NM State stumbles in 116th Rio Grande Rivalry

With 25,024 in attendance, NM State concluded its non-conference schedule on Saturday afternoon at Aggie Memorial Stadium as it hosted New Mexico in the 116th playing of the Rio Grande Rivalry. After a competitive first half, the Aggies fell to the Lobos 42-18.

New Mexico got the scoring started on its opening drive as Scottre Humphrey capped off an eight-play scoring drive with a rushing touchdown up the middle. NMSU looked to respond, driving the ball inside the UNM 10-yard-line. However, the Aggies settled for a field goal attempt, but the kick sailed wide left of the uprights.

Later, the Lobos were set up with a good field position following a 24-yard punt return. With the drive starting at the Aggie 33-yard-line, the Lobos used four consecutive rushes to move the ball into the end zone, extending their lead to 14-0 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.

NMSU eventually got on the board as it used its longest drive of the season to generate a 23-yard field goal for Ilya Uvaydov. The Aggies found success on the first play of the drive as Trey Hedden connected with Josiah Thomas for a 20-yard completion. It was the second of his four catches for the game.

New Mexico generated an extended drive of its own, as it used 13 plays to advance the ball into the red zone before missing a short field goal.

The Aggies then generated another promising drive; however, it ended with an interception, marking the first of three turnovers on the night for the Aggie offense.

NMSU’s defense saw its turnover streak come to an end at 19 games, which was the nation’s longest streak entering the day.

In the second half, the Aggie offense approached midfield on their first possession, however, New Mexico forced a fumble to halt the Aggie drive. New Mexico scored on each of its next three possessions to extend its lead to 35-3 with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter.

Late in the third quarter, Adam Damante took over the Aggie offense and led NM State on a scoring drive as he found Myles Libman in the back of the end zone. This was the first of two times that Damante and Libman would hook up for a touchdown score, as the Stanford transfer also caught a touchdown pass after New Mexico added another touchdown in the fourth quarter.

James Jones eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground for the second time this season as he logged 14 carries for 112 yards to average eight yards per carry. With this, Jones now has twelve 100-yard rushing game in his collegiate career and has rushed for 100 yards or more in five of his last eight games. Josiah Thomas posted a new career high in receiving yards with 90 on the day.

NMSU will prepare to host Western Kentucky on Thursday, Oct. 1 to begin Conference USA play and it opens a stretch of four midweek games for the Aggies.