New Mexico State 48, Fresno State 45
New Mexico State and Fresno State combined for 995 yards of offense, 52
first downs and 93 points in a 48-45 barnburner won by the Aggies of New Mexico
State.
In a confusing set of events to start the game, Fresno State committed
back to back offside penalties before making a successful kick on the third
attempt giving New Mexico State great field position to start the game. Behind
the great field position, the Aggies went on a 6-play, 59-yard drive that
finished with Matt Christian hitting Kenny Turner for a 29-yard touchdown pass
to open the scoring. Following the extra point, the Aggies were up 7-0.
Fresno could not respond and gave the ball back to New Mexico State on
a punt. The Aggies gained one first down but returned the ball to Fresno State
on an ugly 8-yard punt that only made it to the Aggie 46-yard line. Fresno
State took advantage of the poor punt with Robbie Rouse taking the ball in from
5-yards out to cap a 7-play, 46-yard drive that tied up the game.
New Mexico State moved the ball to the Fresno State 36-yard line before
losing 6 yards and punting the ball into the end zone. With very little time
left in the first quarter, the Bulldogs lost a fumble giving the Aggies only
12-yards to go to take the lead to start the 2nd quarter. The Aggies quickly
jumped on Fresno State and were in the end zone less than a minute into the
second half and took a 14-7 lead.
The Bulldogs took the following drive on a 71-yard drive that took
nearly 6 minutes but was stalled at the NMSU 2-yard line. Rather than risk
turning over the ball, Fresno State kicked a chip shot field goal from 20 yards
to cut the lead to 14-10 with 7:59 left in the half. Taveon Rogers then took
the ensuing kickoff and went 99 yards for a touchdown to extend the Aggie lead.
Tyler Stampler's extra point attempt was blocked leaving the lead at 20-10 in
favor of the Aggies.
Fresno State received the kickoff and started with nice field position
on their own 34-yard line. After moving to the NMSU 41-yard line, the Bulldogs
fizzled and punted the ball into the end zone. With a chance to take full
control of the game, the Aggies came out passing. Matt Christian's first pass
of the drive was intercepted by L.J. Jones giving the ball back to the Bulldogs
at the Fresno State 34-yard line.
Quarterback Derek Carr hit consecutive passes of 35 and 20 yards and
quickly cut the lead to 20-17 in favor of the Aggies with only 2:00 left in the
half. New Mexico State then went on a 2-minute drive that got them to the
Fresno State 21-yard line with :01 left in the half. Stampler stepped up and
nailed a 39-yard field goal as the first half ran out with the Aggies in the
lead 23-17.
After taking the second half kickoff to their own 24-yard line, Fresno
State showed off their impressive rushing attack with a 5-play, 76-yard drive
capped by Jalen Saunders' 15-yard run to tie the game at 23. Kevin Goessling
made the extra point giving Fresno their first lead of the game, 24-23.
After a 3-and-out that saw the Aggies struggle to move the ball at all,
Fresno got the ball back on their own 41-yard line to start their second drive
of the half. One play later, Carr found Saunders for a 59-yard pass that
extended the Fresno State lead. Only 4:26 into the second half, the Bulldogs
went from down by 6 to up by 8 at 31-23.
New Mexico State needed to respond to the run by Fresno State. On the
back of Matt Christian, the Aggies went on an 11-paly, 68-yard drive that left
them down by 2 with an extra point attempt pending. The Aggies went for two and
Christian found Kenny Turner on a pass to tie the game at 31 with 6:40 left in
the third quarter.
After a kickoff return that saw the Bulldogs start on their 36-yard
line, Fresno State wasted no time in taking back the lead. Carr found Saunders
for another long touchdown pass, this time for 64-yards, to quickly retake the
lead at 38-31.
NMSU again responded to Fresno State's score with a drive of their own.
Christian took the Aggies on a 12-play, 84-yard drive that Kenny Turner
finished with a 6-yard run to tie the game back up at 38 with nearly 4 minutes
left in the quarter. The Aggies were then able to stop Fresno State for the
first time in the second half with a three-and-out that gave the Aggies the
ball on their own 34-yard line with a chance to take the lead.
As the third quarter ended, the Aggies had already moved to the Fresno 7-yard
line. The Bulldog defense was then able to stifle the NMSU offense at the
7-yard line forcing a field goal attempt. Stampler's 25-yard attempt was good
giving the Aggies a 41-38 lead with 13:54 left in the game.
In what seemed to be a game of one-upmanship, Fresno State went on a
10-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a Robbie Rouse 2-yard touchdown run to
give the lead back to the Bulldogs at 45-38 with 8:05 left in the game. The
Aggies tried to respond going 48 yards to the Fresno State 24-yard line, facing
a 4th-and-5. Christian's pass was unsuccessful giving the ball back to the
Bulldogs.
Trying to waste some time, the Bulldogs needed some first downs. The
Aggie defense was not receptive and forced Fresno State to punt from their
24-yard line with 3:22 left in the game. New Mexico State then got the ball on
their own 44-yad line with just over three minutes left to win the game.
Needing a touchdown, Christian wasted no time in helping the Aggie
offense find the end zone in only 4 plays capped by Taveon Rogers catching a
37-yard pass from Christian to give the Aggies the lead at 48-45 with only 1:50
left in the game.
Fresno State got the ball to their 32-yard line after the kickoff and
on stepped the explosive Bulldog offense. The New Mexico State defense came up
huge forcing three straight incompletions forcing a 4th-and-10 on the Fresno
State 32-yard line. Courtney Viney then broke up the 4th-down pass by Carr
giving the ball back to NMSU with 1:41 left on the clock.
Fresno State was unable to stop the New Mexico State rushing attack and
allowed the Aggies to run out the clock and win the game with the score 48-45
in favor of the Aggies.
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