ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- As the clock was winding down and the stadium was roaring, the game came down to its last drive, and in the end New Mexico State claimed its first Rio Grande Rivalry victory against the University of New Mexico in a thrilling 20-17 victory.
It is the first win against the Lobos (0-4, 0-1) for the Aggies (2-2, 0-1) since 2002 and its first win in Albuquerque since 1999. Head coach DeWayne Walker earned his first Division I victory and his first win against UNM.
The Aggies finished with 218 yards of total offense with 122 yards coming on the running game. In his first career start at quarterback, Trevor Walls was 10-19 passing for 77 yards and one interception. Seth Smith led the way by rushing for 113 yards on 31 attempts.
With 7:39 remaining in the game, Jeff Fleming, who came in early in the fourth quarter, began the game winning drive from NM State's own 41-yard line. On 4th down and less than 50 seconds to go, Fleming hit Marcus Anderson from 4 yards out to put the Aggies ahead for good 20-17. Fleming finished the game with 19 yards passing and a touchdown.
The Lobos got off to a fast second half start with a 42-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage, but the Aggies stopped them on the next set of downs, forcing a punt that was blocked by Donte Savage. It was his first career punt block. After a false start pushed the ball back to NM State's own 16 on third down and a Walls sack, place kicker Kyle Hughes missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.
With the score 14-13 late in the third quarter the Lobos threatened to extend their lead but the Aggies defense stiffened and forced UNM's James Aho to miss a 44-yard field goal.
On the Aggie ensuing drive on 3rd and 14 Kyle Nelson fumbled the ball for the Aggies and UNM ran it back to NM State's 19-yard line with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter. This led to a 30-yard Lobos field goal, allowing UNM to pad the lead to 17-13 with 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
With 11:32 remaining in the fourth quarter, Fleming took over at quarterback and was sacked on his first play. The Aggies quickly turned the ball over on downs, but a big stop by Ross Conner with eight minutes remaining in the game gave the Aggies one last opportunity.
Fleming started the game-winning drive on NM State's own 41-yard line with 7:39 remaining in the fourth quarter. On 3rd and 7, Seth Smith carried the ball 14 yards to the Lobos' 23-yard line. Three plays later, Anderson made the game winning 4-yard diving catch to put the Aggies ahead 20-17.
In the final drive of the game, the Lobos drove the ball 50 yards down field in 37 seconds to set up one last field goal attempt to tie the game. Aho missed the 47-yard attempt as the clock expired, giving the Aggies the victory.
NM State started the game with a four and out drive, but quickly got the ball back
after Conner intercepted the ball inside the Lobo 30-yardline. It was Conner's
first career interception. The Aggie offense then stalled again, but Hughes put NM State on the board first with his second longest field goal of his career, a 42-yard kick. The Aggies held a 3-0 lead with 10:52 remaining in the first quarter.
The Lobos got the ball back and quickly made their way inside the Aggies'
10-yard line with a 62-yard run by Demond Dennis. The Lobos scored on the drive with a 2-yard run with 7:43 remaining in the first quarter, as UNM held a 7-3 lead.
The Aggies continued to push the ball downfield on their next drive, with Anderson keeping the drive alive with a 23-yard reception - his longest of the year. Two costly Lobos personal fouls set up Walls' first career rushing touchdown from one yard out, putting the Aggies ahead 10-7 at the start of the second quarter.
The Aggies controlled the ball for 10:41 in the first quarter.
On the next Aggie possession, a 13-yard reception by Marcus Allen and a 13-yard carry by Tony Glynn pushed the ball to the Lobos 22-yard line that led to a 40-yard field goal by Hughes. The Aggies led 13-7 after Hughes' second field goal of the night with 8:18 remaining in the second quarter.
After pinning the Lobos deep in their own territory, NM State quickly got the ball back with 3:26 remaining in the second quarter. Walls then threw his first career interception, giving the ball back to the Lobos. A costly pass interference on the Aggies on 2nd and 8 on NM State's 12-yard line put the ball on their own 2-yard line and on the next play, the Lobos scored on a 2-yard pass. The Lobos took a 14-13 lead into the half on their first touchdown pass in eight games.
Walls threw for 71 yards on 9-of-16 passing in the first half, while Smith led the Aggies on the ground with 51 yards on 14 carries. Allen led the receiving corps with two catches for 26 yards.
Courtesy: New Mexico State University
