Aggie comeback falls short on Tuesday night in Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, Va. – On a Tuesday night in which it seemed as though Liberty (3-4, 2-1) would cruise to victory, the New Mexico State University football team roared back with 21 unanswered points in the second half. Despite holding a lead late in the fourth quarter, the Aggies allowed a go-ahead touchdown from the Flames with 36 seconds remaining and failed to answer. The potential game-tying kick sailed wide as time expired, dropping the Crimson & White to 3-3 overall with a 1-2 mark in CUSA play after the 30-27 defeat.

In total, the Aggies outgained the Flames 388-293 yards and finished with over 100 rushing yards for the first time this season in this Oct. 14 contest. The running game was fueled by Kadarius Calloway, who finished the contest with 18 carries for 84 yards.

Following a punt on the Aggies’ opening possession, Liberty worked the ball deep into Aggie territory. However, Zedekiah Rodriguez-Brown, came up with the drive-ending play as he took advantage of a pass that sailed over the Liberty receiver to record his first career interception. Unfortunately, the Aggies were unable to produce any points off the turnover, while Liberty managed the game’s first points with a short field goal on its next drive.

Trailing by three, the NM State offense generated its own point-producing drive as it used 13 plays to move the ball 67 yards to the Liberty 17-yard line, where Ryan Hawk would deliver a 27-yard field goal to tie the game. On the drive, Logan Fife found TK King, who made an immaculate one-handed catch through a defensive pass interference penalty to move the ball into the red zone.

The game would remain tied just briefly as Liberty returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to jump in front 10-3 with 9:49 left in the second quarter.

Later, the Aggie special teams faltered once again, allowing the Flames to jump on a mishandled punt at the Aggie 21-yard line to put the NM State defense back on the field in the shadow of its own end zone. With this field position, the Flames scored their second touchdown of the first half to put the Aggies down 17-3 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.

Ezra Christensen and the NM State defense set the tone on the first drive of the second half as the Fresno State transfer blew through a blocker before notching the sack fumble, which Brad Vislisel recovered at the Liberty 36-yard line. From there, Logan Fife and Kadarius Calloway helped the Aggies push their way into the end zone. The drive was ultimately capped off by a 2-yard Calloway rushing touchdown to bring the Aggies within one score, nearing the midway point of the third quarter.

Once again, the Aggie defense got off the field in a hurry on the ensuing possession, giving NMSU the ball back with an opportunity to tie the game. Fife and the Aggie offense did just that as an 11-play, 60-yard drive, which included a fourth-down conversion, and was capped off by a Donovan Faupel touchdown catch that drew the Aggies even at 20-20 with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter. Eventually, the Aggies carried this lead into the fourth quarter thanks to limiting the Liberty offense to just 46 yards and two first downs in the period.

This momentum carried over into the fourth quarter as NM State’s Josiah Charles came up with an interception on the first play of the period, setting the Aggies up inside Flame territory for the second time in the second half. NM State once again cashed in to produce 21 points on its first three drives of the half. This time, facing a 3rd-and-9, Fife found freshman Brodie Malone-Bradford in the end zone for the go-ahead score.

Ezra Christensen recorded another huge play on the following Liberty drive as he sacked quarterback Ethan Vasko on third down to force another punt. Unfortunately, another special teams mishap gave the Liberty offense the ball back as they recovered a muffed punt at the Aggie 14-yard line. However, the NM State defense stiffened and gave up just three points to preserve the lead (27-23), entering the final stretch of the game.

Following an NMSU punt that pinned the Flames inside their own 10-yard line, the Aggies sent out their defense with 3:46 on the clock in need of one more stop. However, with all three timeouts in hand, Liberty moved down the field to tally a lead-changing touchdown rush, giving the home side a 30-27 advantage with just 36 seconds remaining on the clock.

The NM State offense got one more opportunity. Logan Fife managed a drive that included a 32-yard pass to Gavin Harris that set the Aggies up with a chance at a game-winning 47-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. Unfortunately, the kick attempt was wide left, handing the Aggies their third loss of the season.

NM State will now return home for its final midweek bout of the season, as it is set to host Conference USA newcomer Missouri State on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The matchup at Aggie Memorial Stadium is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. MT and will air on CBS Sports Network. Coverage will also be available via 99.5 FM KXPZ, 96.7 FM La Equis and nmstatesports.com/stats.