Aggies’ defense is in spotlight today at Troy in Sun Belt opener
It might be argued that the Troy Trojans did New Mexico State University’s football program a favor in 2015.
The Trojans came to Las Cruces and basically put a whuppin’ on the Aggies. Final score: Troy 52, NMSU 7 — and the score was not at all misleading.
The upside? The drubbing left the Aggies embarrassed and angry enough to snap the nation’s longest losing streak at 17 games a week later and win three in a row. In hindsight, the one-sided loss to Troy might have been just what New Mexico State needed.
“I think that game drove home the point that something had to change with this team,” linebacker Rodney Butler said. “In a way, it helped us.”
That doesn’t mean the Aggies are grateful. In fact, they’re carrying a little residual anger into today’s Sun Belt Conference opener in Troy, Ala.
“We had no idea Troy would come out and hit us like they did (last season),” senior center Anthony McMeans, an Alabama native, said. “I feel like we need to get some revenge. It’s no fun losing like that to a Sun Belt team.”
The Aggies (1-2) will take the field with some confidence
built over their past two games. NMSU rallied to defeat New Mexico 32-31, then stood toeto-toe with Kentucky for threeplus quarters before fading in a 62-42 loss.
Problem is, the Trojans (2-1) have even more reason to believe in themselves. In its past two games, Troy battled No. 2 Clemson to a standstill before falling 30-24, then pulled off a 37-31 road win at Southern Miss — the same Southern Miss team that earlier beat Kentucky.
“Troy’s hung in there with some great teams,” Butler said. “They play good football, and we realize what they’re capable of. They’re fast on the offensive side of the ball, and we need to key on what they do.”
What the Trojans can do is hit opponents with big plays. They’ve already racked up 14 plays of 21 yards or more, eight for touchdowns, in the season’s first three weeks.
New Mexico State’s defense, meanwhile, has been vulnerable to big plays. The Aggies have been burned for six TDs of 37 yards or longer this season, along with a 65-yard punt return for a score.
“At this point I’m not sure where our defense is,” NMSU coach Doug Martin said. “We were pretty good against New Mexico, not good at all against Kentucky. I don’t know how much of that was us missing tackles and assignments, and how much was just an SEC offense making plays. Either way, this week is important for our defense.”
While his team must show defensive improvement, Martin realizes the Aggies will likely need a big scoring day if they are to win at Troy. The Aggies put up 35 points in the first half at Kentucky behind the passing and running of quarterback Tyler Rogers. They’ll also get a key weapon back today as junior running back Larry Rose III returns after missing the season’s first three games because of sports hernia surgery.
“We have to be able to answer scores,” Martin said. “We’ve got a tough challenge ahead of us with Troy, but our guys are looking forward to it. We need to show something against this team.”