Aggies Versus Bulldogs for the 14th Time; Game to be Televised on ESPN2
November 26, 2007
Aggies Versus Bulldogs for the 14th Time; Game to be Televised on ESPN2
The New Mexico State football team will finish the 2007 season with a tough WAC opponent in the Bulldogs of Fresno State. This weekend the Aggies and Bulldogs will meet on the gridiron for the 14th time, as Fresno State holds a 13-0 lead in the series. Game time is set for approximately 6:00 p.m. (MT) at Aggie Memorial Stadium on Saturday, November 30th. The game will also be televised nation wide on ESPN2. This is the fourth time this season that the Aggies will be on ESPN.
You can listen to all the action with the ‘Voice of the Aggies’ Jack Nixon and color analyst Bob Sherman beginning at 5:30 p.m. on KRGT 104 FM. Also catch the action in Spanish with Martin Cortez and Roberto Muro on Vista 98.7 FM.
Aggie Football Recognizes 22 Seniors for their Contributions to Aggie Football
22 seniors have given their blood, sweat and tears and dedicated their lives to Aggie football over the past several years. Today we say thank you to those 21 student-athletes, but first let’s look at the numbers.
Between the 21 players they have played in 609 games, scored 27 touchdowns, made 907 tackles, tallied 4,501 receiving yards, recorded 1,076 return yards, sacked the opposing quarterback 24 times, intercepted seven passes and punted for a total of 3,617 yards.
To those seniors, we wish you many successful adventures in the future.
Aggies/ Bulldogs, the Series
The Aggies will face the Bulldogs for the 14th time in school history Saturday, as Fresno State makes its eighth trip to Las Cruces. The Bulldogs hold a 13-0 series lead over the Aggies.
The series dates back to the 1972 season when the Bulldogs traveled to Las Cruces. Fresno State won that game 49-17. The Aggies would get a chance at revenge two years later as the Bulldogs again made their way to the Mesilla Valley, but NMSU fell just short 9-7. The two schools became conference foes in 1984 as both were members of the Pacific Coast Conference and the Big West until 1992 when Fresno State made the jump to the WAC. As conference opponents in the WAC this will be the third meeting.
Scouting the Bulldogs
This season the Bulldogs have been balanced team through the air and on the ground, averaging 202 yards passing and 199.4 yards rushing a game. FSU has been out scoring its opponents 32.5 points per game to 27.3 this season. With a 7-4 record the Bulldogs have been great in the red-zone, converting on 81 percent of their trips inside the 20-yardline. This past weekend the Bulldogs defeated Kansas State, 45-29.
Individually for the Bulldogs, quarterback Tom Brandstater has thrown for 2,164 yards and 14 touchdowns in 11 games for FSU, averaging 196.7 yards in the air. Ryan Mathews leads the rushing attack for FSU, averaging 76.7 yards a game and scoring 13 touchdowns, while Bear Pascoe and Marlon Moore lead the receiving corps, as Pascoe has 38 catches for 474 yards and four touchdowns, while Moore has recorded 37 catches for 508 yards and five touchdowns. Marcus Riley leads the Bulldogs defense with 110 tackles on the season.
Last Time against the Bulldogs in Las Cruces
The New Mexico State football team suffered a 37-7 setback at the hands of visiting Fresno State in an at-times heavy downpour at Aggie Memorial Stadium. Freshman wide receiver A.J. Harris (Baton Rouge, La.) had four catches for a career-high 28 yards and his first career touchdown.
The Bulldogs took a 17-0 lead after one quarter thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Paul Pinegar and a Clint Stitser field goal before the Aggies got on the board with 6:13 remaining in the first half. Junior quarterback Royal Gill (Boise, Idaho) capped off a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a three-yard scoring strike to Harris.
That would be as close as the Aggies would get, however, as two Stitser field goals and touchdown runs by Pinegar and running back Wendell Mathis made the final score 37-7.
Gill completed 17-of-37 passes to finish with 105 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore running back Justine Buries (Mesquite, Texas) carried the ball 14 times for 46 yards to lead the NMSU rushing attack while sophomore wide receiver Derek Dubois (Colonia, N.J.) picked up a 36-yard gain on an end-around in the first half for the team’s longest rushing play of the season. Buries also had four catches for 20 yards.
A solid ground attack carried the Bulldogs to victory as Mathis and fellow running back Bryson Sumlin had 105 yards apiece. Pinegar completed 10-of-19 passes for 112 yards and two TDs. Paul Williams had three catches for 36 yards to lead all receivers.
Aggie senior linebacker Jimmy Cottrell (Castle Rock, Colo.), who came into the game as the nation’s leading tackler with 14.3 per game, had yet another outstanding outing, recording 15 total tackles to move into sixth on the program’s all-time list with 372. He needs just two more tackles to take over fifth place. Freshman linebacker Brandon McKinney (Rio Rancho, N.M.) made 10 stops. Emanuel Sanchez led Fresno State defensively with eight tackles.
The rainstorm was an extremely rare occurrence for an Aggie home football game: it had not rained on a game day in Las Cruces since Nov. 13, 1993 against Nevada.
Last Time against the Bulldogs
Dwayne Wright rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score midway through fourth quarter, as Fresno State ended a seven-game losing streak with a 23-18 victory over New Mexico State on Saturday.
Wright’s 6-yard touchdown run with 7:51 remaining put Fresno State ahead for good and sent the Aggies to their 20th consecutive loss against Division I-A opponents.
New Mexico State drove to the Bulldogs 14-yard line on its final possession but lost 16 yards when a shotgun snap sailed over the head of quarterback Chase Holbrook. Tonny Glynn recovered the fumble at the 30, setting up third-and-23 with 45 seconds left. Following an incompletion, Holbrook was sacked by Ikenna Ike and Trevor Shamblee on fourth down.
The Bulldogs, who have played in seven straight bowl games under head coach Pat Hill, had not won a game since their season-opening victory over Nevada. Holbrook completed 39 of 51 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns, his ninth 300-yard passing effort in 10 games. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound sophomore also established new school records for passing yards (3,818) and attempts (492) in a season.
Holbrook’s 47-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Harris, who outran the defense after catching a short hitch pass, gave the Aggies an 18-16 lead with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.
Fresno State responded with a nine-play, 70-yard drive capped by Wright’s second touchdown. Wright had 70 of his 121 rushing yards in the second half.
New Mexico State was in position to win despite losing four fumbles, which the Bulldogs converted into 17 points. Both of Aggies’ victories this season were against I-AA teams.
Bulldogs quarterback Tom Brandstater completed 11 of 19, passing for 99 yards in a touchdown in his first start since a 68-37 loss to Hawaii on Oct. 14. Sean Norton, who started the previous two games, did not make an appearance.
New Mexico State scored touchdowns on its final two drives of the second quarter to erase a 10-point deficit and forge a 12-10 halftime lead.
Holbrook’s 1-yard sneak with 3:43 left before halftime got the Aggies on the scoreboard after Fresno State extended the drive by committing four penalties inside the 5.
Following a Bulldogs punt, Holbrook found Chris Williams in the corner of the end zone with 48 seconds left. A two-point conversion attempt failed. Williams finished with eight receptions for 121 yards. Harris had seven catches for 95 yards.
Fresno State led 7-0 following Wright’s 7-yard touchdown run with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter. Clint Stitser’s 35-yard field goal made it 10-0.
Despite three first-half turnovers, New Mexico State limited the Bulldogs to 116 yards of offense and five first downs. The Aggies also enjoyed a 7-minute edge in time of possession.
Holbrook Gets Another under his Belt
Quarterback Chase Holbrook for the third straight week claimed another Aggie football passing record. Against Utah State, Holbrook broke the school record for passing attempts in a career with his 40th pass attempt. He ended the game with 58 and now has 1,058 attempts to date. Two weeks ago with his 318 yards passing against San Jose State, Holbrook became the Aggies’ all-time leader in passing yards for a career with 7,795. He surpasses Cody Ledbetter’s record of 7,480 that stood for more than 12 years.
Holbrook now owns the school record for touchdown passes, completions, attempts, completion percentage, yards per attempt, passing yards and passing efficiency. In the Aggies’ last game of the season he will probably break the total offense record, as he needs just 125 yards to claim his eighth school record this season.
On the season, Holbrook has 3,543 yards passing, 25 touchdowns, is averaging 322.1 passing yards per game and completing 71.3 percent of his passes.
For his career, Holbrook has now passed for 8,162 yards and 59 touchdown passes. He also needs four touchdowns either passing or rushing for the school record for touchdowns responsible for and five touchdowns passing or rushing to break the Aggies record for most points responsible for (408). He has 64 touchdowns to date; five rushing and 59 passing.
Harris Breaks School Record for Receptions
With his 11th catch of the game against Utah State junior wide receiver A.J. Harris became the Aggies’ all-time leading receptions leader for a career with 182, breaking a 10-year mark set by Duane Gregory set back in 1994-97. He finished the game with 12 receptions for 68 yards.
On the season, Harris has caught 73 passes for 525 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards a catch and 47.7 yards a game.
For his career, Harris has caught 183 passes for 1,762 yards and 13 touchdowns. In fact, Harris has four double-digit reception games, including a career-high 12 against Utah State. He has also tallied three 100-yard receiving games and caught at least seven passes 12 times. His 1,762 yards receiving is sixth on the Aggies’ all-time list for receiving yards and his 73 catches this season ranks as the third best season in school history.
Neiman Continues to Shine
Redshirt freshman Wes Neiman continues to be a bright spot for the Aggies’ wide receiving corps. Over the last four games Neiman has caught 20 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. This past weekend against Utah State, he recorded his first 100-yard receiving game with 10 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. Neiman caught his second touchdown of the season against San Jose State on a 24 yard pass from Chase Holbrook in the fourth quarter.
Neiman scored his first career touchdown against the Hawai’i Warriors. Holbrook found Neiman at the goal line late in the third quarter for the Aggies lone TD. Neiman finished the game with four catches for 39 yards.
This season Neiman has 33 receptions for 295 yards and three touchdowns.
House More than a D-Back
Freshman cornerback Davon House has been a tremendous surprise for the Aggie secondary this season. He leads the Aggies in interceptions with four, including one against Idaho that he took 100 yards for a touchdown, a school record for an interception return and his 171 yards of return yardage is the most by an Aggie in school history for a single-season. He has tallied 35 tackles, a tackle-for-a-loss and five pass break-ups, which are second on the team.
Against Utah State two weeks ago, House showed another side to his game as he returned two kick-offs for 56 yards and a long of 34.
On the season, House has tallied 245 all-purpose yards.
Young Kicks Himself into the Record Books
Place kicker Paul Young has been up and down this season but has been a consistent part of the Aggie offense over the last half of the season. Young started the season 5-for-9 on field goals. Over the last four games Young has made good on 5-of-6 on field goal attempts and has hit 21 straight extra point attempts. He is 29-of-31 on extra point attempts to date this season.
Young has scored 62 points this season and needs just six points to break the Aggies’ single-season record for points by a kicker. He is currently ranked in the top 10 in field goals made, field goals attempted, extra points made and extra points attempted.
Floyd Leads Aggies in Tackles
Linebacker Dante Floyd tallied 13 tackles against Utah State this past weekend. So far this season, Floyd has recorded at least seven tackles in each of the Aggies 12 games. Floyd leads the Aggies with 115 tackles on the year. He started the season with three straight games of 10 tackles or more, while grabbing his second career interception against UTEP. Versus Auburn, Floyd cracked the 100 tackles mark for a career with seven. He now has seven double-digit tackle games this season and 10 for his career.
Last season, Floyd started the last five games of the season, recording 66 tackles and six tackles for a loss of nine yards. He also had one interception.
For his career, Floyd has tallied 182 tackles and 15 tackles for a loss.
Aggie Defense Sackin’ the Competition
With two sacks against Utah State the Aggie defense has now put together a solid 22 sacks this season. Over the past six games the Aggies have tallied eight sacks. In fact, NMSU has had only one game this season where they did not record a sack (Boise State). The Aggie defense has recorded two games this season with five sacks and five games with two of more. The Aggies’ 22 sacks are the most by an Aggie team since 2003.
Linebacker Dante Floyd and defensive lineman Maurice Murray lead the Aggies with four sacks, followed by Brandon McKinney with three.
After Getting Record Allen Continues Streak
After his record breaking 42 consecutive games with a reception against San Jose State, wide receiver Brandon Allen showed no signs of letting up, grabbing a career-high eight receptions for 38 yards against Utah State.
In his 12 games this year, Allen has caught 45 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns. He currently ranks in the top 10 in receptions for a career.
In 12 games last season, Allen recorded 26 receptions for 240 yards and a touchdown, averaging 9.2 yards a reception. For his career, Allen’s caught 130 passes for 1,291 yards and six touchdowns.
Williams Named to Biletnikoff Award Finalist List
Wide receiver Chris Williams was named to the Biletnikoff Award finalist list. Williams leads the Aggies with 56 receptions, 772 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He is also 15th in the nation in receptions per game and 13th in the nation in receiving yards per game.
For his career, Williams has tallied 160 receptions, 2,284 yards receiving, 23 touchdowns, a 100 yards rushing and 3,200 all-purpose yards.
Aggies in the Nation
NMSU is sixth in the nation in passing offense, averaging 332.7 yards per game, are 30th in passing efficiency and the Aggies rank 36th in total offense.
Quarterback Chase Holbrook is eighth in the nation in total offense and 21st in passing efficiency. AJ Harris and Derek Dubois rank 20 and 32 in the nation in receptions per game, while Dubois is 39th in the nation in receiving yards per game. Dante Floyd is 40th in the nation in tackles per game (9.6).
Aggies in the WAC
New Mexico State is the second least penalized team in the WAC in terms of yardage, averaging 45.7 penalty yards per game and the Aggies third in the conference in time of possession, averaging 31:11 a game. Offensively, the team ranks second in passing offense, first in first downs, fourth in total offense, fourth in third down conversions, fifth in scoring and seventh in rushing offense.
On the defensive side, NMSU ranks seventh in total defense, seventh in passing defense, fourth in rushing defense, sixth in opponent third down conversions and first in opponent fourth down conversions.
Individually, quarterback Chase Holbrook stands in second place in passing yardage per game, second in total offense and fourth in passing efficiency.
AJ Harris and Derek Dubois are fifth and seventh respectively in receptions per game, while Dubois is seventh in receiving yards per game.
Senior linebacker Dante Floyd is sixth in tackles with 9.6 per game and safety Derek Richardson is 12th with 8.0 stops a game.
This Date in Aggie Football History
The Aggies have played just three games on November 30th, holding a 1-2 record on this date. The fist game came back in 1922 as NMSU defeated New Mexico 7-6. The Aggies then played New Mexico Military in 1926 and 1933 dropping both games. NMMI beat NMSU 7-6 and 7-2.
