Aggies can’t hang on
Red Wolves take over in 4th to pull away
New Mexico State had the look of a winner before Sun Belt power Arkansas State scores three fourth-quarter TDs.
The New Mexico State Aggies talked about making Saturday night’s game against Sun Belt Conference contender Arkansas State a four-quarter game.
NMSU could only manage three.
Arkansas State dominated the final 14-plus minutes and turned a tight game into a convincing 37-21 victory in front of an announced crowd of 10,041 at Aggie Memorial Stadium. The Red Wolves scored the game’s final 20 points and simply took over down the stretch.
While the fourth quarter was decisive, Aggies coach Doug Martin felt the battle was gradually lost up front throughout the game.
“Our offensive line got totally manhandled,” Martin said. “We had no time to throw the ball and couldn’t run it effectively either. Our defense played awesome in the first half, but we’ve got to be able to get them off the field more and move the ball. Those guys just wore down in the fourth quarter.”
Thanks in large part to seven Arkansas State sacks of Tyler Rogers, NMSU finished with just 35 rushing yards on 32 carries. Larry Rose III finished with 55 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts but he, like Martin, was not happy with the Aggies’ offensive production.
“In the first half we moved the ball fine,” Rose said, “but in the second half we just couldn’t get it going. Arkansas State has a great D-line, but we didn’t help our defense out enough.”
It was New Mexico State’s third loss in as many games against the top tier of Sun Belt teams — Troy, Appalachian State and Arkansas State. The Aggies either led or were within a field goal in the fourth quarter in all three outings.
“That sucks because it’s kind of been the same thing in all three,” said NMSU linebacker Dalton Herrington, who had a game-high 16 tackles, including two sacks. “We didn’t get it done in the fourth quarter.”
Playing its lone home game in
an eight-week span, New Mexico State (3-5, 1-3 Sun Belt) kept things interesting for three-plus quarters. The Aggies’ defense effectively pressured Red Wolves quarterback Justice Hansen (he was sacked seven times), got stops on third downs, and NMSU’s offense made just enough big plays.
The Aggies led 14-7 at halftime and grabbed a 21-17 advantage on a 2-yard scoring run by Rogers on the first play of the fourth quarter.
It was all Arkansas State from there.
The Red Wolves (5-2, 4-0) adjusted to NMSU’s blitzes with quick passes to the boundaries and suddenly moved the ball almost at will. Two quick scoring drives sandwiched around an Aggies punt gave Arkansas State a 30-21 lead, and a long interception return of a Rogers pass into double coverage effectively sealed the deal.
“It wasn’t a conditioning issue,” Herrington said. “They just made some plays in the fourth quarter, their guy beat our guy. We missed some tackles, didn’t make enough plays. That was it.”
Total yardage was close for three quarters but the Red Wolves outgained the Aggies 160 to 23 in the fourth quarter and 417-256 overall.
Special teams also played a major role as ASU’s punt and punt-return teams outperformed their NMSU counterparts. Red Wolves punters averaged 44.7 yards on nine punts and twice pinned the Aggies at their 1.
“There’s a reason they’re No. 1 in the conference in every kicking category,” Martin said, “and that’s an area where we’re still behind.”
Wideout OJ Clark had a big night for NMSU with seven grabs for 113 yards, but Rogers finished just 20-for-40 passing for a season-low 221 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.