It may seem like a memory of a dream, but last November, the New Mexico State University Aggies beat Auburn… in their house. Funny how the mind plays tricks, but revisiting this moment, again, still carries the imprimatur of not being real.
In 1999, the Aggies travelled west on Interstate 10 to upset a highly-ranked Arizona State team. The story made headlines coast to coast. The news hit the Las Cruces campus like mortar shell, and in an instant, our broader community believed.
Somehow, the win over Auburn last November sent shock waves throughout the nation, but failed to land the same way here, where one might expect the largest explosion.
Something changed over the near-quarter century separating the two events. Did our broader community stop caring, or was it something else? Las Cruces Digest has an opinion. The news didn’t hit our broader community because the news never reached our broader community.
According to the Football Writers Association of America, NMSU was the best team in the nation the weekend of November 18, 2023. Let that soak in for a moment. A committee of leading sports writers decided, for the week of November 18, 2023, the NMSU was the National Team on that weekend–the Aggies represented America’s best.
While this accolade is not steeped in the tradition of the weekly Top-25 polls, it made one point loud and clear. The Aggies are capable of being considered the best football team in the nation–even if only for a snapshot.
This story is worth repeating for those who might have missed it the first time, so the Las Cruces Digest is more than happy to share the news that the New Mexico State University Aggies were the Cheez-It National Team of the Week the week for November 18, 2023.
The New Mexico State Aggies outgained Auburn by a near two-to-one margin while rushing for 213 yards in a 31-10 upset at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Aggies’ first win over a Southeastern Conference opponent in program history. The Aggies scored on all four trips to the red zone while preventing the Tigers from getting inside their own. The win earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Nov. 18, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the first time the Aggies have earned this honor from the FWAA.
It was a power ground attack that propelled NMSU’s (9-3, 5-1 in CUSA) possessions, rolling up a 213-65 margin in rushing yards. But quarterback Diego Pavia diced the Tigers up through the air as well, finishing with 201 passing yards and three touchdowns. Pavia hit 11 different receivers to keep Auburn guessing. Kordell David and Eli Stowers each caught a touchdown. New Mexico State outgained Auburn 414-213 overall.
The Aggies made a statement early. In the first quarter NMSU outgained Auburn 126-15 and made eight first downs while Auburn failed to move the sticks once. The Aggies held the ball for more than 12 minutes in the opening period. They finished with more than a quarter’s worth (17:10) of time of possession.
Defensively, Andre Seldon and Gabe Peterson each finished with six tackles to lead the way. Five different Aggie defenders recorded at least half a sack.
“We never had any doubt that we could do this,” NMSU cornerback Andre Seldon told reporters after the game. “It was like another game for us, but as far as looking at the scoreboard and feeling the victory, it was different with this game. We came into it as underdogs, and nobody believed in us. We told them to cut that check and we can get out of here. Go Aggies.”
NMSU, 7-6 a year ago, is now 9-3 with a game against Jacksonville State coming up Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. It’s the programs’ first consecutive winning seasons since 1966-67, and they’ve already clinched a spot in the CUSA Championship Game at Liberty on Dec. 1 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
“Our kids played with relentless effort,” head coach Jerry Kill said. “A relentless effort by them and this has to go down as one of the biggest wins that New Mexico State has had in a long time.”
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It “care package” along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation’s leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 18 were:
- App State (7-4): The Mountaineers got a 26-23 overtime win at No. 18 James Madison and stayed alive for a bid to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. Joey Aguilar’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Kaedin Robinson in overtime was the game-winner. App State withstood a late rally from the Dukes, who trailed by 12 points early in the fourth quarter and tied the game in the final minute of regulation. It was the Mountaineers’ third win over an AP Top 25 team in their last five tries, and App State is 3-10 against top-25 opponents since moving up to the FBS ranks in 2014.
- Arizona (8-3): Noah Fifita threw two touchdowns and the No. 19 Wildcats used a fast start to beat No. 16 Utah 42-18 for their first five-game winning streak in nine years. Arizona manhandled the two-time reigning Pac-12 champions by building a 28-0 lead by the first play of the second quarter. The win marks the first time for Arizona to beat four AP Top 25 teams in a season since 1989. Fifita threw for 253 yards on 22-of-30 passing against a Utah defense missing three starters.
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Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic, the Camping World Kickoff and the FC Series. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.
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2023 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman (Chair)
Travis L. Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Scott Farrell, collegepressbox
Bryan Fischer, FOX Sports
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Emily Leiker, Syracuse Post-Standard
Ben Portnoy, Sports Business Journal
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Publications
Susan Storey, JMA Sports
Dusty Thibodeaux, WarhawkReport.com
Ryan Thorburn, Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune
John Wagner, County News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group
New Mexico State University Athletics made the following announcement:
Victory Over Auburn Earns NM State Cheez-It National Team of the Week Honors
Source: NMSU Athletics
The Monday after a historic win on Saturday in which NM State imposed its will on Power Five foe Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium and went on win 31-10 to earn the program’s first-ever win over an SEC opponent, the Aggies were recognized as the Cheez-It National Team of the Week. The honor is selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America and this marks the first time that NM State has earned this award from the FWAA.
Upon the Aggies entering the game as 21-point underdogs, it became evident in the first quarter of the game that Auburn was going to have its hands full at home against the Crimson and White. Including a touchdown drive on its opening possession of the game, NM State outgained the Tigers 126-15 while allowing Auburn to run just five offensive plays during the first 15 minutes of action.
Auburn eventually responded with a long touchdown in the second quarter, however, a 40-yard field goal from Ethan Albertson would give the Aggies the lead heading into the locker room at half. Playing with a lead has been a comfortable position for the Aggies this season as they have led at half in six of their 12 games this season and are now 5-1 in games in which they are ahead at the break.
The Aggies’ attention to detail only increased in the second half as they outscored Auburn 21-3 during the final two quarters of play. Co-Defensive Coordinators Nate Dreiling and Melvin Rice played a big part in the dominant second half as their defensive unit allowed the Auburn offense to accumulate just 97 yards of total offense. This also included giving up just 12 rushing yards to the ninth-ranked rushing attack in the nation and Auburn offense who entered the game averaging over 200 rushing yards per game.
With the win, NM State tallied its ninth win of the season to reach the second-highest win total in program history with three games still remaining on the schedule. The win also marks the first time that a non-Power Five program has gone into Jordan-Hare Stadium and emerged victorious since 2007 when South Florida accomplished the same feat.
The Aggies, now 9-3 on the season, will now return home for its final regular season contest of the 2023 season as they play host to Jacksonville State on Saturday, Nov. 25.
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