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OXFORD, Miss. – The NM State football team is set to take on No. 13 Ole Miss on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT in Vaught–Hemingway Stadium. The game will be televised on the SEC Network and broadcast on AM 570 with an official kick time of 10:01 a.m.
 
The Aggies (0-4) dropped a 38-29 decision to Rio Grande rival New Mexico on Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M. The NM State defense limited the Lobos to just 45 yards in the air, while they gained 108 yards. In addition, the Aggies rushed for 308 yards and capitalized on 2-of-3 red zone chances.
 
Sophomore Larry Rose III had a career-best 260 rushing yards and a career-high three touchdowns against New Mexico. Rose III used 21 carries to garner 260 of the Aggies' 303 rushing yards. He had a long rush of 67 yards and averaged 12.4 yards per carry. These yards rank third in school history for a single game, and this was also the first time a NM State football player rushed for three touchdowns since 2011.
 
"Larry Rose is one of the better backs in the country and he showed that again tonight," said head coach Doug Martin. "He shows that every week and he shows up every day in practice. He's a joy to have around."
 
Rose III began to make his impact on the first drive of the game as he rushed for a first down and then used his speed to collect a 63-yard touchdown. After falling behind 14-7, Rose III capped a three-play, 75-yard drive with a 67-yard touchdown to tie the game. Rose III then continued his career-night as he finished a two-play, 30-second drive with a 51-yard run into the end zone.
 
Rose III now has 579 rushing yards on 71 carries to average 8.2 yards per carry and 144.8 yards per game. The sophomore has a team-high six rushing touchdowns on the year, with a long rush of 82 yards. Four of Rose III's touchdowns have been 50 or more yards.
 
Defensively, Derek Ibekwe led the team as he was one shy of his career-high in tackles with a game-high 13. Ibekwe racked up 10 unassisted tackles and three assisted tackles, as well as two tackles for loss. He now leads the team in tackles with 36 on the season and has a team-high 3.0 tackles for loss.
 
Parker Davidson kicked a career-high three field goals against the Lobos. The freshman collected a 41-yard field goal, a 25-yard field goal and a 39-yard field goal. He amassed 361 kickoff yards, with two touchbacks, to average 51.6 yards per kick. In the first quarter, Davidson completed a four-play drive with a 41-yard field goal as the Aggies took a 17-14 lead. Davidson then added a 25-yard field goal for the Aggies with 1 second left before the break to give NM State a 26-14 advantage going into the locker room.  After the NM State special teams unit forced a fumble and recovered it for the Aggies, Davidson completed an eight-play, 11-yard drive with a 39-yard field goal as NM State stretched the lead to 29-14.
 
The game against the Rebels next Saturday marks the first time these two teams have faced on the gridiron. Last Saturday, Ole Miss fell 38-10 to Florida in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Chad Kelly led the rushing efforts for the Rebels with 40 yards on 15 carries. Kelly also led the team in the air as he completed 26-of-40 passes for 259 yards.
 
In addition to AM 570, the game will be broadcast on the following affiliate stations:
Alamagordo - 103.7 KNMZ-FM
Albuquerque – 1240 KDSK-AM/93.7 K229CL-FM
Carlsbad – 1240 KAMQ-AM
Gallup – 1230 KYVA-AM
 
Notes

• NM State wore special commemorative helmets with the Zia Sun Symbol as the decal. This is the second time these decals have been worn on an NM State helmet. The first time was Sept. 19, 2015 against UTEP.                

• Larry Rose III rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the first half to beat his career-high in both categories in one half. Overall, Rose III rushed for 260 yards rushing yards.
• Rose III's three touchdowns is the first time an Aggie has rushed for three touchdowns since Kenny Turner ran for three touchdowns against Fresno State on Nov. 12, 2011.
• Rose III's rushing yards rank third in school history for a single game.
• Quarterback Nick Jeanty played in the first game of his career. He racked up 17 rushing yards.

• Terrill Hanks grabbed his first career interception in the first quarter.
• Parker Davidson completed a career-high three field goals.
• Winston Rose had his first career forced fumble, which Tyrian Taylor collected for his first career fumble recovery.