NM State football
Who: NM State Aggies (2-4, 1-1 CUSA) at Sam Houston (1-5, 0-2 CUSA)
Where: Elliott T. Bowers Stadium (Huntsville, Texas)
When: Wednesday, 6 p.m. MDT
How to watch: ESPN2
Betting line: NMSU favored by 2.5
New Mexico State will be happy as can be Wednesday night when things kickoff against the Sam Houston Bearkats in their latest Conference USA mid-week game — an agonizingly long two weeks after their last game.
The Aggies aren't exactly fans of bye weeks right now.
Of course it's written into every college coach's contract that they must always say the bye came at a good time for the team, but the reality is the bye they had earlier this season led to a thud of a performance vs. New Mexico on Sept. 26 (a 42-18 UNM win).
This go 'round, NMSU is sitting on two weeks of a bad, 22-3 loss at Florida International on Oct. 7. And they would have loved any chance to get that taste out of their mouths quickly rather than a second two-week hiatus in a season when some programs haven't even had one bye yet.
"It felt like a long two weeks this time," NM State head coach Tony Sanchez said. "It was needed. It was good. I thought we did a good job of getting our guys fresh."
Luckily for the Aggies (2-4, 1-1 CUSA) they hope to get their disjointed season into some sort of rhythm — finally — against the last place team in Conference USA, the Sam Houston Bearkats (1-5, 0-2). By no means does that mean Sanchez feels this is a gimmie, but he did not "every thing we want to accomplish is still right there in front of us" and he also noted this is a very good opportunity for his team to get right back in the thick of a league race.
Sam Houston proudly points to being ranked No. 4 among FBS schools in pass defense (137.8 yards per game), but the reality is that is largely due to it also ranking 129th in rush defense (200.3) yards per game. Teams have run the ball far more regularly against them than pass, which might bode well for an NMSU team that has a great run game and a still highly unsettled quarterback situation.
Getting good gains on first down to stay out of passing situations, Sanchez said, is vital this week.
"When you get the ball in the hands of James Jones and (TJ) Washington and those guys, they're really productive," Sanchez said of his top two backs, including Jones who leads CUSA in rushing yards per game. "So we've got to make sure that we're not always behind the sticks — that we're sitting there in 2nd (down) and manageable to do that."
KEEP AN EYE ON (for Sam Houston): QB Landyn Locke is the only CUSA quarterback to rank in the top two in passing yards per game (263.6) and touchdown passes (11). The Air Raid system also has led to some big plays in the passing game with his 11 touchdown passes this season averaging 34.5 yards, the second highest figure per touchdown pass in FBS. Six of his 11 TD passes have gone 30 or more yards.
KEEP AN EYE ON (for NM State): QB Adam Damante will start, Sanchez said, but the coach also spent a good amount of time in his weekly media availability talking about how the team has been prepping not one, or even two, but three quarterbacks for the home stretch — Damante, season-opening starter Trey Hedden and second-year QB Kalani McLeod, who is listed on the NM State two-deep depth chart as the 'OR' backup with Hedden. Damante, who earlier in the year lit it up in the second half against UNM, which led to his winning the starting job only to struggle since (9-22 for 104 yards and an interception in the Oct. 7 loss at FIU).
Nevertheless, Sanchez said he doesn't want Damante looking over his shoulder and playing scared to make mistakes.
"He doesn't need to be worried about 'Am I going to get yanked, am I not going to get yanked?' You just got to go play ball," Sanchez said. "You got to believe in the decisions you make. You're not going to be perfect. Nobody ever is. You've got to see some conviction in the decisions he makes."
Three Notes
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NM State RB James Jones leads CUSA and ranks 19th nationally in rushing yards per game (99.) and is 20th in FBS in yards per carry (6.5).
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Sam Houston is allowing 145.3 fewer yards per game than it did a season ago, the nation's second best improvement from last year in yards allowed per game. A year ago, they allowed 483.5 yards per game. This season: 338.2.
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NM State's 15 sacks this season is second most in CUSA and 32nd in FBS and is just five shy of last season's total despite having six games still to play.
Geoff Grammer is the Sports Editor of the Journal, a podcaster, columnist and covers UNM Lobos basketball, among other things. Reach him at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
