Aggies get paid, routed by Bama
Oklahoma likely not to overcome this loss
New Mexico State fell to 1-9 on the season with a 59-3 loss at No. 3 Alabama on Saturday.
The Aggies entered the game as a 52-point underdog and Alabama nearly covered in the first half, leading 49-3.
Saturday’s game was a $1.9 million guarantee for New Mexico State. The Aggies continue their late-season tour of the SEC this week at Kentucky for $1.2 million.
“Our guys played as hard as they could, but they were certainly outmatched today,” Aggies coach Doug Martin said.
The Aggies forced an Alabama punt on its first possession of the game. New Mexico State covered 49 yards in 10 plays to set up a career best 50 yard field goal from Ethan Albertson to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead with 5:35 left in the first quarter.
But it was all Alabama from there.
Alabama outgained NM State 395-99 in the first half, averaging 11 yards per play while the Aggies held to 2.5 yards per play and were shut out on their final 10 possessions. Alabama scored touchdowns on its next seven.
Alabama outgained the Aggies 587-138. Aggie quarterback Jonah Johnson was 19 for 30 passing for 129 yards. Johnson was sacked seven times and hit nearly as often.
Albertson and Aggies linebacker Chris Ojoh were the Aggies’ best players on Saturday. Ojoh had 13 tackles with three for a loss, including a strip sack in the third quarter that the Aggies recovered near midfield.
“It was my first game against a SEC school,” Ojoh said. “It was a real moment and something I won’t forget. It’s not the outcome that I wanted or our team wanted, but it was a great experience.”
SOONERS ELIMINATED? The College Football Playoff selection committee’s assessment of Oklahoma ended up looking spot on.
The number of unbeaten teams in major college football dropped to three Saturday after the Sooners were manhandled 27-14 by No. 18 Baylor.
No. 1 Georgia, which beat Tennessee 41-17, No. 2 Cincinnati, a Friday winner over South Florida 45-28, and No. 15 UTSA, which held off Southern Miss 27-17 on Saturday, have not yet lost.
While fans and the committee nitpick the Bearcats for futzing around with the soft underbelly of the American Athletic Conference, everything else continues to fall into place for Cincinnati to became the first non-Power Five playoff team.
The No. 4 Sooners have surged from outside playoff position to make the semifinals several times and its closing stretch this season seemed built to slingshot the Sooners past Cincinnati — and possibly others.
“We’ll bounce back like we always do and like we fully expect to,” Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said.
This time one loss might be too many for OU.
As for the Bearcats (CFP No. 5), they were never truly threatened Friday night at South Florida, but it was a 10-point game against the lowly Bulls in the fourth quarter.
Cincinnati’s last four opponents have a combined record of 9-30. The Bearcats were favored by at least 20 points in each game and won by an average margin of 12.7 points. Not great.
But maybe Cincinnati doesn’t need so many style points.
AROUND THE COUNTRY:
The unraveling of coach Dan Mullen’s tenure at Florida took another turn against Samford. In winning 70-52, the Gators allowed 530 yards to the so-so FCS team in the first game after Mullen fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. “Calling a win disappointing is disrespectful to the game,” Mullen said. Florida (5-5) closes with Missouri and Florida State … Who had Florida State’s Mike Norvell as the most secure Power Five coach in the Sunshine State after the Seminoles lost to Jacksonville State in September? FSU snapped a four-game losing streak to Miami, a 31-28 game that will increase the heat on Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz. … Tennessee made Georgia’s defense look normal for a quarter, then didn’t score again until it was 41-10 with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter. Of some concern to the Bulldogs were injuries to LB Nolan Smith and DL Devonte Wyatt. … What team ranked in the preseason is having the worst season? Florida makes a case, but so does Indiana. The Hoosiers started ranked No. 17, but the latest blowout, 38-3 at home to Rutgers, made Indiana 2-7 and very much in danger of its first winless Big Ten season since 2011. … Texas Tech’s Jonathan Garibay drilled a 62-yard game-winning field goal to beat Iowa State 41-38 and make the Red Raiders, who have already fired a coach and hired a new coach, bowl eligible. … That was only the second-best walk-off winner of the day. The best came at the Dakota-Dome, where South Dakota beat rival South Dakota State 23-20 on a double-deflected Hail Mary TD pass.
Mountain West
UNLV 27, HAWAII 13: In Las Vegas, Nevada, Charles Williams rushed for a career-high 266 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead UNLV 2-8, 2-4). Hawaii (4-7, 1-5) lost its fourth straight game
AIR FORCE 35, COLORADO STATE 21: In Fort Collins, Colo., Haaziq Daniels threw for two touchdowns, including a 92-yarder for the longest pass in school history, and Air Force (7-3, 4-2) earned its fifth straight win. CSU fell to 3-7, 2-4.
State
TAMU-COMMERCE 30, ENMU 10: In Commerce, Texas, the host Lions (7-4, 5-2 Lone Star) held the Greyhounds to 245 yards of offense and out of the end zone for three quarters. Eastern New Mexico finished 4-7, 1-6.