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LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State football team is set to host Battle of I-10 rival UTEP in Aggie Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game, which is sponsored by Wells Fargo, will air on AggieVision and will be broadcast on AM 570.
 
The Aggies fell to 0-2 last Saturday as they dropped a heartbreaking 34-32 decision to Georgia State in front of a home crowd of 27,201. This crowd was the largest to ever attend a Sun Belt Conference game in Aggie Memorial Stadium. The previous high was 20,323 against Idaho on Oct. 13, 2001.
 
The Aggies had 529 yards of total offense, while Georgia State had 582 yards. Although NM State had 445 passing yards compared to the Panthers' 372 passing yards, the visiting team racked up 210 rushing yards compared to the Aggies' 84 rushing yards.
 
"At this point we didn't stop the run and we didn't play well enough on defense," said head coach Doug Martin.  "We didn't give ourselves a chance. I thought our kids played hard and battled hard but we just have to keep working. We're not quite there yet."
 
Quarterback Tyler Rogers led NM State as he completed 31-of-55 passes for a career-high 445 yards. These yards rank ninth in the record books for NM State's all-time single game passing yards. Additionally, Rogers racked up three touchdowns and one interception. Rogers now has 581 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception on the season.
 
Jaden Wright led the Aggie defense against the Panthers as he racked up 12 tackles, returned one fumble recovery for a touchdown and grabbed one interception. Wright leads the team with 18 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery through the first two games.
 
"Offensively, taking care of the ball, we only had one turnover which was crucial," said Martin. "We also got a couple of turnovers, which was big, so we were positive in turnover margin. If we continue to do that and stay true to who we are, we're going to have a chance to win quite a few football games this year."
 
Tyrian Taylor led the receiving corps against Georgia State as he amassed 206 yards on just 10 catches. With these yards, Taylor now ranks sixth all-time in the NM State record books for single game receiving yards. His catches included a 75-yard touchdown reception and a 29-yard touchdown reception. Taylor now has 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The junior averages 18.8 yards per catch.
 
The Aggies will now look to bounce back as they host UTEP next Saturday in a rivalry game that dates back to 1914. The Miners currently hold a 55-35-2 record over NM State and have won the last six meetings between the two teams. The Aggies' last win was a 34-33 victory on Sept. 20, 2008. Last year, UTEP grabbed a 42-24 win in El Paso on Sept. 13.
 
UTEP is 0-2 this season after falling 69-20 to Texas Tech on Saturday night in Lubbock, Texas. The Miners average 142.5 yards rushing and 166.5 passing yards. They are led by Mack Leftwich, who has completed 23-of-36 passes for 284 yards. The quarterback also has one passing touchdown and one interception.
 
Notes

• NM State's game captains were Rodney Butler (defense), Alex Trujillo (defense), Robert Wagner (defense), Teldrick Morgan (offense) and Andy Cunningham (offense).
• Attendance against Georgia State: 27,201, the largest Sun Belt Conference attendance at Aggie Memorial Stadium. Previous attendance was 20,232 against Idaho on Oct. 13, 2013.

• Tyrian Taylor racked up a career-high 206 receiving yards on 10 catches with two touchdowns against the Panthers. His 206 yards ranks sixth all-time in NM State single game receiving yards.
• Tyler Rogers threw for a career-high 445 receiving yards against GSU, which ranks ninth all-time in NM State single game passing yards.

• Jaden Wright had his second career interception and his first career touchdown against Georgia State. The touchdown came off a fumble recovery. This was the first fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by NM State since Robert Clay returned one against UNM on Oct. 9, 2010.
• Lewis Hill recorded his first career forced fumble and Jaden Wright grabbed his first career fumble recovery on the play against the Panthers.
• Kawe Johnson had his third career forced fumble, and Terrill Hanks recovered the fumble for his first career recovery against GSU.
• Jordan Bergstrom collected his first career touchdown against Georgia State.