Aggies prep for final road contest of the 2024 campaign.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Article By Michael Navarrette
Photo By Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – For just the second time this season, NM State (2-8, 1-5 CUSA) will play in consecutive road games as they travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., for a matchup with Middle Tennessee (3-7, 2-4 CUSA) on Saturday night in Floyd Stadium.
NM State is most recently coming off of a 38-3 road loss against No. 15 Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, and will now close the season with a pair of Conference USA contests. Following this weekend’s game against the Blue Raiders, NM State will return home for a Rivalry Week collision with UTEP on Nov. 30.
WEEK ELEVEN
Who: NM State at Middle Tennessee
Where: Murfreesboro, Tenn. – Floyd Stadium (27,303)
When: Saturday, November 23, 2024 – 12:30 p.m. MT
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Jake Rose
Analyst: Jeremy Kellem
Sideline: Justin Beasley
Listen: 99.5 FM KXPZ / TuneIn App
Play-by-Play: Jack Nixon
Color Analyst: Bob Sherman
Live Stats: NMStateStats.com
PICK SIX
600 – With 39 more rushing yards from Mike Washington, the duo of Washington and McGowan would become the first pair of Aggies to each record 600-plus rushing yards in a season since 2003.
11 – For the first time this season, NM State sent out the same 11 starters in back-to-back games on the offensive side of the ball.
2 – The Aggies came up with two interceptions for the second-straight game while also managing to win the turnover margin for the first time this season as they did not turn the ball over once against Texas A&M.
8 – Abraham Montaño has now made eight kicks of 40 or more yards this season after making a 48 yarder against Texas A&M.
2 – NM State has two more games remaining on the schedule and will close out their road schedule this weekend against MTSU.
4.5 – NM State is currently averaging 4.5 yards per rush in CUSA games – a mark that ranks fourth among league opponents.
DANGEROUS DUO
NM State’s backfield duo of Seth McGowan and Mike Washington has been a bright spot on the Aggie offense. Currently, McGowan’s 701 rushing yards on the year already stand as the Aggies’ second-highest single-season rushing total of the last five seasons.
Additionally, just 39 more rushing yards for Mike Washington would make the duo the first pair of Aggie running backs since 2003 to each rush for more than 600 yards in one season. The last time this occurred was when Eric Higgins (753) and Tony Joseph (712) did so 21 seasons ago.
DO WHAT WE DO
This weekend, NM State will look to gain an edge via the run game as the Aggies currently rank 44th in the nation in rushing yards per game (181.2) while Middle Tennessee enters Saturday’s contest with the 122nd-ranked rushing defense in the country – giving up 207.5 yards per game.
This season, the Blue Raider defense has allowed opposing offense to eclipse 200 rushing yards four times this season, including giving up an eye-popping 438 rushing yards to Jax State. Additionally, in its most recent game, MTSU allowed Liberty to rush for 339 yards.
RUN AGGIES, RUN
Continuing the theme, NM State turned in its best rushing performance of the season two weeks ago as it tallied a total of 331 yards on the ground against Western Kentucky. This marked the Aggies’ highest single game total since Sept. 24, 2022, when they rushed for 357 yards against Hawaii.
The attack which represents the most rushing yards in the last 33 games was led by the backfield duo of Mike Washington and Seth McGowan. Against the Hilltoppers, Washington compiled 153 yards on the ground to mark the first time since Nov. 27, 2021, that an Aggie rusher surpassed 150 yards rushing. Meanwhile, Seth McGowan added 113 rushing yards to signify the Aggies’ first game with multiple 100-yard rushers since Dec. 3, 2016, when Larry Rose III (170) and Conner Cramer (110) achieved this feat.
ROAD WOES
An Aggie win this weekend would put an end to a streak of six straight road losses dating back to last season.
However, despite holding a winning record over Middle Tennessee in its history, NM State will be seeking its first-ever win in Murfreesboro this weekend. Entering this weekend, the Aggies are 0-2 all-time on the road against the Blue Raiders while maintaining a 3-0 record in Aggie Memorial Stadium in this match up.
TURNOVER FREE FOOTBALL
For just the second time this season, NM State finished the game with no turnovers – committing none against 15th-ranked Texas A&M in its last game.
This also marked the first time this season that NM State forced more turnovers than its opponent as Keonte Glinton and Tayden Barnes each tallied interceptions while at Kyle Field.
CREATING CONTINUITY
Saturday’s game against Texas A&M marked the first time this season that NM State’s starting offense was the same in back-to-back games.
LUCKY SEVEN
With a touchdown pass to Donovan Faupel in the fourth quarter of the Aggies’ game against Western Kentucky, seven different Aggies have now caught exactly one touchdown pass this season. Additionally, all seven Aggies are tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions. This group includes Faupel, PJ Johnson III, Jerry Lydiatt, Seth McGowan, TJ Pride, Mike Washington and Monte Watkins.
100K
With a recorded attendance of 105,815 people at Kyle Field last weekend, this marked the largest crowd that an NM State team has ever played in front. This surpasses the previous high attendance of 104,719 when the Aggies took on No. 15 Ohio State on Halloween night in 2009. This also represents just the fourth time in program history that the Aggies have competed in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 fans.
MONEY MONTAÑO
Senior kicker Abraham Montaño continued his stellar season as he connected on attempts from 57 yards out and 53 yards out in the Aggies’ road tilt at FIU three weeks ago.
The 57-yarder he made in the second quarter is tied for the longest kick in program history and is tied for the fourth-longest kick in CUSA history. This is also the longest kick from any CUSA kicker since 2012 and is tied for the 11th-longest kick at the FBS level this season.
Later in the game against the Panthers, Montaño would make a 53-yarder to become the first Aggie kicker since 1978 to have two kicks of 50-plus yards in a single game. He also became just the second FBS kicker this season to make two kicks of 50 yards or longer in a single game – joining Florida State’s Ryan Fitzgerald who made a 59-yarder and a 52-yarder versus Georgia Tech on Aug. 24.
Despite a miss last week, Montaño still ranks 40th in the nation in field goal percentage at 81.3% (13-16).
Additionally, Montaño is currently 8-of-11 on kicks of 40-plus yards this season.
KEEP THE FOOT ON THE PEDAL
Despite the Aggies ranking 123rd in the country in scoring offense, NM State has scored first in five of its 10 games this season. Unfortunately, this hasn’t translated to wins as the victory over LA Tech marked the Aggies’ only victory of the season in a game which they scored first in.
AGGIE MEMORIAL MIRACLE
Arguably the play of the year for the Aggies came on the final play of regulation against LA Tech when defensive tackle Naki Fahina busted through the line to block a potential game-winning field goal from the Bulldogs. This blocked field goal marked the first time that the Aggies had blocked a field goal since Oct. 4, 2014, when they did so against Georgia Southern.
The blocked kick led to the Aggies earning a 33-30 double overtime win over the Bulldogs which marked NM State’s first double overtime game since 2005.
The block also marked the Aggies’ second blocked kick of the season which is good for 20th-most in the nation this year.
KALE’S COMING OUT PARTY
NM State defensive end Kale Edwards logged a total of four sacks in the Aggies’ victory over LA Tech. This equals the highest total sack mark for any individual at the FBS this season – matching the efforts of Suntarine Perkins (Ole Miss), Antwaun Powell-Ryland (Virginia Tech) and Cameron Whitfield (Louisiana). Impressively, Powell-Ryland has reached this mark twice this season.
This performance from the native of Couer d’Alene, Idaho, earned him recognition from the Conference USA office as he was named the CUSA Defensive Player of the Week. This was also just two sacks shy of the single-game program record set by Fredd Young when he recorded six sacks against LA Tech in 1983.
CAROUSEL OF QUARTERBACKS
This season, four different Aggie quarterbacks have now seen significant game action after Brandon Nuñez made his first start of the season against FIU two weeks ago.
With Nuñez’s contributions, he joins teammates Parker Awad, Santino Marucci and Deuce Hogan to become the fourth Aggie quarterback with at least five pass attempts this season.
This also makes the Aggies one of just five FBS teams with four different players that have at least five pass attempts – joining Kent State, Tulsa, Central Michigan and FIU as the only other teams in the country to fulfill this statistic.
PJ AND TJ
While limited, this year’s passing game has gone through the duo of slot receivers, PJ Johnson III and TJ Pride. Junior PJ Johnson III now ranks first on the team in receiving yards with 256 on 16 catches.
Meanwhile, true freshman TJ Pride leads the team in receptions (23), ranks second on the team in yards (242), and has paced the Aggies in receptions four times this season.
AGGIE MEMORIAL RIVALRIES
For the 102nd time in program history, the Aggies’ schedule will feature games against both UTEP and New Mexico. Despite the extended history, the 2024 season marks just the sixth time ever, and the first time since 2002, that both the Miners and Lobos will make the trip to Aggie Memorial Stadium in the same season. In all, this schedule alignment has only occurred in 2002, 1998, 1988, 1958 and 1956. During these years, the Aggies are 5-5 against their rivals, including holding a combined 4-0 mark in 2002 and 1998.
WHERE TO WATCH THE AGGIES
After eight of the Aggies’ 15 games were featured on national networks in 2023, including three of the final four contests, the Aggies will once again have their opportunities in the spotlight in 2024. Entering the year, NM State is slated to play six of its 12 games on a national network. This weekend, Aggie fans can tune in to ESPN+ to catch the contest against the Blue Raiders.
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. Additionally, all home games will be available in Spanish on 96.7 FM La Equis. Radio broadcasts for all Aggie games will also be available to listen to nationwide via the TuneIn App. Radio play-by-play will be provided by Jack Nixon with analysis provided by Bob Sherman.
ONE FINAL RIDE
NM State broadcaster Jack Nixon returns for his 45th and final year of broadcasting Aggie athletics for the NM State radio network. A legend on the Aggie airwaves, Nixon begins the 2024 football season with 500 games under his belt in addition to over 1,400 basketball games.
For much of the season, the “Voice of the Aggies” and NM State Hall of Fame selection, Nixon will handle the radio duties alongside former Aggie Cory Lucas, who joined the broadcaster ahead of the 2017 season.
