NM State seeks second straight win.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Based on Reporting By Michael Navarrette
Cover Photo By Izzy Palmisano
Images: Courtesy
Two games into the season, NM State has begun assembling some evidence that the encouraging moments in its season-opening loss at Florida State may have been more than just moments.
Saturday night in Hawaii offers another opportunity to find out.
The Aggies head to Honolulu with a 1-1 record following a 50-point performance against Mercyhurst that looked considerably different from the team that struggled to consistently generate offense a year ago.
NM State piled up 553 yards of total offense in the win, its highest total since 2023, while rushing for 236 yards. James Jones led the ground game with 137 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
That performance added a running game to an offense that had already shown some promise through the air.
Quarterback Trey Hedden has completed 37 passes for 525 yards and four touchdowns through his first two games as an Aggie. He has thrown two touchdown passes in each, becoming the first NM State quarterback since Tyler Rogers in 2014 to throw multiple touchdowns in each of his first two games with the program.
TK King has remained one of Hedden’s primary targets. After seven catches for 78 yards and a touchdown at Florida State, King added 94 receiving yards against Mercyhurst.
The defense, meanwhile, continues doing something it did particularly well last season: taking the ball away.
Nick Session intercepted a pass on the first play against Mercyhurst and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown. Sone Aupiu later added another interception, extending NM State’s streak of games with at least one forced turnover to 18.
Session now has interceptions in both games this season and earned Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week honors following Saturday’s performance.
A Different Kind of Test
Hawaii presents an interesting next step.
The Rainbow Warriors enter Saturday at 0-2 after losses to Stanford and UNLV, but history has not been particularly kind to the Aggies in this matchup.
NM State is 1-11 all-time against Hawaii and has never won in Honolulu. The Aggies’ lone victory came at home in 2022, when they defeated the Rainbow Warriors 45-26.
Head Coach Tony Sanchez does have some experience succeeding on the island. During his tenure at UNLV, Sanchez went 3-2 against Hawaii, including a 41-38 victory in Honolulu in 2016.
The trip will also be a homecoming for Aggie linebacker Fa’apaia Fualema, a Waipahu native who attended Waipahu High School. Cornerbacks coach Steve Irvin returns after spending the 2023 season coaching at Hawaii.
And it will be quite a trip.
NM State Athletics estimates the Aggies will travel about 6,420 miles round trip this weekend, the longest journey on a schedule that also sends the team to Tallahassee and Miami. In all, the Aggies are scheduled to travel 17,763 miles this season.
For NM State, though, the more interesting distance may be the one between an encouraging start and evidence of genuine progress.
The Aggies and Rainbow Warriors kick off at 10 p.m. Mountain Time Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex in Honolulu. The game will stream on MW+, with the Aggie radio broadcast available locally on 99.5 FM KXPZ and through TuneIn.
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