Aggie Football Faces First Road Test at Fresno State

NM State looks to win road opener for first time since 2014.

Source: NMSU Athletics (Photo: Courtesy)

WEEK THREE
Who: NM State at Fresno State
Where: Fresno, Calif. – Valley Children’s Stadium (40,727)
When: Saturday, September 14, 2024 – 8:30 p.m. MT

HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: TruTV
Play-by-Play: J.B. Long
Analyst: Mike Golic Jr.
Sidelines: Bridget Howard

Listen: 99.5 FM KXPZ / TuneIn App / SiriusXM Channel 991
Play-by-Play: Jack Nixon
Color Analyst: Cory Lucas

Live Stats: NMStateStats.com

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State will hit the road for the first time under Head Coach Tony Sanchez as it makes the trip to Fresno State for a bout with the Bulldogs on Saturday, September 14. The week three matchup is slated to kick off that 8:30 p.m. MT and will air live on TruTV.

The meeting with their old conference foes will mark the Aggies’ lone road trip in which they travel west. This will also represent the first of two meetings across the next three weeks against Mountain West programs as NM State will turn around to host New Mexico just 14 days after taking on Fresno State.

THIRD DOWN DEFENSE
On Saturday against Liberty, the Aggie defense was exceptional on third down – limiting Liberty to just one third-down conversion on 11 attempts.

This marks the lowest third-down conversion percentage for an Aggie opponent since Oct. 11, 2023, when Sam Houston finished the game just 1-for-12.

Additionally, the Aggie is among the best in the nation at stopping teams on third down through the first two weeks of the season. Holding opponents to just a 22.2% conversion rate, the Aggies currently rank 13th among FBS programs in third-down conversion percentage.

PASSING GAME IMPROVES
After completing just five passes for 37 yards in the season opener, sophomore quarterback Parker Awad showed much improvement against a tough Liberty defense on Saturday.

In his second FBS start, Awad finished with 158 yards and two touchdowns on nine completions. This included a 64-yard touchdown pass to Monte Watkins.

WATKINS WOWS
Junior running back Monte Watkins has had a thing for the spectacular since arriving on campus. Now in his third season with the Aggies, Watkins has flashed his track speed several times. Including his 64-yard touchdown reception on Saturday versus Liberty, Watkins now has three touchdown scores of 60 yards or longer.

In 2022, Watkins rushed for a 78-yard touchdown against Valparaiso. Last year, Watkins broke free for an 80-yard rushing touchdown against UMass to mark the Aggies first touchdown of the season.

OLD FOES
The Aggies and Bulldogs once saw each other every season as the two programs resided in the Western Athletic Conference for seven seasons (2005-11) and also shared the same conference affiliation from 1984-91 when the two programs were in the Big West.

While the Aggies were victorious in the final conference meeting between the two schools, this was the lone Aggie win in 15 meetings as league opponents.

START FAST
With a win over SEMO in their season opener, the Aggies began the year with a 1-0 record for just the first time since the 2014 season.

Despite coming off of two of the most successful seasons in program history and reaching a bowl game three times since 2016, the last time the Aggies opened the year with a 1-0 record was the 2014 campaign when they came away with a 28-10 win over Cal Poly.

Head Coach Tony Sanchez also became the 15th NM State head coach to win his first game as the leader of the program and the first since 1978 when Gil Krueger did so.

BARNES EARNS CUSA DPOW
Redshirt freshman Tayden Barnes impressed in his collegiate debut as he recorded a team-high nine tackles in addition to claiming the game-sealing interception against SEMO on Aug. 31. This performance was garnered recognition from the league as the Amarillo, Texas, native was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday morning.

Barnes turned in five solo takedowns while also tallying 1.5 tackles for loss against the Redhawks. His interception came at the Aggies’ 18-yard line with just 37 seconds remaining on the clock as the Redhawks were driving in search of a game-tying touchdown.

Barnes’ distinction marked the seventh time an Aggie has garnered CUSA player of the week honors since joining the league last season. He also became just the second Aggie to earn CUSA defensive player of the week recognition – joining Gabe Peterson who did so in 2023.

FIRST-TIME STARTERS
Following the Aggies’ first 10-win season since 1960, NM State has begun year one under Head Coach Tony Sanchez with some new faces in key roles. This year, NM State welcomed 36 transfers during the offseason – a mark that ranks fifth-most at the FBS level, behind only Charlotte (44), Colorado (44), New Mexico (42) and Utah State (38).

Additionally, the Aggies returned just eight of their 22 starters on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. And, in total, NM State brings back 28 of its 67 letterwinners from last season.

In total, 16 different Aggies have logged their first collegiate start this season, including 14 first-time starters in the season opener against SEMO. Each of these marks rank second among FBS programs – behind only Air Force who has had 19 players record their first FBS start this season, including 16 in their season opener against Merrimack.

This new outlook is also reflected in the amount of returning production entering the year. After having one of the highest rates of returning production entering the 2023 season (returned 83% of total gained yardage), only 23% (1,268/5,606) of its total all-purpose yardage from 2023 belongs to someone still wearing Crimson and White in 2024.

From a broken-down perspective, the Aggies brought back 0% (0/3,206) of their passing yards, 17.3% (471/2,715) of their receiving yards, 32.5% (755/2,325) of their rushing yards and 7.4% (42/566) of their return yards.

ON OPPOSITE ENDS
NM State Head Coach Tony Sanchez and Fresno State leader Tim Skipper have ties back to Sanchez’s days as the head coach at UNLV. During Sanchez’s final two seasons with the Rebels, Skipper served as UNLV’s defensive coordinator.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES (FRESNO STATE)
The Bulldogs will be led by first year head coach, Tim Skipper who earned his first career win last weekend when Fresno State defeated Sacramento State by a score of 46-30.

The Bulldogs will be led by quarterback Mikey Keene who guided his team to a win behind a performance which included 24 completions for 358 yards and two touchdowns. Keene will be joined in the backfield by Malik Sherrod who enters the weekend as the Bulldogs’ leading rusher with 83 yards and two touchdowns.

Keene will look to connect with top receivers Mac Delena and Jalen Moss who have combined to haul in 25 passes for 375 yards and one touchdown.

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 with the second of the season coming this weekend as it takes on Fresno State on TruTV.

WHERE TO LISTEN TO THE AGGIES
Once again, all games this season will be aired 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 former Aggie running back Cory Lucas for most of the season including for Saturday’s game versus Fresno State.

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.

Article posted by:

Levi Gwaltney

Levi Gwaltney is the Editor In Chief of Las Cruces Digest. The Editor makes editorial and posting decisions regarding content published on this site. In most cases, the Editor makes little if any contribution to content published, and takes no credit for the content of republished posts. If available, the source or author of posts is provided at the top of the article.