NMSU eligible for bowl game invite
Aggies hang on for seventh win, beating Middle Tennessee 13-7
It’s official, the Aggies are going bowling.
New Mexico State’s football team held on with a last-second defensive stand in a 13-7 win over visiting Middle Tennessee on Saturday night in Las Cruces.
NMSU (7-3 overall, 5-1 in Conference USA) needed a seventh win to assure itself of an automatic bowl bid due to its 13-game regular season. Teams at the Football Bowl Subdivision are required to be at least .500 with a minimum of six wins.
The Aggies got there in dramatic fashion as Middle Tennessee (2-7, 1-4) drove as far as the NMSU 15-yard line in the final 10 seconds. Blue Raiders quarterback Nicholas Vattiato threw two incomplete passes into the end zone, the last coming as time expired. He was looking for receiver Elijah Metcalf, a pass that would have at least tied the game with an extra point pending for a potential win.
As NMSU radio broadcaster Jack Nixon put it, “Sometimes it was as ugly as a bowling shoe but it’s a win.”
Aggies quarterback Diego Pavia passed for 220 yards and rushed for another 67. He led his team on an 80-yard touchdown drive that ended with a Ron Tiavaasue scoring run of 1 yard with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter. It was NMSU’s only touchdown of the game as kicker Ethan Albertson ended the half with a 26-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.
He added a second kick of 38 yards late in the third quarter to close out the scoring. The rest was up to NMSU’s defense, which forced seven punts and picked off Vattiato on another drive. Needing a touchdown to win, Vattiato moved the Blue Raiders from their own 10 to the opposite 15 as time wound down.
The methodical 17-play drive saw them convert a third-down attempt near midfield and a fourth-down try from NMSU’s 36 before it all came down to one play.
New Mexico State travels to Western Kentucky next week, then visits Auburn on Nov. 18 before the home finale on Nov. 25 against Jacksonville State.
Highlands routed 77-3
John Matocha passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns, leading NCAA Division II’s top-ranked Colorado School of Mines to a 77-3 rout of visiting New Mexico Highlands on Saturday in Golden, Colo.
The Orediggers (10-0 overall, 8-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) out gained the Cowboys 634-126 in total offense, forcing seven punts and three turnovers. Highlands (2-8, 1-7) crossed midfield just once, using a no-huddle approach to move as far as the Mines 18 before kicker Will McDaniel booted a 35-yard field goal for the Cowboys’ only points.
Mines, which reached the D-2 national championship game last year and has been ranked near the top of the polls all season, led 56-0 before that kick. The Orediggers had 12 possessions, scoring touchdowns on 11 of them.
Shawntay Mills rushed for 63 yards to pace NMHU’s offense. Quarterback Joey Cave attempted just 10 passes, completing four for 54 yards and an interception.