Two teams in need of a victory to stay bowl eligible meet on Saturday at Aggie Memorial Stadium in a key Western Athletic Conference battle.
New Mexico State (3-5, 1-3) has lost three straight, while Hawaii (4-5, 3-3) is coming off of a tough loss at Utah State.
"We're going to play as hard as we can and we're going into this game believing we can win,"
NMSU quarterback Chase Holbrook said. "If we didn't think we could win, we wouldn't even show up."
The Aggies were 1-0 in league play after an impressive road win at Nevada on Oct. 11, but since then have scored just 28 points in the three losses. Against San Jose State, the Aggies were competitive, but lost 31-14. Against Idaho the Aggies were error-prone in a hugely disappointing 20-14 loss and last week against Boise State, the bottom fell out in a 49-0 obliteration by the Broncos.
New Mexico State should be a bit healthier today. It expects running back Marquell Colston and receiver Marcus Anderson to play. But the offensive line is truly lacking in terms of depth. Tackle Patrick Blount is likely out, meaning right guard Polo Gutierrez will move over to right tackle, where he was getting repetitions early in the week. Backup Joseph Palmer could slide into the right guard spot.
"The offensive line takes time to build good communication and we're getting there with some of the new guys on the line,"
NMSU head coach Hal Mumme said. "Our center Mike Grady is in his third game as the starting center and he's getting better."
Added Grady: "We have to communicate well against Hawaii. Hawaii has a good defense and we'll have to be smart. We can't make very many mistakes."
The strength of the Warriors' defense comes in the form of a pair of linebackers, middle 'backer Solomon Elimimian and outsider 'backer Adam Leonard. Elimimian leads the team in tackles with 68 and has 5 1/2 tackles for a loss, while Leonard has 46 tackles and six tackles for a loss. Hawaii defensive end David Veikune, who played high school football at Oñate in 2000 and 2001, leads the team with 4 1/2 sacks and six quarterback hurries and is second on the team in tackles with 55.
"Hawaii plays hard on defense and it has some good defensive backs,"
NMSU receiver A.J. Harris said. "It's good that we are getting some guys back. Hopefully we can stretch the field and come up with some big plays."
Meanwhile, Hawaii will try and hurt the Aggies with a spread offense of its own. The Warriors have had quarterback issues all season long, but it appears they have settled on two quarterbacks for now, Inoke Fuanki and Greg Alexander.
Funaki has thrown for 1,119 yards and rushed for 200 more, while Alexander has thrown for 492 yards.
The problem for Hawaii seems to be turnovers. Between the four quarterbacks that have seen action this year, there have been 19 interceptions to just 12 touchdown passes.
"Hawaii never seems to have less than four receivers out there,"
NMSU defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn said. "Our defensive backs will have to play well."
Added Alexander: "The key for us is to limit turnovers and execute when we have a chance to score in the red zone. New Mexico State has an improved defense and we know they will play hard. This is a big game for us because we need to get closer to being bowl eligible."
The Aggies will be without linebacker Jamar Cotton this week after he injured an elbow in the loss to Boise State. That'll leave more responsibility to the likes of Chris Nwoko, Jason Scott and Ross Conner to make more plays.
Hawaii won't overpower teams with the run, but when it does take to the ground, Daniel Libre and Kealoha Pilares will get some looks as will Funaki. Libre leads the team with 273 yards, while Pilares has scored four touchdowns.
"We have to be able to get pressure on the quarterback,"
NMSU defensive lineman La'Auli Fonoti said. "If we can get some pressure on their quarterback and force them into doing things they don't want to do, we'll have a chance to do well. Plus, we have to come out and do a better job on the first drive of the game. We've been giving up too many yards and too many scores to start the game. We just have to be more aggressive."
Kickoff for today's game is at 2 p.m. and can be heard live on KGRT-FM 103.9 and KKVS-FM 98.7 FM. The game will also be shown live on Comcast Ch. 4 at 10 p.m.
Notes: The Warriors lead the all-time series 4-0...Holbrook moved past Doug Flutie and Brent Basanes into 37th-place all-time in NCAA passing yards...NMSU is 2-4 this season when the opponent scores first.
