Aggies end 57-year bowl drought
LAS CRUCES — Fifty-seven years is a long time to wait for bowl fever, but New Mexico State has it — finally.
Tyler Rogers passed for 451 yards and led a drive that brought New Mexico State back into the lead in the final minute for a 22-17 win over South Alabama in Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday that made the Aggies eligible for their first bowl since 1960.
More than likely, the Aggies (6-6 overall, 4-4 in Sun Belt) will play in the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 29. NMSU Chancellor and President Garrey Carruthers indicated Nov. 16 that it was possibly the only Sun Belt bowl bid the athletic department could afford to accept and the Arizona Bowl Executive Director Alan Young told the Las Cruces Sun-News he would be happy to host them.
New Mexico State defeated Utah State 20-13 in the 1960 Sun Bowl and the Aggies’ 57-year drought was the longest current streak in the FBS.
NMSU head coach Doug Martin was very emo-
tional as he talked about his team in a Twitter video right after the final whistle.
“Just real happy for our seniors,” Martin said, choking back tears. “They’re a great group of kids.”
It almost appeared like the Aggies would see their dreams dashed by a plucky Jaguars team with nothing better to do than ruin a celebration.
South Alabama (4-8, 3-5) scored 10 straight to take a 17-16 lead with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter.
But Rogers and the Aggies responded with a meticulous 15-play, 83-yard drive capped by a 7-yard pass to Conner Cramer with 32 seconds left.
It was a drive with big plays, starting with a Rogers-to-Jonathan Boone 14-yard reception on a third-and-10 at the NMSU 39. Rogers found Gregory Hogan for 11 yards on a second-and-4 that got the Aggies to the South Alabama 30. Facing a secondand-10 at the Jaguars’ 18, Larry Rose III had runs of 9 and 1 for a first down at the 7, and Rogers followed up with the winning score.
Rogers was 6-for-11 on the drive for 60 yards on the winning drive.
NMSU overcame a 7-0 deficit in the second quarter by scoring 13 straight points before the half. A pair of Dylan Brown field goals cut the margin to 7-6, then the Aggies drove 17 yards in nine plays for the go-ahead touchdown when Rogers hit Anthony Muse for a 9-yard touchdown with 4:08 left in the quarter.
The lead grew to 16-7 when Brown booted a 39-yard field goal just 4 seconds into the fourth quarter, but South Alabama scored on consecutive drives.
Jaguars quarterback Jordan McCray connected with Cole Garvin on a 19-yard touchdown pass at 11:49 of the quarter to make it 16-14.
NMSU drove all the way to the South Alabama 17 on the ensuing drive, but turned the ball over on downs instead of kicking a field goal.
The Jaguars responded by marching 73 yards down the field before setting up Gavin Patterson for a 27-yard field goal that gave them a one-point lead.