SAN MARCOS, TEXAS--The New Mexico State University football team (1-11) concluded its season on Saturday, Dec. 1, with a 66-28 loss to Texas State University.

The Aggies finished the game with 419 total yards of offense.  NM State ran the ball for 171 yards and threw for 248 yards.  Defensively, NM State held Texas State to 82 passing yards.

A group of Aggies finished the game with season records.  Wide receiver Jarrel Brown finished the game with a career-high in receiving yards with four catches for 54 yards.  Wide receiver Austin Franklin had a season-high for kick return yards with 171 yards.  Running back Germi Morrison finished the game with a career-high 129 rushing yards off 19 carries and one touchdown, giving himself and the Aggies their first 100-yard performance from a running back all season.  

Also on offense, Quarterback Andrew Manley completed 16 of 29 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns.  Manley also ran for an additional touchdown.  Tight end Trevor Walls finished the game with 15 receiving yards and one touchdown.  On defense, linebacker Trashaun Nixon and defensive tackle Donte Savage accumulated eight tackles each.  Nixon also added one sack to his bottom line.  Safeties George Callender and Davis Cazares each had six tackles.

The Aggies quickly went to work at the start of the game, scoring a touchdown on their first possession of the game.  Morrison opened up the game with a 37 yard run for the first play of the game, marking a season-best mark for a single play.  Morrison’s longest run prior to Texas State was a 31 yard run set against Auburn.  The drive concluded with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Manley to Walls to put the Aggies up 7-0.

After Texas State answered with a touchdown of their own, NM State scored again on their second possession of the game.  A couple of key third down conversions through the air put the Aggies in the red zone.  Manley capped off the drive with a 5-yard run to put the Aggies up 14-7.  Manley’s rushing touchdown was the second of his career.

Texas State broke out a long run to score again, tying the score at 14-14.  NM State answered with another efficient drive for a third touchdown in as many attempts.  Manley continued to throw the ball effectively, producing a 75 percent completion rate through the Aggies’ first three touchdown drives.  Morrison broke a couple tackles with a 14-yard touchdown run to conclude the drive.

The first quarter ended with the Aggies up 21-14, signifying the highest total amount of points the Aggies scored in the first quarter all season.  Manley finished the first quarter going 9-12 with 139 passing yards and one touchdown.  Manley also ran for one touchdown to put his total to two.  Three different Aggies finished the first quarter with at least 40 receiving yards.  Wide receivers Kemonte Bateman finished with two catches for 40 yards, Jarrel Brown finished with three catches for 44 yards and Austin Franklin finished with two catches for 41 yards.  Morrison finished the first quarter with nine carries for 66 yards.  

After a couple touchdowns on defense and special teams for Texas State to put the Bobcats up 49-21 towards the end of the second quarter, Franklin turned a long kick return into another scoring drive for the Aggies.  Manley completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Bateman to bring to score to 49-28.

NM State concluded the first half with 277 total yards of offense, 233 of those yards through the air.  The Aggies were 4-7 on converting third down and went 3-3 on scoring opportunities in the red zone.  Manley finished with 233 passing yards for two touchdowns off 15 completions.  Bateman led all Aggies in receive yards after the first half with 85 yards from four catches and one touchdown.  Franklin finished the second half with 76 yards off four catches and Brown had 54 yards off four catches.  Morrison led all Aggies in rushing yards with 75 yards and one touchdown from 14 carries.  On defense, linebacker Trashaun Nixon led in tackles with five.  The NM State secondary held the Texas State passing game to a mere 27 yards by the end of the first half.  On special teams, Franklin’s return yards totaled 135, bringing his all-purpose yards to 211 by the end of the first half.

The Aggies buckled down on defense in the third quarter, holding the Bobcats to just a field goal to put Texas State up 52-28 by the end of the quarter.