Last year, the two rivalry games were fantastic.
When the Aggies went to UNM, they really could have won. Chris Williams was, well, Chris Williams. I also remember the defense playing badly, Nick Cleaver getting crunched over the middle, ball popping up in the air and the Lobos getting a huge pick late in the game. Paul Young booted a field goal home with 12:39 remaining in the fourth quarter to tie things up at 27. NMSU went on to give up two straight TDs. Lost the game 34-44. Rodney Ferguson was a powerhouse and NMSU made Donovan Porterie look like a real-deal college QB. But it was a great game.
The next week, NMSU returned home to face UTEP and won 29-24. There was so much excitement after that game. Coach Mumme was very emotional afterwards and there was a feeling that the Aggies had gotten over the hump. They ran the ball well that night. I remember them just pounding the ball with Justine Buries early and the defense came up big down the stretch. There were crazy plays throughout. UTEP's Quintin Demps returned a pick 100-plus yards to the house, Williams was, well, Williams (221 yards, 2 TDs, big plays everywhere). The receiver also dropped a few passes too but who's counting.
I really just remember the optimism surrounding the team after that game. It went away shortly after though. The Aggies need to recapture that feeling again. People were genuinely excited after UTEP. NMSU won the game. And they could have beaten UNM too. It felt like they got over the hump and they fell back down again. What does 2008 have in store?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Again, sweep our rivals and the masses will come!!
The key is beating the Northern and Southern schools and doing well in the WAC.
We absolutely NEED to beat UNM at home this year. We have a chance to win at UTEP, but they have a very tough home field advantage. We almost won there two years ago,and we should have a chance to be in it again. But the UNM game is key. None of the seniors on this team have experienced a win against UNM. They are much more respected in the college football world and in the region over NMSU and UTEP. A win over them would be huge to the fan support in Las Cruces. A loss to them and to UTEP will be very bad. To the casual fan, this will be enough to warrant not attending any home games the rest of the season.
Beat UNM and UTEP-and to heck with the rest of the season.That's the attitude of many "college football fair-weather fans" in Las Cruces.I'd like to see a poll or some kind of survey-what conference is NMSU in,and can you name the other WAC members?I think that one would be suprised...
Post a Comment