New Mexico State Football

New Mexico State head coach Jerry Kill accused the Aggies' in-state rival of effectively sabotaging their preparation ahead of a 37-10 loss to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.

Earlier in the year, New Mexico State quarterback Diego Pavia was disciplined internally after he appeared to urinate on the New Mexico logo on the Lobos' indoor practice facility. Kill referenced that incident after Saturday's game and said UNM athletic director Eddie Nuñez attempted to prevent the Aggies from accessing the facilities ahead of the bowl game (warning: video contains profanity).

THREAD At end of NM Bowl presser, NMSU head coach Jerry Kill went on rant discussing Diego Pavia's incident @ UNM facility, saying he was punished for it. Kill then went on to call out UNM AD Eddie Nunez for not allowing NMSU to practice in indoor facility this week. pic.twitter.com/HlUhf6rT7b

— Colin Deaver (@ColinDeaver_) December 17, 2023

The University of New Mexico has hosted the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque since 2006.

A school spokesman confirmed to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg that Kill and his team practiced indoors for each day they requested leading up to the game. However, Kill said the intervention of New Mexico Bowl executive director Jeff Siembieda was required to gain that ability. He added that Albuquerque police officers were on hand to watch the Aggies.

"The police officers kind of laughed," he said, per Rittenberg. "They said, 'There's a lot of stuff going on in Albuquerque, I don't know why we're here watching the logo.' It's a great bowl game, but here's the deal: They were going to make us practice on a high school field and let Fresno practice in the indoor, and that particular day, it snowed. But Jeff busted his butt and had to argue with their people to get us on the thing."

New Mexico State hosts New Mexico in Las Cruces next September for the next installment of their long-running rivalry, and the Aggies may now have some added motivation.

New Mexico State secured a 26-20 overtime win over Utah State in the Arizona Bowl on Friday to capture the program's first bowl win since 1960. 

Running back Larry Rose III sealed the result with a 21-yard touchdown run after Utah State kicker Dominik Eberle missed his fourth field goal of the game on Utah State's opening possession of the extra session. 

.@NMStateFootball wins it in OT!

They capture their first bowl win in 57 years at the @novaAZBOWL! pic.twitter.com/XozLdadeC8

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 30, 2017

Above all else, the battle of the Aggies was a defensive slugfest that featured zero offensive touchdowns through the first three quarters. 

However, New Mexico State broke through and answered a one-yard touchdown run by Utah State's LaJuan Hunt when quarterback Tyler Rogers hit Jaleel Scott for a pretty jump-ball score to help knot the score at 20 with 6:31 remaining in regulation and force overtime. 

Before that, the sides' only other trips to the end zone were through special teams.

Utah State's first touchdown came in the form of a 96-yard kickoff return from Savon Scarver in the first quarter, and that score was immediately followed by a 100-yard return touchdown courtesy of New Mexico State's Jason Huntley: 

BACK-TO-BACK KICKOFF RETURN TOUCHDOWNS!!

The @novaAZBOWL is off to a RIDICULOUS start... pic.twitter.com/kwFrHYX4KK

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 29, 2017

According to CBS Sports Network, Friday's bowl game was the first since the 2011 Las Vegas Bowl to feature kickoff return scores by both teams. 

Beyond those brief fireworks, big plays were few and far between.  

New Mexico State's fourth-ranked passing attack was stymied by a stingy Utah State secondary, and Rogers finished the afternoon 29-of-54 for 191 yards, one score and two interceptions. All told, he averaged 3.5 yards per attempt. 

Rose, though, was electric to the tune of 16 carries for 132 yards, while Hunt buoyed Utah State's offense with 20 carries for 133 yards. 

Utah State quarterback Jordan Love tried to hit on downfield throws, but was largely limited and finished 25-of-44 for 254 yards. As a team, Utah State was 2-of-18 on third down. 

New Mexico State wasn't much better in that regard (4-of-22), but the Sun Belt team got hot at the right time and pulled off the plays necessary to nab the program's first winning season since 2002. 

It's only August 31, but New Mexico State wide receiver Jaleel Scott may have already made the offensive play of the college football season. 

Roughly four minutes into the second quarter of Thursday's game versus the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium, Aggies quarterback Tyler Rogers lofted a pass toward the corner of the end zone. 

Scott positioned himself in front of a defender and made an acrobatic one-handed catch before planting a foot safely in play to complete one of the best 15-yard touchdowns you'll see at any level. 

Take a bow, Mr. Scott. 

[ESPN]

Things went from bad to worse for the New Mexico State football program Saturday, as the team had its bus burglarized following a 61-13 loss to Florida.

"When I got back to the bus after the postgame press conference, I was informed that the bus had been broken into or left unattended," the school's athletic director, Mario Moccia, told Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News. "Everyone had stuff on the bus including myself. There were work laptops, keys, identification stolen, but the worst thing was the work that was stolen. We all work when we travel."

He added the "U of Florida athletic [department] were phenomenal this trip and police are doing all they can!" on Twitter while also stating the "bus driver should have never left bus!!" The bus was parked on a street outside of the stadium.

Florida sent its regards to Moccia and the New Mexico State team on Twitter:

@MarioMocciaNMSU We're so sorry this happened to you.

— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) September 6, 2015

This is the second time in the past year New Mexico State has had one of its teams burglarized. Per Groves, the basketball team had uniforms and equipment stolen from a bus in February, though police were able to recover the uniforms.

The New Mexico State Aggies have long had some of the most boring helmets in the game, as seen here. Simple lettering, a plain background and poor font choice made the NMSU lids some of the most "blah" in the country.

Wednesday, the Aggies changed that. UniWatch's Paul Lukas tweeted pictures of the new Aggie helmets, featuring a total overhaul of the previous design.

Gone is the totally plain maroon background with just "NM State" with poor spacing slapped onto the side.

The helmet now prominently features the school's mascot, Pistol Pete, aggressively brandishing his namesake pistols. At his base is the school's nickname, the "Aggies," in a much better font that stands out quite a bit more than the previous one. The school's name is also featured on the new helmets, as "New Mexico State" is emblazoned in small letters beneath "Aggies."

The most unique aspect of the new helmets, however, is the stripe down the middle of the helmet.  While many school's have such a stripe, none of them contains what New Mexico State's does: guns.

The center stripe is a black-outlined white stripe featuring evenly spaced pairs of crossed pistols.

While the prominent featuring of firearms on a college football team's helmets is sure to raise some objections, NMSU should be credited for changing tack from its previous listless design and becoming bold with their new lids.

The Aggies may not be very feared on the field, but at least now their helmets aren't part of the reason why.  These new helmets are bold and attractive. Lets see if it helps NMSU play or recruit better.

The Aggies of New Mexico State have a harsh reality to face.

Western Athletic Conference football is all but confirmed as dead from 2013 onward. The WAC is not going to be able to entice anyone from the Big Sky to join the conference, and if they do attempt to expand eastward, those teams would probably leave as soon as they got a better opportunity.

The football program at NMSU has not had historical success. The last time the team got through a season with fewer than five losses was 1967. The team has only had a double-digit win total once in its entire history, in 1960, which was also the last time the Aggies appeared in a bowl game.

Despite all of that, I think it is entirely possible for New Mexico State to live on as an FBS independent. It won't be like the life of Notre Dame or BYU—it will probably be closer to the existence of the Army football program. But there is hope if the folks in charge do what is needed.

Embrace Texas

The state of New Mexico simply doesn't have enough talent from which to recruit a competitive FBS team. While it currently gets many recruits from California, it may also be time to look east towards the state of Texas for additional help.

Texas high schools pump out an insane amount of talent every year. Obviously, much of that talent will head to FBS schools in Texas (and there are quite a few). But there are also plenty of players that go elsewhere. Bring some of them to Las Cruces.

New Mexico is obviously closer to Texas than it is to California. While the Aggies should continue to recruit in California, the team may be able to increase its prospects for success if it also focuses more on Texas.

Schedule Games Against Other FBS Independents

One task that is obviously tougher as an independent is creating a schedule. Fortunately, there are some options for the Aggies.

NMSU already has annual rivalries with both New Mexico and UTEP, and as long as NMSU remains at the FBS level, those rivalries are likely to continue. With that in mind, there are ten more games that need to be scheduled.

There are other independent schools out there. While Notre Dame is unlikely to take an interest in the Aggies, and Navy is moving into the Big East, Army and BYU are still potential opponents. Each of them could take another team onto its schedule for the 2013 season.

If NMSU can schedule a long-term home-and-away series with each of them, it will already have four out of 12 games for its schedule complete.

Schedule Games Against Teams in Areas Targeted for Recruiting

Texas and California should be the primary targets for recruiting, and therefore should also be the primary targets for scheduling games.

In Texas, the most likely teams with which the Aggies might be able to schedule home-and-away series would be Rice, North Texas, Texas State and TX-San Antonio. While not as likely (since they are now Big East members), a home-and-away series with SMU and Houston would also strengthen Texas ties.

In California, the best options for home-and-away series are Fresno State, San Jose State and perhaps San Diego State. Since it will be an outpost in the Big East, SDSU may be more willing to schedule a hom-and-away series so that it has another game on its own side of the country.

For both Texas and California, NMSU should attempt to schedule one road game against a power-conference opponent each year. They are unlikely to bring a return game to Las Cruces, but they could receive a financial payout that would help them continue their existence as an independent.

California has four Pac-12 teams. Texas has four Big 12 teams and one SEC team. Having one road game against a power-conference team in each of these states will not only help with recruiting but help complete the schedule.

If none of the California or Texas teams are available, consider teams in Arizona and Oklahoma. There are certainly numerous options against power conferences (the current NMSU future schedule includes games at Florida, Ole Miss and Minnesota), but games that are closer would be preferred.

Schedule Geographically Sensible Games to Complete the Schedule

For the remaining spots to be filled on the schedule, stay as close to home as possible. It will save on travel costs and be better for the student-athletes.

From the Sun Belt and from Conference USA, consider Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas State and Tulane. From the Mountain West, consider Wyoming, Colorado State, Utah State, UNLV and Hawaii. The other teams in those conferences may also be options, but these may be the best bets (and most likely options) overall.

If necessary, games can be scheduled against Big Sky opponents (FCS) or perhaps against MAC teams. While perhaps not ideal, they are certainly worth considering if the schedule needs an additional spot filled.

Consider Long-Term Options for Joining a Conference

Ideally, of course, NMSU would prefer to have a conference for its football team.

While being in the same conference as New Mexico would be nice, it may have a better shot attempting to join the same conference as UTEP. It is less than an hour away from UTEP, but over three hours from UNM. If New Mexico State and UTEP were together in the same conference, it would make scheduling for Olympic sports easier for everyone. Teams visiting the area could play two games per visit and not just one. As of now, UTEP is a member of Conference USA.

If New Mexico State plays more games against and develops rivalries with Conference USA opponents (those listed above include UTEP, Rice, North Texas, TX-San Antonio, Tulane and LA Tech), it may increase its chances of receiving an invitation from Conference USA in the future.

The football team needs to have at least five home games per year to stay at the FBS level. It may not be easy, but it is possible. If they begin work on future scheduling, they can survive as an independent and perhaps place themselves in a better position to receive an invitation from another conference in the future.

Few teams have as porous (or non-existent) a history of success than the team from Las Cruces, N.M. Yet, after a respectable 2-3 start that includes a resounding victory over their in-state rival New Mexico Lobos, there is reason to hope that the Aggies will finally have a breakthrough year in 2011. After five games, here are a few tidbits of hope that New Mexico State fans can hang on to.

1. New Mexico State has won three straight over the rival Lobos

For the first time in more than 40 years, New Mexico State has now won three straight over its rivals from Albuquerque. This is a huge accomplishment for an Aggies program that is used to being beaten soundly in the past by its Mountain West Conference counterpart.

In addition, as a result of the 42-28 victory, the Aggies notched their largest victory in the series since 1968. 

Now, before we get too smitten with the end result, it is only fair that we point out the New Mexico had just fired its embattled coach (Mike Locksley) and is a putrid 2-27 since the start of the 2009 season. 

Yet, given the recent history of the New Mexico State program isn't too impressive either, this is definitely a building block for head coach DeWayne Walker to build upon for the rest of the season.

2. Aggies rank 26th in Division I FBS in passing offense

New Mexico State quarterback Matt Christian has been great for the Aggies thus far in 2011. Against the Lobos, Christian was 16-of-27 for 296 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 101 yards and another TD.

This type of performance is just a microcosm for what Christian has done in week in and week out.

Even in a loss to San Jose State, Christian still put up productive numbers, throwing for 238 yards on 17-of-28 passing and a touchdown.

These numbers are representative of a passing offense that is clicking right now, averaging 285.2 yards per game, good enough to be a top-30 passing offense in the nation.

3. Aggies already own a road victory over a BCS conference opponent

Yes, this win comes with a qualifier, too. It was over a Minnesota team that was just beaten 58-0 by Michigan and has also lost to the likes of North Dakota State this season.

However, Minnesota also played No. 25 USC down to the wire in Los Angeles the week before and is, despite the struggles, still a Big Ten program.

Throw in the fact that the Aggies won this game on the road in Minneapolis, and it gives New Mexico State what Walker called "a signature win for our program."

On January 16, 2010, news came out that I didn't expect to hear. Could an SEC school, steep in tradition, really be hiring a head coach from a small Western Athletic Conference school?

The answer to that was yes and the guy was former Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley. He said all the right things during his press conference, and he's done all the right things through their recruiting period as well as leading up to just weeks before the college football season kicks off.

He didn't have much time to work. He was thrown the fire and handled the heat better than I expected he would. I will admit, I was wrong about him. I questioned the hire, even looked at it cross-eyed. Now, seven months later, I'm rooting for him. Hard.

Sure Tennessee had their ego bruised when Kiffin left, not to mention head coaches like Utah's Kyle Whittingham, Duke's David Cutcliffe, Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, and Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun all told them "thanks, but no thanks."

You have to believe that they were burning up the phones, trying to get that next big name before they turned to Louisiana Tech and their head coach.

When Kiffin was first hired on at Tennessee back in 2009, the program's slogan was "it's time." Now that Kiffin has moved and the Derek Dooley era has officially begun, that slogan has become, "it's time to start over."

During the SEC media day, you could tell that there was a lot of respect for the new coach at Rocky Top, not only from the media but also from fellow coaches. "I have a lot of respect for the new coach at Tennessee," Florida head coach Urban Meyer told the Miami Herald. "I spent a lot of time talking to [Dooley]. You can tell he has everything in order. He's a high-character guy. That's nice to see. I have a lot of respect for that coach.''

For a brand new coach to arguably the best conference in college football, that's high praise. Meyer isn't a stranger to what Dooley is going through. Meyer was that 'new guy' once. You might remember that the Florida head coach left the University of Utah in 2004 to take over the Gators' program.

Success won't come easy for the first year coach. It might take him a few seasons before he returns the Volunteers to SEC prominence, but he's on the right track.

Dooley has admitted that the team will have some growing pains and will have their tough times, but with recruiting likely to get better each and every year, their return to prominence isn't far away.

Unfortunately, as young as this team is, it's a bad year to have Alabama, LSU, as well as Oregon on their 2010 schedule. So, just like he was thrown to the fire when he was hired, so will his team be with tough opponents. While they may lose these games, it will provide the young players the game time experience they will need to become better players as their college career's continue.

If you thought Dooley would come in with a light touch and a slow trigger when it came to discipline, you would be dead wrong. He has already kicked one player off the team and suspended two more after a fight at an off campus bar during the off season. If that doesn't say "fly right or you won't be here," I don't know what does.

He's unproven as we stand here right now, two weeks before the season opener. We don't know how he'll handle a full slate of SEC games. But we had the same questions about Urban Meyer when he first came to the conference. Sure Meyer was successful at Utah but as I've heard more times than I care to listen, Utah isn't the SEC.

I'm willing to give him at least two years to turn this program around and begin to show the fruits of his labor. If, by that point, Tennessee isn't any better than they are now, then maybe Dooley might have been the wrong choice.

But I don't think he'll need two years to show vast improvement. Dooley is a sound enough coach to put the Volunteers back on the map. Somewhere they haven't been since the late 90's and early 2000's. Tough Tennessee has been to bowl games in nine of the last 10 years, they are a combined 3-6 in those bowl games and they haven't won a conference title since 1998.

There are a lot of things Tennessee fans are ready to see change and they're ready to see it now. But, they will have to be patient and let Dooley get his feet wet before he jumps in head first.

Sure he's no Phillip Fulmer, but he doesn't have to be to start his own legacy. There's a definite challenge in front of him, but one that can be passed with flying colors. Success won't happen overnight in Knoxville, but it will happen.

Have faith Rocky Top, this is the start of good things to come for Tennessee football.