LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After a week away, the Aggies will return to action on Wednesday night as they travel to Huntsville, Texas, to square off with Sam Houston at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. This will mark the fourth all-time meeting between the Aggies and Bearkats and will serve as NM State's second trip ever to Huntsville. Kickoff for the Weekday CUSA bout is slated for 6 p.m. MT and fans will be able to tune in to ESPN2 to follow the action.
 
GAME SEVEN
Who: NM State (2-4, 1-1 CUSA) at Sam Houston (1-5, 0-2 CUSA)
Where: Huntsville, Texas – Elliott T. Bowers Stadium (14,000)
When: Wednesday, October 21, 2026 – 6 p.m. MT
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Jorge Sedano
Analyst: Rodney McLeod
Sideline: Kendra Douglas
 
Radio: 99.5 FM KXPZ / TuneIn App
Play-by-Play: MJ Newsom
Color Analyst: Cory Lucas
 
Live Stats: NMStateSports.com/Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT: FIU 22,  NM STATE 3              
NM State fell to FIU, 22-3, in Miami as three turnovers proved costly in the Aggies' lowest-scoring game of the season. After a 34-minute lightning delay, NM State managed its only points on a 26-yard field goal from Kyah Francone, while James Jones led the offense with 89 rushing yards and added three receptions. Defensively, the Aggies kept pressure on the Panthers throughout the night, highlighted by a career-high two sacks and three tackles for loss from Gabe Peterson, while Nick Session recorded a career-best 13 tackles.
 
BYE WEEK                                                               
After playing three games in a span of 12 days, the Aggies got some time off as they took advantage of a bye week that left them with 13 full days without a game.
 
SHORTEST ROAD TRIP OF THE YEAR
The Aggies will make the trip to Huntsville, Texas for their fourth road game of the year. After the first three road trips forced NM State to travel an average of 4,125 miles, this week's trip will span just 1,336 as they make the journey to East Texas. This will also mark the Aggies' shortest road trip of the 2026 campaign.
 
PRESSURING THE PASSER                        
Aggie defensive end Gabe Peterson has put together a strong first half of the season as he paces the Aggies and ranks second among all CUSA defenders with a career-best 4.5 sacks through just six games. This includes a standout performance against FIU, when Peterson recorded 2.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss.
 
In the Aggies' CUSA opener against WKU, the Aggie defense recorded six total sacks to mark the program's most sacks in a single game since a seven-sack performance against FIU on Oct. 4, 2023.
 
NM State now sits at 15 sacks on the season to rank second among CUSA defenses and 32nd at the FBS level. The Aggies will look to keep this going on Wednesday as Sam Houston has allowed 17 sacks this year, marking the second-most allowed by any CUSA team this season.
 
In total, seven different Aggies have at least one sack this season, including five players with multiple sacks at the midway point of the season.
 
PASS THE ROCK                                                 
The Aggies will be facing off against one of the stingiest pass defenses in the country as Sam Houston enters the game allowing just 137.8 passing yards per game to rank fourth in the country. Thus far, only Texas Tech has eclipsed 200 yards passing against the Bearkats.
 
However, this has been a strength for the Aggie offense this season as they are averaging 230.5 passing yards per game and have gone over the 200-yard mark in four of their first six contests.
 
COMMON OPPONENT                  
The Aggies' opponent is coming off of a 16-3 home loss to Western Kentucky. This is the same WKU squad that the Aggies collected a 34-13 victory over in their CUSA opener.
 
STRONG START TO CUSA PLAY                              
The victory over WKU two weeks ago marked NM State's first-ever win in a Conference USA opener and moved the Aggies into a tie atop the league standings. Previously, the Aggies were 0-3 in CUSA openers, including a 2023 campaign that saw the Aggies reach the conference title game.
 
RESTRICTING THE RUSH                           
In the win over WKU on Oct. 1, the Aggie defense allowed just 46 total rushing yards to mark the third time this season that the Aggies have allowed fewer than 75 rushing yards. This marks the first time since at least 1994 that the Aggies have kept their opponents under 75 rushing yards three times in a single season.
 
Thus far, Aggie opponents are averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. The Aggies will look to keep this going against Sam Houston as the Bearkats have one of the worst rushing offenses in the country as they average just 95.0 yards per game to rank 133rd out of 138 teams.
 
WINNING AT HOME                                        
In their last home contest, NM State collected its second home win of the season, improving to 2-1 at Aggie Memorial Stadium this year. This season, Conference USA teams have found major success on their home turf as they currently hold a record of 23-7 in home games. On the contrary, CUSA teams hold a record of 4-28 on the road.
 
TALLYING TURNOVERS                               
With an interception against FIU, the NM State defense has now forced a turnover in 21 of its last 22 games dating back to the 2024 season. During this stretch, the Aggies have recorded an interception in 16 of the 22 contests.
 
The Aggies will look to continue their strong defensive play against a Bearkat squad that has been outscored 51-6 in its first two CUSA contests.
 
GOING THE OTHER WAY                            
After finishing 14th in the nation in turnovers forced in 2025, the Aggie defense has continued to produce takeaways. Against WKU, De'Marcus Peters' pick-six marked his second touchdown of the season and the third for the Aggie defense this season. With this, NM State ranks tied for second in the country in defensive touchdowns and is one of just five FBS teams in the nation with three or more defensive touchdowns this year. It is joined by Alabama (4), Notre Dame (3), Texas Tech (3) and North Dakota State (3) as the best in the nation in this category.
 
JAMES JONES LEADS THE WAY              
Against WKU on Oct. 1, James Jones rushed for 155 yards to set a new season high and record the most rushing yards by an Aggie in a game since Mike Washington rushed for 152 yards against WKU on Nov. 9, 2024. This performance also propelled him to earning CUSA Offensive Player of the Week honors for Week 5.
 
With 89 rushing yards in his last outing, Jones now sits just 81 rushing yards away from 2,000 yards for his NCAA career.
 
Through his first five games with NM State, Jones paces the Aggies with 599 rushing yards on 92 carries. With 99.8 rushing yards per game, Jones currently paces all Conference USA rushers and ranks 19th in the nation. His 599 total rushing yards also ranks 13th in the country while his 6.5 yards per carry also rank second among CUSA rushers and stands at 20th among all FBS players.
 
While there are still six games remaining on the schedule, it is worth noting that no Aggie has averaged over 100 rushing yards in a single season since 2015 when Larry Rose averaged a program record 137.6 yards per game.
 
In his last five games, Jones has totaled 568 rushing yards on 81 carries to average 113.6 yards per game and 7.0 yards per rush.
 
Jones is familiar with big days in the backfield as he went over the 100-yard mark six times last season as a member of Delaware State. Dating back to his time with the Hornets, Jones has rushed for 100-plus yards in six of his last 10 games. Across his collegiate career, Jones has rushed for 100-plus yards a total of 13 times, including four times at Garden City CC, six times at Delaware State and three times with the Aggies.
 
As a senior at Delaware State last season, Jones compiled 958 rushing yards on just 98 carries to post an average of 9.8 yards per carry and 87.1 yards per game.
 
WEEKDAY CUSA                                                 
Wednesday serves as the Aggies' third midweek contest of the season and is one of 18 nationally televised midweek Conference USA games.
 
Thus far, the Aggies hold a record of 7-5 in midweek CUSA games. This will mark the second time that the Aggies collide with Sam Houston during the midweek slate after also doing so last season.
 
LEADERS IN THE MIDDLE                         
NM State brought back two big pieces of its defense as both linebackers Sone Aupiu and Tory Gethers returned for the 2026 season.
 
Aupiu is in his fifth year with the program and fourth as a starter. In total, Aupiu has now made 42 starts to lead all Aggies and is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he ranked third on the team in total tackles with 68.
 
After a breakout season in 2025, Tory Gethers is alongside Aupiu once again. Gethers serves as the Aggies' leading tackler among returners after ranking second on the team with 88 total tackles, despite only starting eight games last year. Currently, Gethers ranks second on the team in tackles with 39, including a sack and three tackles for loss.
 
CLASS IS IN SESSION                     
One of the biggest plays in the Aggies' win over Mercyhurst came from safety Nick Session who intercepted a pass on the first play of the game and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.
 
Prior to his interception in the season opener, Session had just one interception in his collegiate career with his first coming as a member of the Oklahoma State defense in 2021.
 
Session has also been flying around on the back end this season as he is coming off a career-high 13 tackles against FIU and currently leads the Aggies in total tackles with 50, including 25 solo tackles. With his total, he is just 11 tackles away from matching his season total from last year.
 
WHERE TO WATCH THE AGGIES         
After just three of the Aggies' 12 games were featured on national networks in 2025, the Aggies will find themselves in the national spotlight six times this season. This year, NM State is slated to play three games on ESPN2, two games on CBS Sports Network and one game on The CW.
 
Week 8 marks the fifth time this season that the Aggies will play on national television as Jorge Sedano (PxP), Rodney McLeod (Analyst) and Kendra Douglas (Sidelines) will be on the call for ESPN2.
 
WHERE TO LISTEN TO THE AGGIES  
Once again, all games this season will air live on 99.5 FM KXPZ for those in Las Cruces and the surrounding areas. Radio broadcasts for all Aggie games will also be available to listen to nationwide via the TuneIn App. Radio play-by-play for Wednesday's game will be provided by MJ Newsom, with analysis provided by Cory Lucas.
 
Additionally, all home games will be available in Spanish on 96.7 FM La Equis with the call provided by Darien Salayandia (play-by-play) and Jose Aragon (analyst).