LYNCHBURG, Va. – On a Tuesday night in which it seemed as though Liberty (3-4, 2-1) would cruise to victory, NM State Football roared back with 21 unanswered points in the second half. Despite holding a lead late in the fourth quarter, the Aggies allowed a go-ahead touchdown from the Flames with 36 seconds remaining and failed to answer. The potential game-tying kick sailed wide as time expired, dropping the Crimson & White to 3-3 overall with a 1-2 mark in CUSA play.
 
In total, the Aggies outgained the Flames 388-293 and finished with over 100 rushing yards for the first time this season. The running game was fueled by Kadarius Calloway, who finished the contest with 18 carries for 84 yards.
 
Following a punt on the Aggies' opening possession, Liberty worked the ball deep into Aggie territory. However, Zedekiah Rodriguez-Brown came up with the drive-ending play as he took advantage of a pass that sailed over a Liberty receiver to record his first career interception. Unfortunately, the Aggies would be unable to produce any points off the turnover, while Liberty managed the game's first points with a short field goal on its next drive.
 
Trailing by three, the NM State offense generated its own point-producing drive as it used 13 plays to move the ball 67 yards to the Liberty 17-yard line, where Ryan Hawk would deliver a 27-yard field goal to tie the game. On the drive, Logan Fife found TK King, who made an immaculate one-handed catch through a defensive pass interference penalty to move the ball into the red zone.
 
The game would remain tied just briefly as Liberty returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to jump in front 10-3 with 9:49 left in the second quarter.
 
Later, the Aggie special teams would falter once again, allowing the Flames to jump on a mishandled punt at the Aggie 21-yard line to put the NM State defense back on the field in the shadow of its own end zone. With this field position, the Flames would score their second touchdown of the first half to put the Aggies down 17-3 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
 
Ezra Christensen and the NM State defense would set the tone on the first drive of the second half as the Fresno State transfer blew through a blocker before notching the sack fumble, which Brad Vislisel recovered at the Liberty 36-yard line. From there, Logan Fife and Kadarius Calloway helped the Aggies push their way into the end zone. The drive was ultimately capped off by a 2-yard Calloway rushing touchdown to bring the Aggies within one score, nearing the midway point of the third quarter.
 
Once again, the Aggie defense would get off the field in a hurry on the ensuing possession, giving NM State the ball back with an opportunity to tie the game. Fife and the Aggie offense did just that as an 11-play, 60-yard drive, which included a fourth-down conversion, was capped off by a Donovan Faupel touchdown catch that drew the Aggies even at 20-20 with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter. Eventually, the Aggies would carry this lead into the fourth quarter following a third frame that saw the Aggies outscore the Flames 14-0 while limiting the Liberty offense to just 46 yards and two first downs.
 
This momentum would carry over into the fourth quarter as NM State's Josiah Charles came up with an interception on the first play of the period, setting the Aggies up inside Flame territory for the second time in the second half. NM State would once again cash in to produce 21 points on its first three drives of the half. This time, facing a 3rd-and-9, Fife found freshman Brodie Malone-Bradford in the end zone for the go-ahead score.
 
Ezra Christensen recorded another huge play on the following Liberty drive as he sacked quarterback Ethan Vasko on third down to force another punt. Unfortunately, another special teams mishap gave the Liberty offense the ball back as they recovered a muffed punt at the Aggie 14-yard line. However, the NM State defense would stiffen and give up just three points to preserve the lead (27-23), entering the final stretch of the game.
 
Following an NM State punt that pinned the Flames inside their own 10-yard line, the Aggies sent out their defense with 3:46 on the clock in need of one more stop. However, with all three timeouts in hand, Liberty moved down the field to tally a lead-changing touchdown rush, giving the home side a 30-27 advantage with just 36 seconds remaining on the clock.
 
The NM State offense would get one more opportunity. Logan Fife managed a drive that included a 32-yard pass to Gavin Harris that set the Aggies up with a chance at a game-winning 47-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. Unfortunately, the kick attempt would end up left of the uprights, handing the Aggies their third loss of the season.
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Entering the night, NM State averaged just 50.8 rushing yards per contest. Against the Flames, the Aggies tallied 146 yards, setting a new season best on a 2025-high 38 attempts.
• Redshirt senior Ezra Christensen tallied the first forced fumble of his Aggie tenure, doing so via a strip sack in the second quarter.
• In addition to a touchdown, Kadarius Calloway racked up 84 yards on the ground. The graduate student surpassed his previous season and Aggie high of 66, which he set against Sam Houston on Oct. 2.
• Donovan Faupel hauled in his second receiving touchdown of the campaign in the third quarter. The junior has now accounted for three total scores on the season, including a passing touchdown at New Mexico.
• Liberty's 293 total yards were the fewest by an Aggie FBS opponent this season. NM State's previous low allowed was 313 last time out against Sam Houston (Oct. 2).
• Brodie Malone-Bradford caught his second touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter, doing so on a 20-yard strike from Logan Fife.
• Through six contests this season, the Aggie defense has recorded at least one turnover in each game. In 2024, NM State accomplished this feat in just seven of 12 games.
• Defensive lineman Ezra Christensen followed up his dominant outing against Sam Houston with another stellar showing. The defensive lineman recorded five total tackles, including four solo tackles that included two sacks and his first forced fumble as an Aggie.
• Nick Session led the team with eight total tackles on Tuesday, including five solo stops. The senior safety bested his previous season high of seven tackles.

 
UP NEXT
NM State will now return home for its final midweek bout of the season, as it is set to host Conference USA newcomer Missouri State on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The matchup at Aggie Memorial Stadium is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. MT and will air on CBS Sports Network. Coverage will also be available via 99.5 FM KXPZ, 96.7 FM La Equis and nmstatesports.com/stats.
 
For complete coverage of the NM State football program, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Football), Twitter (@NMStateFootball) and Instagram (@NMStateFB).