season, NM State Sports Properties and its parent company LEARFIELD, announced the creation of "THE VARSITY NETWORK" an interactive application that features free live gameday broadcasts, original content, and national college programming such as College Sports Now, College Football Biltz and the new College Football Saturday Night.
 
Fans can download the app for iPhone or android and will gain instant access to free gameday audio streams, including NM State football brought to you by Adam Young and Danny Knee, and receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts.
 
THE VOICE(S) OF THE AGGIES
NM State broadcaster Jack Nixon returns for his 44th year 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.
 
ON THIS DAY - SEPT. 9
NM State has competed six times on Sept. 9 in program history with the most recent contest coming in 2107 when the Aggies bested New Mexico. NM State has twice played three times on the road on Sept. 2, winning two of three.
 
The Aggies first played on Sept. 9 in 1972  when they fell to Utah State at home.
 
Last Five on Sept. 9
1972 - L, 48-14 vs. Utah State
1978 - W, 14-9 at Indiana State
1989 - L, 45-3 at New Mexico
1995 - L, 45-24 vs. Nevada
2006 - L, 34-28 vs. New Mexico
2017 - W, 30-28 at New Mexico