NM State Unable to Contain Bulldog Offense

The Aggies now turn their attention to a road matchup with CUSA opponent Sam Houston.

Source: NMSU Athletics (Photo: Courtesy)

The NM State Aggies (1-2) dropped its first road contest of the 2024 campaign – falling 48-0 to Fresno State (2-1) on Saturday Night at Valley Children’s Stadium.

On a night when everything seemed to swing in the direction of the home side, the Aggies only produced 138 total yards of offense while Fresno State generated 525 yards of offensive production on a balanced attack that included 281 passing yards and 244 rushing yards.

FIRST QUARTER
Following an opening drive that sputtered after six plays, NM State punted the ball away to Fresno State for its first possession of the game. With their first drive, the Bulldogs used two plays to travel 72 yards and reach the end zone to take the early lead.

The Bulldogs’ second possession nearly ended in a turnover as Da’Marcus Crosby forced a fumble, however, an unfortunate bounce put the ball in the hands of Fresno State’s Raylen Sharpe who rumbled 56 yards down to the Aggie 4-yard-line. The ensuing play would result in a touchdown – putting the home side ahead by two scores after running just four plays.

On the ensuing NM State possession, Head Coach Tony Sanchez made a switch at the quarterback position, calling on senior Deuce Hogan to try and provide a spark for the Crimson & White offense. After picking up their second first down of the night, George Eberle was called onto the field to punt the ball back to the Bulldogs. One drive later, Eberle would use his right foot to pin the Fresno State offense at its own 2-yard line to keep the field possession battle in favor of the Aggies.

The opening frame would come to a close shortly after the NM State defense forced Fresno State into a 3-and-out, holding the Bulldogs without a third-down conversion in the quarter. However, the Aggies would only be able to muster 50 yards of total offense during the period while also drawing 60 total yards of penalties.

Scoring plays: M. Dalena 69-yard touchdown reception (Kick by D. Lynch); Gilliam 4-yard touchdown rush (Kick by D. Lynch);

End Q1: NM State 0, Fresno State 14

SECOND QUARTER
Fresno State’s first drive of the second quarter would result in another touchdown drive as it went 68 yards in two minutes and 54 seconds to push the lead to 21 points. The Aggies’ next possession ended in a turnover as the ball fluttered out of Hogan’s hand after being hit by the incoming blitz as he reached back to throw. This would prove inconsequential as the Aggies forced a 3-and-out – the Bulldogs’ third of the night.

Later, the Bulldogs would extend their lead as a 13-yard touchdown pass through traffic would put the Aggies in a 28-point hole.

Scoring plays: M. Sherrod 7-yard touchdown rush (Kick by D. Lynch); M. Delena 13-yard touchdown reception (Kick by D. Lynch)

End Q2: NM State 0, Fresno State 28

THIRD QUARTER
The Fresno State offense picked up right where it left off in the first half as it produced a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on its first possession of the half. The Bulldogs would later take advantage of the second interception thrown by Hogan as kicker Dylan Lynch added three points to leave the Aggies in a 41-point hole. Fresno State then scored on its fifth-consecutive drive as Joshua Wood rushed in a two-yard touchdown to move the score to 48-0.

Scoring plays: J. Wood 1-yard rushing touchdown (Kick by D. Lynch); D. Lynch 40-yard field goal; J. Wood 2-yard rushing touchdown (Kick by D. Lynch)

End Q3: NM State 0, Fresno State 48

FOURTH QUARTER
The Aggies’ best offensive possession would come on their first drive of the fourth quarter as they ran a total of 13 plays and gained 61 yards – a number well above their average of eight yards per drive to that point in the game. However, the drive would ultimately end with an interception in the end zone on a pass that Parker Awad out of desperation on fourth down. This would prove to be the final opportunity for the Aggies to put points on the board.

Scoring plays: None

Final: NM State 0, Fresno State 48

UP NEXT
Following the Aggies’ first road trip of the season, NM State will once again be away from home next weekend as they travel to Huntsville, Texas, for a Conference USA bout with Sam Houston. This will be just the second time that the Aggies and Bearkats will meet after first colliding last season in Las Cruces where NM State earned a 27-13 victory.

This game is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. MT and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans interested in attending the game click here to purchase tickets online.

For complete coverage of the NM State football program, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Football), Twitter (@NMStateFootball) and Instagram (@NMStateFB).

Noteworthy

With a Fresno State touchdown to begin the night’s scoring, this marks the first opening drive score allowed by the NM State defense this season.
After recording a trio of punts inside Fresno State’s 20-yard line in the first quarter of action, graduate punter George Eberletied his single-game career mark for punts that ended inside their own 20. This set of punts included a punt in the first quarter that pinned the Bulldogs at their own 2-yard line.
Trailing 31-0 at the end of the first half, this became the largest halftime deficit for the Crimson & White since trailing RV Wisconsin 35-0 at the break on Sept. 17, 2022. The first half shutout became the first for the Aggies since Nov. 19, 2022 against SEC foe Missouri (21-0).
Senior safety Da’Marcus Crosby set a new career high in tackles with 14 on the night, while also recording his first forced fumble at the FBS level. Putting together a complete game, Crosby also recorded his first tackle for loss since Oct. 18, 2023.
Tallying a TFL for the NM State defense, defensive end Noah Arinze joins Tayden Barnes and Buddha Peleti in the team lead, with 1.5 TFLs on the season each.
Amassing 77 yards on the ground, the Aggies failed to continue a 24-game streak of 100 or more rushing yards.
Quarterback Santino Marucci made his NM State debut in the fourth quarter against the Bulldogs. He completed his only pass attempt for five yards.

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.