LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State football team emerges from a bye week with a crucial home matchup against fellow independent Liberty, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. MT, inside of Aggie Memorial Stadium. Saturday's contest is the first of two matchups between the Aggies and Flames during the 2018 season.
WEEKLY PRESSER
Doug Martin |
Josh Adkins |
Shamad Lomax
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggie fans who are not able to make it to Aggie Memorial can watch the game live on AggieVision with Adam Young handling the play-by-play and Danny Knee Serving as the analyst for Saturday night's contest. Those looking to watch on television can catch the game playing live on FOX Sports Arizona PLUS, FOX Sports Southwest PLUS and FOX College Sports Pacific.
LISTEN UP!
Fans can also listen in to every Aggie game this season on the Aggie Sports Network with NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer
Jack Nixon on the call and Cory Lucas as the analyst. The broadcast can be heard on the flagship station, 99.5 FM KXPZ or with the TuneIn app.
Affiliates:
Alamagordo - 103.7 FM KNMZ
Albuquerque - 1150 AM KNMM
Carlsbad - 1240 AM KAMQ
El Paso - 1380 AM KHEY
Gallup - 1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas - 107.1 FM KMDS
STAY CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State football team all season on Twitter by following @NMStateFootball, on Instagram by following @NMStateFB and through Facebook.com/NMSUFootball.
LOOKING AT THE FLAMES
Liberty enters Aggie Memorial Stadium on Saturday night with a .500 record at 2-2 on the season. The most recent game for the opposition saw the team travel to Albuquerque, N.M. and take down NM State rival New Mexico, 52-43, this past Saturday.
The Flames offense looks to the air to get things moving with 1,354 passing yards on the year as opposed to just 566 on the ground. Liberty quarterback Stephen Calvert has a 143.43 passing efficiency while completing 54.9 percent (84-153) of his passes with 10 touchdowns. Calvert has a reliable target on his receiving corps in 6-4, 220 pound, Anton Gandy-Golden who leads the team with 25 catches for 382 yards and four scores.
Once in the red zone, the Liberty offense has been able to find the end zone on 10 of the 15 attempts to keep the kicker off the field. During the 15 trips to the red zone, the Flames have had to turn to the kicker just three times, two of which were converted on from under 29 yards with the sole miss coming on a try from past 30 yards.
On defense, Liberty has allowed 138 points (34.5 per game) with seven scores coming through the air and 12 finding the end zone on the ground. The Flames have allowed 1,922 yards of total offense giving up 787 passing yards and 1,135 rushing.
The Liberty defense features 15 players with double-digit tackles, led by Solomon Ajayi and Juwan Wells who each have 26 apiece. The Flames defensive group has forced 21 tackles for loss, with four sacks and three quarterback hurries. The secondary has been responsible for four interceptions and 13 pass breakups. Even the special teams has gotten in on the action, seeing the Flames Corbin Jackson register a blocked kick early in the year.
Liberty's defensive numbers have been trending downwards with the team allowing more total offense each week, with the highest total allowed of 580 yards coming most recently at UNM. The Flames have also allowed 18 touchdowns (11 rushing/7 passing) over their last three games.
LAST TIME OUT
The New Mexico State football team renewed the 96th meeting with Battle of I-10 rival UTEP on Saturday night at Sun Bowl Stadium. A much-anticipated game did not disappoint with strong play on both sides of the ball and turnovers proved crucial with the Aggies taking down the rival Miners, 27-20.
In a back-and-forth opening half, the first drive of the game set the tone for what turned out to be an eventful first two quarters. NM State (1-4) forced a three-and-out on the opening drive and as UTEP (0-4) elected to punt, the Aggies decided to avoid the return.
Christian Gibson shot around the corner to block the punt and
Izaiah Lottie recovered the ball that he took back for a 19-yard score to put the Crimson & White ahead 7-0 just 1:55 into the contest.
On NM State's first offensive drive of the game, they converted on a 3
rd & 10 to get a new set of downs before Gibson broke off a 38-yard rush all the way to the UTEP 14-yard line. The opposition's defense stood strong, but Aggie kicker
Dylan Brown was able to come out and knock down a 32-yard field goal and put NM State ahead 10-7 before the first quarter ended.
To open the second half, the Aggies still could not get moving much offensively and they were forced to punt on the first drive. UTEP then took advantage of this opportunity and saw a 76-yard touchdown pass tie the game at 17 apiece.
NM State quickly erased that tie on its next drive. On 3rd & 5, quarterback
Josh Adkins found
Royce Caldwell by the sidelines and he looked to be stopped before the first-down marker, but the running back broke a tackle and put on the burners taking off for a 53-yard score to give the Crimson & White a 24-17 advantage.
The Aggies then looked to orchestrate a long drive to take time off the clock and put the Miners in a deeper hole. That is exactly what the team did, driving 75-yards on a series that took 4:51 and ended with a 22-yard field goal that gave NM State a 27-20 lead with 3:24 remaining in the game.
UTEP hoped to respond before the clock hit zero, but the visiting defense made that tough. The Aggies forced a 4
th & 26 for the Miners at their own 27-yard line. This forced UTEP to look for a long pass completion but cornerback
Austin Perkins was there to intercept the ball and down it at the NM State 45-yard line before the offense took a knee and ran out the clock to secure the 27-20 Battle of I-10 victory over rival UTEP.
NOTABLES: LAST GAME
- Christian Gibson's blocked punt at the end of the first drive of the game was the first blocked punt for NM State since B.J. Adolpho against Utah State on 10/10/09.
- Billy Nipp recorded the first fumble recovery of his Aggie career.
- Malik Demby got his first defensive touchdown on the 55-yard scoop and score.
- Christian Gibson rushed for a career-high 103 yards.
- The Aggies recorded eight sacks against UTEP. This was the first time the team had 5+ sacks since doing so against Idaho on 11/25/17.
- Roy Lopez set a new career-high in tackles for loss with 2.0 and recorded his first forced fumble with the Aggies.
- Austin Perkins made his first career interception to end UTEP's final drive.
- The blocked punt returned for a score by Izaiah Lottie was NM State's first since Chris Williams did so against Alcorn State on 10/4/08.
- Fumble recovery for a touchdown by Demby was the first for an Aggie since DeMarcus Owens took one back 50 yards against UTEP on 9/3/16.
- This win over UTEP marks the eight time in program history that we got our first win of the season against UTEP.
- The victory is the first time NM State has beaten UTEP in back-to-back seasons since 2007-08.
- A win in the Sun Bowl for NM State was the team's first win at UTEP since 9/20/08.
UP NEXT
Following the clash of the independents, New Mexico State hits the road to take on Louisiana on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 3 p.m. MT on Cajun Field in Lafayette, La.
