NM State is looking for its first win since week one against LA Tech

LAS CRUCES, NM –NM State will host Conference USA foe LA Tech on Tuesday night looking to end a five-game losing streak. This will be the Aggies’ only midweek home game this season and the second of three midweek games during the 2024 season.

The Aggies and Bulldogs first met in 1967 and have been part of a conference three times throughout the program’s respective histories – spending time together in the Big West, the Western Athletic Conference and now the CUSA.

CHOOSE SIX

57 – This will be the 14th time the Aggies will face the Bulldogs, in a series that dates back 57 years to the first meeting in 1967. The Aggies are currently 5-8 against LA Tech.

53 – Last week, kicker Abraham Montaño split the uprights from 53 yards out for the third-longest field goal in program history.

14 – NM State’s George Eberle currently ranks 14th nationally in yards per punt with an average of 45.6 yards per punt.

2 – With two interceptions this season, Josiah Cox ranks 19th nationally for interceptions among FBS players. He is also one of only three CUSA players with two interceptions in a game.

6 – On Tuesday, NM State returns home having won six of its last eight games.

131 – In 2023, the Aggies finished the year ranked 14th at the FBS level in rushing yards per game. This season, the Aggies’ offensive line room brings a total of 131 starts to the table and will be the Aggies’ most experienced position group by a wide margin.

#WEEKDAYCUSA

The Aggies’ string of midweek games continues this week against LA Tech as they will host their only midweek home game of the season.

After a successful start in 2023, this is the second season in a row that all October league games will be played on weekday evenings. CUSA’s broadcast partners will broadcast October’s weeknight football games on linear television via CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

In 2024, the Aggies were a perfect 4-0 with wins over FIU, Sam Houston, UTEP and LA Tech. During this stretch of play, the Aggies outscored their opponents by an average of 13.8 points per game. In general, October was kind to the Aggies as they began this year with a perfect 6-0 record in October over the last two seasons.

The Aggies are 0-1 so far this season and will have two more chances during the week this season.

EXCEED CONFERENCE WAYS

This is only the second season that NM State and LA Tech have competed against Conference USA, although this is the third different league matchup the two programs have shared.

The Aggies and Bulldogs first competed as conference opponents in 1995 as members of the Big West. Ten years later, the two programs would be in the Western Athletic Conference and compete as league rivals from 2005 to 2012.

Eventually, the two would cross paths again in 2022 as members of CUSA. Overall, the Aggies hold a 3-7 record against the Bulldogs in their 10 meetings as members of the same conference.

COACHING MATCHUP

Both NM State head coach Tony Sanchez and LA Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie serve as leaders of their second FBS program.

Sanchez received his first opportunity at UNLV, where he served as head coach for five seasons (2015-19). Meanwhile, Cumbie was named interim head coach at Texas Tech, where he succeeded Matt Wells for the second half of the 2021 season.

For Cumbie, this is his third season at the helm of the Bulldog program, while Sanchez is his first at NM State.

Over his career, Sanchez has 21 wins, while Cumbie earned his 10th collegiate victory on Friday when the Bulldogs defeated Middle Tennessee.

MONTAÑO MONEY

Kicker Abraham Montaño has been one of the bright spots for the Aggies this season, and after a perfect 2-for-2 performance at Jax State, he ranks 19th nationally in field goal percentage – going 8 of 9 this season Attempt . Against the Gamecocks, Montaño scored from 53 yards out, a shot tied for the third-longest field goal in program history.

This season, the Fresno State transfer’s only missed shot came from 57 yards out on a kick into the wind that had the necessary distance and would have been the longest kick in program history.

LOUISIANAGGIES

NM State currently has four student-athletes who hail from LA Tech’s home state of Louisiana, including a trio of wide receivers in PJ Johnson III (Lake Charles), Latrell Neville (New Orleans) and Jordan Smith (Slidell). Additionally, Monte Watkins is from Laplace, La. However, the explosive running back will miss Tuesday’s game due to a concussion.

PJ AND TJ

This year’s passing game, while limited, was executed by the duo of slot receivers PJ Johnson III and TJ Pride. After a career performance in Wednesday’s road game at Jax State that included three catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, junior PJ Johnson III leads the Aggies with 156 on nine catches this season.

Meanwhile, true freshman TJ Pride is the only other receiver to surpass the century mark this season, as he recorded a team-high 16 catches for 144 yards and set the pace in receptions for the Aggies in the last three games.

Win the ground game

Head coach Tony Sanchez preaches the importance of winning the rushing battle, and unfortunately the Aggies have only averaged more rushing yards than their opponent in one game this season. This happened in the home opener against SEMO and is currently the Aggies’ only win this season.

On the contrary, the Aggies were outrebounded on the ground in each of their five losses.

In fact, the last time the Aggies won a game in which they lost the rushing battle was on October 29, 2022, when they beat UMass despite the Minutemen rushing for 162 yards – 51 more than the Aggies.

DEALING WITH LA TECH IN LAS CRUCES

Although the Aggies hold a 5-8 record against the Bulldogs, NM State enters Tuesday’s game with a winning record against LA Tech at Aggie Memorial Stadium. In seven games, the Crimson and White have drawn four times, including winning each of the first three games in Las Cruces.

KEEP YOUR FOOT ON THE PEDAL

Although the Aggies rank 121st nationally in offense, NM State has scored first in three of its six games this season. Unfortunately, the Aggies were unable to maintain that success and were outscored 52-23 in the first quarter this season.

NICE TO BE HOME

NM State will return to the friendly venue of Aggie Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, where it has a 10-5 record over the last three seasons, including five wins in six games last season.

Likewise, Conference USA teams have struggled to win on the road this season, posting a 5-22 away record through seven weeks while maintaining a 17-12 record in home games.

First time starter

Following the Aggies’ first 10-win season since 1960, NM State has entered its first year under head coach Tony Sanchez with some new faces in key roles. This year, NM State recorded 36 transfers in the offseason – a mark that ranks fifth at the FBS level and is six behind Saturday’s opponent, New Mexico. Aside from the Lobos, only Charlotte (44), Colorado (44) and Utah State (38) brought in more offseason transfers than the Aggies.

Additionally, the Aggies only returned eight of their 22 starters on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. And overall, NM State returns 28 of its 67 letterwinners from last season.

In total, 19 different Aggies made their first collegiate start this season, including 14 in the opener against SEMO. With 19 years, the Aggies currently rank third among all first-time starters this season.

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

From a broken down perspective, the Aggies yielded 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.

Similar place

The Aggies enter the meeting with the Bulldogs with a record of 1:5. Despite posting two of the most successful seasons in program history in the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, the Aggies are no stranger to slow starts.

During a 2022 season that concluded with a win in the Quick Lane Bowl and left their record at 7-6, the Aggies entered Week 7 with a record of 1-5 – identical to their current mark. A 21-9 The Aggie’s win over New Mexico ended a streak of three straight losses to the Lobos and kicked off a second half of the season in which the Aggies finished 6-1, securing the program’s first bowl bid since the 2017 season.

A year later, the Aggies traveled to Albuquerque with a record of 1-2. NM State would then improve to 2-2 with a 27-17 win at University Stadium. After losing the following road game at Hawaii, the Aggies fell to 2-3 before finishing the regular season with a 10-3 record.

Even if Tony Sanchez and his team wouldn’t choose to be in a position with one win in six games, the Aggies have proven they can bounce back from this field. In fact, in six of the Aggies’ last seven seasons that resulted in a winning percentage above .500, NM State held a losing record in at least five games.

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