New Mexico State running back Ronald Opetaia and defensive lineman Donte Savage were two new faces who saw plenty of playing time for the Aggies on Saturday in their 45-10 win against Alcorn State on Saturday.
The 5-foot-9, 221-pound Opetaia played some in the team's first three games, but on Saturday he started for the first time and contributed in a big way for NMSU, which tallied a season-best 220 yards on the ground. He had some solid blocks and scored a touchdown on a two-yard run in the third quarter.
"Ronald has come a long way,"
said NMSU junior running back Marquell Colston, who had a career-best 127 yards rushing on Saturday. "He's a good blocker and he's going to get better."
On the first touchdown of the game against Alcorn State, Opetaia help spring Colston into the defensive backfield with a good block over the right side and Colston scored from 57 yards out.
Opetaia, who hails from American Samoa, redshirted a year ago. In the season opener vs. Nebraska, he carried the ball seven times for 39 yards and has drawn praise from running backs coach Earnest Wilson and head coach Hal Mumme throughout the first part of the season.
"I've gotten better at blocking since the start of fall camp,"
Opetaia said. "I just want to help the team out in any way possible. But I still have to work hard and get better each day in practice and carry that over into the games."
Savage, a 6-foot-1, 226-pounder from Portland, Ore., played in his first game of the season on Saturday and collected 1 and 1/2 sacks and had 1 and 1/2 tackles for a loss.
New Mexico State defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn said early last week he was going to insert his three freshman defensive lineman and along with Savage, Pierre Fils and Anthony Smith saw time.
"I was so excited to get a chance to play,"
said Savage, who played last year at Fork Union Military Academy. "I'm just trying to bring some energy and athleticism to the team."
Savage helped NMSU limit Alcorn State to minus 13 yards rushing, six sacks and 11 tackles for a loss.
"Donte did a good job, he's one of our young defensive lineman that have a bright future,"
said NMSU senior defensive lineman Oren Long. "We have some depth with the new guys in the lineup."
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This Saturday, the Aggies will head to Reno, Nev., to take on the University of Nevada. The game will be a battle between two of the best quarterbacks in the league, NMSU's Chase Holbrook and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick threw for two touchdowns in Saturday's win at Idaho and had a huge role in Nevada's win at Nevada-Las Vegas last weekend. He is 13th in the nation in total offense with 293.6 yards per game.
Meanwhile, Holbrook has thrown 10 touchdowns this season and has played well in the last three games for the 2-2 Aggies. Holbrook is 23rd in the nation in total offense, averaging 277.3 yards per game.
"It's going to be a big game,"
NMSU wide receiver Chris Williams said. "We have to get focused and be ready for a tough game."
