Offense |
Defense |
Depth Chart |
Further Analysis
No.
It wasn't just that the team went winless last year, it was that it
was bad at everything other than punting. The run defense, pass
defense, offensive line and ground games all battled for the honor
of being the worst in America, while the much-anticipated passing
attack was ineffective at best, a liability at worst.
Things can't be worse, and they won't be with enough experienced
players to expect better overall production and a quarterback in
Chase Holbrook who should be far, far more efficient than Royal Gill
and Joey Vincent were last year. It's also a plus to play in the WAC
where immediate results can come right away with just a little bit
of better overall play.
Head coach: Hal Mumme
2nd year: 0-12
16th year overall: 97-76-1
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 24, Def. 22, ST 0
Lettermen Lost: 16 |
Ten
Best Aggie Players
1. WR A.J. Harris, Soph.
2. SS Eric Carrie, Jr.
3. RB Justin Buries, Jr.
4. WR Tim Tolbert, Sr.
5. C Mike Martinez, Soph.
6. CB Courtney Bryan, Sr.
7. WR Aikeem Jolla, Sr.
8. QB Chase Holbrook, Soph.
9. DE Jared Naylor, Sr.
10. LB Shauna Leaupepe, Soph. |
|
2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction: 3-9 |
|
8/31 |
SE Louisiana |
| 9/9 |
New Mexico |
| 9/16 |
Texas Southern |
|
9/30 |
at UTEP |
| 10/7 |
at Idaho |
|
10/14 |
Boise State |
|
10/21 |
Hawaii |
| 10/28 |
at Nevada |
| 11/4 |
San Jose State |
| 11/11 |
at Fresno State |
| 11/25 |
at Utah State |
| 12/2 |
Louisiana Tech |
|
|
2005
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
2-10
2005 Record: 0-12
Preview 2005 predicted wins |
| 9/3 |
UTEP L 34-17 |
| 9/10 |
at Colorado L 39-0 |
|
9/17 |
at New Mexico L 38-21 |
|
9/23 |
California L 41-13 |
| 10/1 |
at La Tech L 34-14 |
| 10/8 |
Fresno State L 37-7 |
| 10/15 |
at Hawaii L 49-28 |
| 10/29 |
Idaho
L 38-37 2OT |
| 11/5 |
at Boise State L 56-6 |
| 11/12 |
Nevada L 48-24 |
| 11/19 |
at San Jose St
L 27-10 |
| 11/26 |
Utah State
L 24-21 |
|
Step one for Mumme will be to make his team competitive
after being outscored by an average of 39 to 16.5 per game and only
coming within single-digits in losses to Idaho and Utah State. Step two
will be to get the passing game going to the point to where it makes
defensive coordinators quake. NMSU doesn't have to be fantastic on both
sides of the ball, but it has to be equipped to hang up 35 points every
once in a while and get involved in a few shootouts. That'll happen this
year.
The overall talent level will continue to improve as Mumme brings in
recruits and JUCO transfers to match what he wants to do after trying to
play with pieces that didn't come close to fitting last year. Remember,
this is a program that ran the option not all that long ago.
This will be a fun team to watch, for good and bad, and it does have the
potential to eventually make a huge turnaround and start to be a player in the WAC.
Mumme's track record would suggest nothing less.
The Schedule: The
Aggies will not only get their first win in the Hal Mumme era early
on, they'll be 2-1 thanks to games against SE Louisiana and Texas
Southern. The road games are spread out nicely with two, two-game
road trips to worry about. The mid-section of the season will be the
most interesting to see where NMSU stacks up against the WAC
heavyweights playing Boise State and Hawaii at home before going to
Nevada. It's a bad break getting winnable games against Idaho and
Utah State on the road.
Best
Offensive Player: Sophomore WR A.J. Harris. RB Justine Buries is
the team's most effective offensive player for the role he plays and
QB Chase Holbrook will put up the numbers to get him the headlines,
but Harris is the emerging go-to star with size and speed on the
outside X position.
Best
Defensive Player: Junior SS Eric Carrie. This could quickly change
if CB Courtney Bryan steps up his overall game as a senior and LB
Shauna Leaupepe can adequately replace Jimmy Cottrell in the middle.
Carrie is a big hitting safety who's the one sure-thing on the
defense after finishing third on the team in tackles.
Key
player to a successful season: Sophomore QB Chase Holbrook. The
Aggies might as well not even show up this year if the 6-6,
235-pound bomber doesn't play well. Redshirt freshman Scott Grantham
has potential, but Holbrook has to be the face of the offense and
the one who starts to put up Mumme-quarterback-like numbers to make
the offense go and make NMSU competitive.
The
season will be a success if ... the Aggies win five games. The
two D-IAA games have to be locks, there has to be at least a split
on the road against Idaho and Utah State, the home date with San
Jose State is a must-win, and there needs to be one out-of-the-blue
upset to make this happen. It's very possible.
Key
game: Oct. 7 at Idaho. It's the WAC opener with the Aggies needing
to avenge last year's 38-27 double-overtime loss to the Vandals. A
win would likely mean a 3-2 start and a world of confidence for a
team sorely in need of it.
2005
Fun Stats:
- Third quarter scoring: Opponents 85 - New Mexico State 6
- Sacks: Opponents 45 for 298 yards - New Mexico State 9 for 57
yards
- Penalties: Opponents 90 for 809 yards - New Mexico State 63 for
494 yards
The Last Time New Mexico State…
…played in a bowl game…1960 (Sun Bowl v. Utah State)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…2001 (Louisiana-Monroe)
…was shutout…2005 (Colorado)
…scored 50 points…2004 (Florida International)
…went undefeated…1960
…won a conference title…1978 (Missouri Valley)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…1995 (Cody Ledbetter)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2000 (Chris Barnes)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…1995 (Lucious Davis)
…had a first-round draft choice…1961 (RB Bob Gaiters)
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