Dominant second half propels Aggies in home opener

NM State Football returned to action at Aggie Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, marking their first home game of the season following a Week 0 trip to Tallahassee. The Aggie offense recorded an astounding day on the turf, posting 553 yards of total offense - the most in a single game since Sept. 2, 2023 (vs. Western Illinois, 650 total yards). 

After a second-half surge, the Aggies (1-1) came away with their first victory of the 2026 campaign, defeating Mercyhurst (0-2) 51-14 in front of 9,189 fans.

The NMSU defense set the tone on the first play of the game as Nick Session came away with his second interception of the season and battled through several attempted tackles to fight his way into the end zone, giving the Aggies an immediate 7-0 lead.

Mercyhurst responded with a scoring drive of its own, however, the Aggie offense had the answer as TJ Washington capped off a rapid scoring drive that spanned just two minutes and 45 seconds, retaking the lead near the end of the first quarter.

The Lakers used their next possession to add another score, taking a 14-13 lead over the Aggies. After a pair of three-and-outs, NM State used a big pass play to TK King to set up a field goal for Ilya Uvaydov that gave the Aggies the lead for good. 

Following a fourth-down stop, James Jones broke away for a 46-yard rushing touchdown to record his first rushing touchdown as an Aggie.

Following a back-and-forth first half in which the Aggies outgained the Lakers 218 to 208, NMSU came out of the locker room with a different level of aggression. In the second half of the game, the Aggies outgained Mercyhurst by a total of 335 to 29, including limiting the Lakers to just nine rushing yards and two first downs.

After turning the ball over on downs on their first possession, NM State scored a touchdown on every other drive in the final two quarters, not including the final possession, when it ran out the clock.

In the second half, four different Aggies reached the end zone as Washington, Jones, Terrione Graves and AJ Williams III each tallied scores in the final 30 minutes.

This included an 83-yard touchdown for Graves, who sprinted away from Laker defenders to score his first TD in the Crimson and White. Williams later followed with his first score as an Aggie as he hauled in a pass from Adam Damante in the final five minutes to lift the Aggies beyond the 50–point mark.

The contest featured the most points scored by the Aggies since they scored 58 points against Western Illinois on Sept. 2, 2023.

NMSU has now won three consecutive home openers to serve as the first time doing so since 2002–04.

With interceptions from Nick Session and Sone Aupiu, the Aggies have now forced a turnover in 18 straight games, dating back to 2024.

Graves’ 83-yard touchdown marks the longest passing touchdown by the program since Tyler Rogers connected with Jerrel Brown on Nov. 1, 2014, for an 86-yard touchdown against Texas State.

Jones finished with 19 carries for 137 yards to mark the most rushing yards by an Aggie since Mike Washington ran for 153 yards on Nov. 9, 2024, against Western Kentucky. This also served as a new career high in total carries for the first-year Aggie.

Washington, a transfer from Iowa, finished with 43 yards on seven carries against Mercyhurst, becoming the first Aggie running back with two rushing touchdowns in a single game since Mike Washington on Nov. 9, 2024, versus Western Kentucky. 

Five different Aggies tallied their first touchdowns in the Crimson & White, and first touchdown at the FBS level - Nick Session, Washington, Jones, Graves and Williams.