NMSU does nothing right in loss to Buckeyes

2009 New Mexico State Aggies ... Head Coach: DeWayne Walker

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 2-11
2009 Record: 3-6

9/5 Idaho L 21-6
9/12 P. View A&M W 21-18
9/19 UTEP L 38-12
9/26 at New Mexico W 20-17
10/3 at SDSU L 34-17
10/10 Utah St W 20-17
10/17 at La Tech L 45-7
10/24 Fresno St L 34-3
10/31 at Ohio St L 45-0
11/7 OPEN DATE
11/14 at Hawaii
11/21 Nevada
11/28 at San Jose State
12/5 at Boise State

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2008 Record: 3-9

8/30 OPEN DATE
9/4 Nicholls State PPD
9/13 at Nebraska L 38-7
9/20 at UTEP W 34-33
9/27 New Mexico L 35-24
10/4 Alcorn State W 45-10
10/11 at Nevada W 48-45
10/18 San Jose St L 31-14
10/25 at Idaho L 20-14
11/1 Boise State L 49-0
11/8 Hawaii L 42-30
11/15 at Fresno State L 24-17
11/22 Louisiana Tech L 35-31
11/29 at Utah State L 47-2

New Mexico State Aggies

Oct. 31
at Ohio State 45 … New Mexico State 0
Ohio State held New Mexico State to 42 yards of total offense, while the Buckeye attack rolled at will in the second quarter with 28 points helped by a 19-yard Dane Sanzenbacher touchdown catch and a trick play with Sanzenbacher hitting DeVier Posey for a 39-yard score. Brandon Saine ran for a three-yard score and Daniel Herron tore off a 53-yard scoring dash. OSU’s win wasn’t without a down note as PK Aaron Pettrey went down with a knee injury.
Player of the Game: Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor completed 11-of-23 passes for 135 yards and a score, and he ran nine times for 83 yards and a touchdown.
New Mexico State : Passing: Jeff Fleming, 6-13, 22 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Jeff Fleming, 7-31, Receiving: Todd Lee, 2-12
Ohio State: Passing: Terrelle Pryor, 11-23, 135 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Jordan Hall, 10-90, Receiving: Duron Carter, 3-82 
What It All Means: Yeah it’s Ohio State and yeah, NMSU is struggling, but it’s the ninth game of the season; there’s no excuse for only gaining two first downs and 62 yards of total offense. At the very least, the offense should’ve been able to complete a few passes in the second half once OSU took its foot off the gas, but nothing worked. On the plus side, the team gets two weeks off before playing at Hawaii. If the offense doesn’t work against a bad Warrior defense, then it’s time to back up the truck and work on 2010.

Oct. 24
Fresno State 34 … at New Mexico State 3
New Mexico State scored first on a 32-yard Kyle Hughes field goal for a 3-0 lead going into the second, and then it was all Fresno State scoring 34 unanswered points starting with a 17-yard interception return for a score from Lorne Bell. Ryan Mathews scored on a one-yard run in the third and a 68-yard dash in the fourth, and Chastin West took a punt 88 yards for a score.
Player of the Game: Fresno State RB Ryan Mathews ran 25 times for 157 yards and two scores.
New Mexico State: Passing: Jeff Fleming, 3-6, 46 yds
Rushing: Seth Smith, 19-105, Receiving: Marcus Anderson, 2-33
Fresno State: Passing: Ryan Colburn, 7-14, 164 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Mathews, 25-157, 2 TD, Receiving: Seyi Ajirotutu, 3-64 
What It All Means: With just ten points in the last two games, the offense is stepping back and getting worse instead of improving like it should be at this point in the year. The turnovers have been a problem, but the lack of defensive pressure is one of the bigger issues and the offense is dead last in America. It’s not like the attack is going to suddenly find itself at Ohio State next week, and with four of the top five teams to close out the season, it’s going to bad finishing kick.

Oct. 17
at Louisiana Tech 45 … New Mexico State 7
Ross Jenkins ran for a one-yard score and threw three touchdown passes including two to Dennis Morris as part of a 45-0 run. New Mexico State was miserable offensively gaining just 142 yards and six first downs. The Aggies finally got into the end zone on a 38-yard fumble return for a score from Davon House in the final five minutes. Ten Bulldog players ran the ball, led by 132 yards from Daniel Porter, as Tech gained 315 rushing yards and three scores.
Player of the Game: Louisiana Tech QB Ross Jenkins completed 11-of-19 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran eight times for 35 yards and a score
Louisiana Tech: Passing: Ross Jenkins, 11-19, 204 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Daniel Porter, 19-132, Receiving: Dennis Morris, 6-126, 2 TD
New Mexico State: Passing: Trevor Walls, 10-12, 51 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Seth Smith, 13-32, Receiving: Marcus Anderson, 3-29 
What It All Means: Trevor Walls only misfired on two passes, but one was for an interception and he wasn’t able to get the team back in the game after Louisiana Tech got up big early. Walls and the passing game can’t get the ball down the field, and there’s no one else who’s picking up the slack. 142 yards of total offense at this point in the season is inexcusable, while the defense is getting worse at the wrong time with Fresno State, Ohio State, and Hawaii up next. On the plus side, Jason Scott made 15 tackles.

Oct. 10
at New Mexico State 20 … Utah State 17
Kyle Hughes nailed a 28-yard field goal to give New Mexico State the win. Utah State was driving with a chance to go for the game-winning score, but the NMSU defense came up with a huge stop and allowed the offense a chance to go for the win with a five-play drive leading to the field goal..
Player of the Game: New Mexico State RB Seth Smith ran 26 times for 98 yards and a score, and he caught a pass for four yards. Utah State went on a midgame 17-point run with a trick play Stanley Morrison touchdown pass to Omar Sawyer and a 21-yard Xavier Bowman touchdown grab. But NMSU got one-yard touchdown runs from Trevor Walls and Seth Smith and the defense didn’t allow a score in almost 29 minutes.
Utah State: Passing: Diondre Borel, 15-25, 156 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: X, Receiving: Omar Sawyer, 3-48, 1 TD
New Mexico State: Passing: Trevor Walls, 8-25, 81 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Seth Smith, 26-98, 1 TD, Receiving: Marcus Allen, 5-58 
What It All Means: It was hardly pretty, there wasn’t any offense until the final drive, and there are still major problems with an ineffective passing game and a lack of plays in the backfield from the defense, but somehow, the Aggies are 3-3. It’s going to be tough to come up with a win the rest of the way, but the team has found a way to win, getting a clutch drive in the final moments to beat Utah State, and it’s getting just enough defense to get by.

Oct. 3
at San Diego State 34 … New Mexico State 17
SDSU broke open a 17-17 game in the fourth quarter with 17 unanswered points as Ryan Lindley threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Willie Watters and Walter Kazee scored his second touchdown of the game with a three-yard run. NMSU turned it over four times with a fumble going for a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but it was still a close battle until midway through the fourth. The two teams combined for just 486 yards of total offense.
Player of the Game: San Diego State RB Walter Kazee ran 22 times for 101 yards and s score
New Mexico State: Passing: Trevor Walls, 8-12, 103 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Seth Smith, 31-89, Receiving: Todd Lee, 3-67, 1 TD
San Diego State: Passing: Ryan Lindley, 7-27, 123 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Walter Kazee, 22-101, 1 TD, Receiving: Vincent Brown, 3-84, 1 TD 
What It All Means: The offense just isn’t going to do anything special all season long. The coaching staff is trying to push some buttons, and Trevor Walls moved the offense in the fourth quarter finishing with 8-of-12 completions for 103 yards and a touchdown with an interception. The chances were there to pull off the win in the fourth quarter, but instead, San Diego State came up with the plays needed.

Sept. 26
New Mexico State 20 … at New Mexico 17
Jeff Fleming connected with Marcus Anderson for a four-yard touchdown to give NMSU the lead, and the defense held on as New Mexico’s James Aho missed a 47-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds. In the back-and-forth game, neither team was ever up by more than six points as Demond Dennis and Chris Biren came up with short scores for the Lobos, while the Aggies got a one-yard Trevor Walls touchdown run and two Kyle Hughes field goal before the final touchdown grab from Anderson.
Player of the Game: New Mexico State RB Seth Smith ran 31 times for 113 yards
New Mexico: Passing: Donovan Porterie, 16-28, 206 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Demond Dennis, 16-98, 1 TD, Receiving: Ty Kirk, 7-105
New Mexico State: Passing: Trevor Walls, 10-19, 77 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Seth Smith, 31-113, Receiving: Donyae Coleman, 3-18
What It All Means: It wasn’t pretty, the offense is awful, gaining just 218 yards, but the Aggies held on to the ball for 38:06 and there was little passing game, but it was a win to break a four-game losing streak to the Aggies. 2-2 is 2-2, even as awful as the team has played at times, but the defense will have to start making more tackles for loss and there has to be something, anything out of a passing game that has a few decent weapons in place from the Hal Mumme era. At San Diego State next week, the Aggies can win, but the turnover margin has to swing in their favor. 

Sept. 19
UTEP 38 … at New Mexico State 12
The game was delayed for a few hours through a lightning storm, but it didn’t affect UTEP as it ran out to a 31-0 lead going into the third quarter with two short Donald Buckram touchdown runs and short scores from Jason Williams and Vernon Frazier. NMSU finally got on the board with a one-yard Marquell Colston run, but the game was never in question.
Player of the Game: UTEP RB Donald Buckram ran 14 times for 113 yards and two scores, and he caught a pass for 36 yards
New Mexico State: Passing: Jeff Fleming, 6-13, 74 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Seth Smith, 13-99, Receiving: Todd Lee, 3-40
UTEP: Passing: Trevir Vittatoe, 15-32, 182 yds
Rushing: Donald Buckram, 14-113, 2 TD, Receiving: Jeff Moturi, 4-54
What It All Means: The Aggie offense still can’t find anything that works. The UTEP defense isn’t good, but NMSU was only able to gain 284 yards of total offense with three turnovers and no passing game whatsoever. The offense had to start bombing away to try to come back, and it couldn’t do it. As bad as UTEP is, New Mexico is worse. The Aggies have to be far more competitive next week. 

Sept. 12
at New Mexico State 21 ... Prairie View A&M 18
The Aggies gave new head coach DeWayne Walker his first win, but it was a fight. Jeff Fleming ran for a ten-yard score in the first and a one yarder in the second, and Marquell Colston added a four-yard scoring dash for a 21-3 lead. Prairie View came back late with a K.J. Black nine-yard run and a 27-yard Anthony Weeden catch, but couldn't get any closer.
Player of the Game: New Mexico State RB Seth Smith ran 25 times for 150 yards.
Prairie View A&M: Passing: K.J. Black, 12-14, 101 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Donald Babers, 18-118, Receiving: Shaun Stephens, 4-23
New Mexico State: Passing: Jeff Fleming, 8-20, 63 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Seth Smith, 25-150, Receiving: Todd Lee, 4-39
What It All Means: It's going to be a struggle all season long. It might not have been pretty, but the Aggies got a win and it might be the only one they get without coming up with a major upset. Jeff Fleming couldn't throw the ball, completing just 8-of-20 passes, but he led a running game to 241 yards. The program isn't used to moving the ball on the ground, but it's still going to take a while to find something that consistently works.

Sept. 5
Idaho 21 ... at New Mexico State 6
Idaho scored the first 21 points of the game, all in the first half, as Nathan Enderle connected with Daniel Hardy for a six-yard score and Max Komar from 38 yards out. Princeton McCarty ran for a one-yard score late in the first quarter. But that would be it for the Vandal scoring. NMSU managed a three-yard Tonny Glynn touchdown, but that was all the Aggies could come up with. Idaho outgained NMSU 350 yards to 342.
Player of the Game: Idaho LB JoJo Dickson made 11 tackles
New Mexico State: Passing: Jeff Fleming, 21-33, 230 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Marques Colston, 14-50, Receiving: Todd Lee, 6-49
Idaho: Passing: Nathan Enderle, 11-21, 179 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Princeton McCarty, 8-96, Receiving: Max Komar, 2-68, 1 TD
What It All Means: This was hardly the start that DeWayne Walker wanted for the start of his reign. The offense didn't know what it wanted to do, struggling to get the downfield passing game going and failing to find ways to get points on the board even though the offense was moving. The defense settled down in the second half, but it couldn't overcome three turnovers from the offense. This is a long learning curve for the program, but this was a big chance to open up strong with a sure win against Prairie View A&M coming up next. Walker has to find playmakers, and that's going to be a season-long process.