Aggies try to put bad outing aside
New Mexico State now visits Georgia Southern
At the halfway point of the 2017 football season, the New Mexico State Aggies could use a break.
Problem is, the season’s first open date is still a week away and the beatup Aggies have a third straight road trip to manage first. They also badly need to win Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference matchup at Georgia Southern.
NMSU coach Doug Martin conceded Tuesday his team is still licking its wounds from last week’s 45-31 loss at Appalachian State. Bad enough that charter plane issues kept the Aggies from arriving at their hotel until 3:30 a.m. Saturday, and the way the game unfolded made a rough weekend that much worse.
“We’re disappointed because we beat ourselves,” Martin said. “We had a seven-point lead with nine minutes left — after that crazy trip and everything that happened to us — and were in a position to win. We’ve just got to do a better job finishing. We shot ourselves in the foot with the turnovers.”
The giveaways in question were six interceptions thrown by NMSU quarterback Tyler Rogers. Two particularly costly picks came late, when Appalachian State scored 21 unanswered points to turn a 31-24 deficit into a 14-point win.
It was by far Rogers’ worst outing of the season, but Martin expressed confidence the redshirt senior will bounce back. The Aggies rank ninth nationally in passing offense (352 yards per game) and Rogers ranks third with 16 passing touchdowns.
“Tyler had a rough day,” Martin said, “there’s no denying that. But sometimes you go through a day when you get hit early and you start seeing the pass rush instead of seeing the field and just don’t snap out of it. It happens to everyone who’s ever played quarterback, I don’t care if it’s Tom Brady or who it is. If we do a better job protecting him, Tyler will be fine.”
Injuries could make that problematic this week. Starting left tackle Sage Doxtater will be out this week with a groin injury, Martin said, and will be replaced by sophomore Kris’Sean Edwards..
It’s part of a lengthy injury list that includes starting tailback Larry Rose III (knee soreness), wideout Jaleel Scott (hip) and defensive lineman Stody Bradley (toe, shoulder). Rose and Bradley are questionable for the Georgia State game, Martin said, while Scott is expected to play.
Regardless of who is available, Saturday’s contest is important for the Aggies (2-4, 0-2 Sun Belt). NMSU has played arguably the two top teams in its conference in Troy and Appalachian State but can ill-afford a flat performance against struggling Georgia Southern (0-4, 0-1).
Georgia Southern has posted solid defensive numbers but has struggled to put points on the scoreboard. The Eagles average 15.3 points per game and rank among the nation’s worst in passing offense at 98.5 yards per contest.
“It’s huge game for us to get our confidence back,” senior cornerback Jaden Wright said, “We have six games left and we need to win four to have a shot at a bowl game. We have to stay focused on this week.”