The New Mexico State Aggies (3-5, 1-3) travel to Columbus, Ohio, to face Big Ten and national power house No. 17/17 Ohio State (6-2, 4-1). This weekend the Aggies and Buckeyes will meet for the first time on the grid iron. Game time is set for 10 a.m. (MT) at Ohio Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 31.
The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network, as Matt Rosen (Play-by-Play) and Anthony Herron (Analyst) bring you all the action from the television booth.
You can listen to all the action with the 'Voice of the Aggies' Jack Nixon and color analyst Mike Mitchell beginning at 9 a.m. on KGRT 104 FM. Also catch the action in Spanish with Martin Cortez and Bob Sherman on Vista 98.7 FM.
Aggies/Buckeyes, the Series
NM State will face Ohio State for the first time in program history this Saturday. In fact, the Aggies have faced just two Big Ten teams since the program started back in 1894. NM State's all-time record against teams from the Big Ten is 0-2. The Aggies faced off against Wisconsin, Sept. 29, 1962, in Madison, Wis. The Aggies fell 69-13 to the Badgers.
In 1995, the Aggies traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, to face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Aggies would let the Hawkeyes jump out to an early 42-0 lead at halftime, before outscoring Iowa, 21-17, in the second half. The Aggies would fall to the Hawkeyes, 59-21.
The Aggies hold a winning record against one BCS school, Iowa State, as NM State leads that series 1-0. NM State also holds a 1-1 record against Kansas.
Scouting the Buckeyes
This season the Buckeyes have been a balanced team through the air and on the ground, averaging 182.1 yards passing and 171.1 yards rushing a game. OSU has been outscoring its opponents 29.2 points per game to 13.1 this season. With a 6-2 record, the Buckeyes have been great in the red zone, converting on 72 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line. This past weekend the Buckeyes beat Minnesota, 38-7, at home. The Buckeyes are now 4-1 in conference play.
Individually for Ohio State, quarterback Terelle Pryor has thrown for 1,408 yards and 12 touchdowns in eight games for OSU, averaging 176 yards in the air. Pryor leads the rushing attack for OSU, averaging 58.9 yards a game with five rushing touchdowns while Brandon Saine is averaging 53.2 yards a game. DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher lead the receiving corps, as Posey has 38 catches for 516 yards and six touchdowns. Sanzenbacher has recorded 19 catches for 388 yards and four touchdowns. Brian Rolle leads the Buckeyes defense with 66 tackles on the season, followed by Ross Homan with 59.
Last Time against a Big Ten Team - Iowa (1995)
Matt Sherman threw three touchdown passes and Sedrick Shaw scored twice as Iowa scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions in defeating New Mexico State, 59-21.
The Hawkeyes amassed 612 yards of total offense and improved their record to 3-0. The Aggies dropped their fourth straight game and fell to 1-4.
Shaw gained 102 yards and his backup, Tavian Banks, added 135 yards and a touchdown as the Hawkeyes ran for 350 yards. Cody Ledbetter completed 27 of 46 passes for 322 yards and threw three touchdown passes, all in the second half.
He also threw two interceptions, one that was returned 23 yards for a touchdown by Plez Atkins. Ledbetter was nine of 19 in the first half for 87 yards.
Sherman played just over two quarters and completed 11 of 13 passes for 217 yards and threw touchdown passes of 25 and 21 yards to Tim Dwight and a 10-yarder to Michael Burger. Iowa scored 28 points in the second quarter and led 42-0 at halftime.
The Aggies got on the board on their possession of the second half when Ledbetter threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Lucious Davis to cap an 83-yard drive. Ledbetter added a third quarter 21-yard scoring pass to Duane Gregory and a four-yard touchdown pass to Tony Sanchez with just 35 seconds left in the game.
House Return Marks
Defensive back Davon House has been in the right place at the right time. Two weeks ago against LA Tech, House picked up a fumble late in the game and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown. It was House's first career fumble return for a touchdown and second touchdown of his career.
The first touchdown of his career came back in 2007 when he intercepted a pass against Idaho and returned it for a school record 100 yards. House had two interceptions in that game for 164 return yards, which was also a school single-game record. House tallied 171 interception return yards in 2007, also a school record for a season. He needs just 37 interception return yards to break the school record for a career.
With his fumble return for a touchdown and interception return for a touchdown, House becomes the first Aggie player to do both during his career, since Gary Jessie accomplished this feat back in the mid-1990's.
House has also proven to be in the right place at the right time for interceptions in his career. He has eight to his name, which ranks him 10th all-time at NM State. He has two interceptions this season.
Dueling Quarterbacks
After eight games in the 2009 season the Aggies have adopted the two-quarterback system. In fact, Walker has said that the Aggies will go with whoever the hot quarterback is at the moment.
Trevor Walls is 2-2 as a starter, while Jeff Fleming is 1-3. Walls has thrown for 339 yards and two touchdowns, hitting 51.7 percent of his passes. Against LA Tech, Walls had his best passing game of the season, hitting 10-of-12. Walls also ran for two touchdowns on the year.
Fleming has passed for 492 yards and two touchdowns, completing 52.5 percent of his pass attempts. He has also rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on the year.
Hatchett Choppin' Down
Free safety Stephon Hatchett has been a consistent play maker for the Aggie defense all season. Hatchett is third on the team in tackles with 49, a tackle for a loss, an interception return for 32 yards, four pass break-ups, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
Against LA Tech, Hatchett tallied a career-high 13 tackles. This season, Hatchett has recorded at least five tackles in five of the seven games this season. His previous high was nine tackles against Prairie View A&M.
Cotton Coming Around
Linebacker Jamar Cotton has made his presence felt over the last few weeks after taking over the starting outside linebacker position. In the last four games, Cotton has tallied 18 tackles, a sack and a pass break-up. Prior to that Cotton had recorded just nine tackles.
Against LA Tech, Cotton recorded a season-high six tackles and first sack of the season. He also reached the 100 tackle mark for his career.
Cotton has 105 tackles, four sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Conner Racking the Tackles Up
Senior linebacker Ross Conner currently leads the Aggies with 70 tackles this season. He is averaging 8.8 tackles a game which ranks him third in the WAC and 50th in the nation. Against Fresno State, Conner tallied a career-high 14 tackles, including his first sack of the season.
Conner now has three double-digit tackle games this season.
For his career, Conner has 118 tackles, four sacks, an interception and five tackles for a loss.
Blocked Punts in a Season
The Aggie punt return team has shined this season, averaging 12.4 yards a return, ranking 30th in the nation and fourth in the WAC. Punt returner Marcus Anderson leads the WAC and is 22nd in the nation in punt return average.
The Aggie punt return team has also recorded two blocked punts this year, one by Donte Savage and the other by B.J. Adolpho.
The last time an Aggie team has blocked two punts in a single season was in 1992. The last time an Aggie team recorded a single blocked punt in a season was in 1999 against New Mexico.
Anderson Closing on Career List for Punt Returns
Punt returner Marcus Anderson is leading the WAC in punt return average with 11.4 yards a return this season. He is also 22nd in the nation.
He currently ranks ninth on the single-season list for punt return average for a season. He needs just five returns to break into the top 10 for a single season and 34 yards to make the top 10 in yardage as well.
For his career, Anderson is averaging 11.2 yards a return. He needs three return attempts to make the top 10 for a career and five yards for the top 10 in return yardage.
Smith Tallies Career First
After earning the starting job on week two of the season, Seth Smith hasn't looked back. Over the last seven games, Smith has rushed for 759 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. He is also averaging 87.9 yards a game and 21 carries a game. The last Aggie running back to average over 100 yards a game in a season was Chris Barnes (102.8) in 2000.
Smith is currently 37th in the nation and fifth in the WAC in rushing yards per game. Against Fresno State, Smith rushed for his third 100-yard rushing game of the year and became just the third player since 2002 to record over 700 yards in a season.
Versus Utah State, Smith recorded his fourth game with at least 95 yards, as he ran for 98. He also recorded his first career touchdown run with a 1-yard scamper, late in the third quarter. Against San Diego State, Smith tallied 89 yards on the ground. Versus New Mexico, Smith tallied 113 yards on the ground for the Aggies, recording his second 100-yard rushing game of the season. Smith became the second Aggie running back since 2005 to record two 100-yard rushing games in a single season. The last running back to record more than two 100-yard rushing games in a single season was Justine Buries, who tallied four in 2005.
Against UTEP, Smith carried the ball for 13 times for 99 yards, averaging 7.6 yards a carry. Versus Prairie View A&M, Smith ran the ball for 150 yards on 25 carries. It was the first time since 2003 that an Aggie had rushed for 150 yards or more.
Scott Shows Knack for the Ball
Linebacker Jason Scott has tallied double-number tackles in two of the last three weeks, with a career-high 15 against LA Tech. Scott also recorded two tackles for a loss.
He tied a career-high 14 tackles against Utah State, including a pass break-up, to help the Aggies get their first WAC win this season. On the season, Scott second on the team in tackles with 67. He also has three pass break-ups on the year.
For his career, Scott has 151 tackles and two sacks. He is now sixth in the WAC in tackles per game (8.4).
NM State Offensive Line showing Consistencies
The New Mexico State offensive line has been solid in the first six games of the season. The Aggies have allowed just 14 sacks and is a big part of the Aggies 150.4 rushing yards per game. Below is a breakdown on each player along the offensive line.
Mike Grady - Grady has two of the top three performance grades on the year against Idaho and Prairie View A&M...He's tallied just three penalties in six games and has not allowed a sack...Grady has 39 knockdowns on the season, including a season-high eight against New Mexico and Utah State. Grady also recorded a perfect assignment rating against Fresno State.
Joe Palmer - Palmer has tallied 47 knockdowns on the season with a season-high and team leading 10 against New Mexico and Utah State...He has recorded the highest performance grade of the year, a 75% against Prairie View...He has allowed no sacks in 187 pass attempts. He also had a perfect assignment rating against Utah State and Fresno State
Sieoli Fakalata - Fakalata has graded out with the second most knockdowns so far this season with 44...He has allowed two sacks this season ... Fakalata had a near perfect assignment performance against UTEP... Fakalata also tallied the highest effort rating on the team against Fresno State.
Dwayne Barton - Barton has 27 knockdowns on the season, including a season-high seven against Utah State.
David Norman - Norman played in just the first two games for the Aggies before a knee injury sidelined him...In two games, Norman tallied four knockdowns, allowed no sacks and committed just one penalty. He came back against San Diego State and has tallied six knockdown and no sacks in the last three games....Norman recorded the highest graded out against Fresno State.
Joe Suder - Suder took over for Norman in the Aggies' third game...In two games Suder had given up two sacks and tallied four knockdowns.
Fils Continues to Tally the Sacks
Defensive lineman Pierre Fils recorded his sixth sack of the season against Fresno State. That puts Fils in fourth place for sacks per game in the WAC and 54th in the nation. On the season, Fils has 31 tackles, six tackles for a loss, six sacks, a pass break-up and two forced fumbles.
For his career, Fils has tallied 43 tackles. With his sack against Fresno State, Fils moved into the top 3 for a single-season in NM State history. With this feat, Fils has become just the fourth Aggie since 1992 to tally six or more sacks in a single-season.
Glynn Continues to put up the Numbers
Over the last four years, Tonny Glynn has been known for his running back skills but lately Glynn has been displaying another quality as a kick returner. Against UTEP, Glynn had a monster night, recording 134 yards on six kick returns, with a career-long of 44 yards. Glynn has run the ball for 30 yards on nine carries. He followed that with another solid game against New Mexico, where he tallied 106 yards in return yardage, including a 40 run back. Versus San Diego State, Glynn tallied his third straight game with over 100 return yards (140).
Glynn has 638 kick return yards this season, averaging 22.0 yards a return, good for seventh in the conference and 85th in the nation. His 638 yards is fifth all-time for a single-season and his 29 returns ranks third all-time for a single-season. Glynn needs just 92 return yards and five return attempts to break both single-season records, set by Bryan Love in 1988.
For his career, Glynn has 806 kick return yards, averaging 19.8 yards a kick. He has also rushed for 869 yards and five touchdowns, while catching 44 passes for 306 yards and a touchdown. Glynn tallied 1,979 all-purpose yards in his career as well.
Defense Shines
What a difference a season makes and that couldn't be truer for the Aggie defense. Last season, the Aggies were at the bottom of most statistical categories in the WAC defensively. This season the Aggie defense has started to turn the corner.
The Aggies rank in the top five in scoring defense (28.0), rushing defense (186.6), passing defense (182.9) and total defense (369.5). In fact, the Aggies are third in the WAC in passing defense and are fourth in total defense and scoring defense.
Nationally, the Aggies rank 28th in passing defense and 75th in total defense and 88th in scoring defense. At this time last year, the Aggie defense ranked last in the WAC and fifth in scoring defense. The Aggies are giving up 76.6 yards less on the ground per game in 2009.
Hughes Taken all the Kicks
Aggie kicker Kyle Hughes continues to kick well for the Aggies in all areas of the game. Against New Mexico, Hughes booted two field goals of 40 and 42 yards, averaged 53.4 yards on five punts, downing two inside the Lobos' 20-yard line and tallied three touchbacks on five kickoff efforts. He was also named the WAC Player of the Week for his efforts.
Hughes is seventh in the WAC in field goal percentage and his one PAT against the LA Tech pushed his streak of consecutive PAT's made to 43.
On the season, Hughes has made 10-of-10 PAT's, is 6-of-11 on field goal attempts with a long of 42 and is averaging 42.6 yards a punt. He has recorded 10 punts this season of 50-plus yards. Hughes was named an honorable mention kick off specialist and punt specialist by College Football Performance Awards (9/26) & (10/10).
For his career, Hughes is averaging 42.6 yards per punt, has hit 13-of-22 field goal attempts and is a perfect 43-of-43 on PAT attempts.
Anderson looks for Repeat Year
Marcus Anderson was one of the Aggies' go to receivers in 2008 and will be called upon again in 2009 to handle a big load for the NM State offense. Anderson continued to rack up the numbers, starting right where he left off in 2008 with a solid performance against Idaho to open the season. Anderson caught four passes for 50 yards and long of 21 yards. Against Prairie View A&M, Anderson caught one pass for two yards. Versus UTEP, Anderson caught two passes for 11 yards. Versus New Mexico, Anderson caught the winning touchdown with just :39 second left on the clock.
Anderson tallied 50 catches for 617 yards and nine touchdowns in 2008. His nine touchdowns tied him for first on the team with all-American Chris Williams. His best game of the season came against New Mexico, where he caught four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. At UTEP, Anderson grabbed five passes for 70 yards and season-high three touchdown receptions. His nine receptions at Idaho (10/25) was a season-high. Anderson recorded six games with at least four receptions. Against Hawai'i, Anderson tallied seven receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown, followed by a seven-reception performance against Louisiana Tech.
Anderson needs just 40 receptions and three touchdown catches to move into the NM State's top 10 career lists in both categories. Last season, Anderson averaged 4.2 receptions per game and 12.3 yards per catch.
For his career, Anderson has caught 69 passes for 796 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Aggies in the WAC
As a team, New Mexico State ranks seventh in the WAC in rushing offense (150.4), second in passing defense (182.9), fourth in total defense (369.5), fourth in scoring defense (28.0), eighth in first downs (120), fourth in sacks against (14) and sixth in opponent first downs (143).
Individually, running back Seth Smith is fifth in the conference, averaging 87.9 yards per game, while kick returner Tonny Glynn is seventh in the league averaging 22.0 yards per return, while Marcus Anderson is first in the conference in punt return average with 11.4. Kyle Hughes is third in the league in punting with 42.2 yards a punt.
Defensively, the Aggies' Ross Conner is third in tackles per game (8.8) while Jason Scott is sixth in the league in tackles per game (8.4). Defensive lineman Pierre Fils is fourth in the league in sacks per game with .62.
Aggies in the Nation
Seth Smith ranks 37th in the nation in rushing yards per game. Marcus Anderson ranks 22nd in the country in punt return average, while Ross Conner is 50th in the country in tackles per game, while Pierre Fils is 54th in the nation in sacks per game.
Courtesy: New Mexico State University
