New Mexico @ Utah State: Getting Back On Track

Location: Maverik Stadium (Logan, UT)

Date/Time: Saturday, October 27^th at 2:00 p.m. (MDT)

Television: N/A

Streaming: Facebook (Stadium)

Radio: Aggie Sports Network (92.3 FM local)

Head-to-Head: New Mexico leads the all-time series with a 13-11 record. The Aggies won last year’s meeting in Albuquerque 24-10.

What to look for:

Does the Real Aggies Offense Come Back From the Dead?

- Let’s see if last week was a fluke. The entire offense, sans some big runs, was basically non-existent in Utah State’s win over Wyoming. Jordan Love and the passing game were shut down and the Aggies were held to a season low 24 points. New Mexico (3-4, 1-2 MW) allow an average of 442.0 offensive yards per game, which ranks 104 nationally. If ever there is a time to get the offense back on track, it’d be against this defense right now.

The Defense Looked Stout, Can They Keep That Up?

- For as unusual as the offensive performance was, the defensive play was equally unusual. That’s good though, since before the Wyoming game the Aggies had given up 60 combined points in just two conference games. The only two teams USU kept under 20 points so far were in New Mexico State and Tennessee Tech. Can the Aggies keep this defensive momentum going? They’re still taking the ball away as well as anybody in the country.

Can This Be The Week the Aggies Get Into the Top 25?

- For the past few weeks, USU has been receiving votes in the AP Poll rankings yet hasn’t been included in the Top 25. This week, they received 50 votes, basically putting them in at 27^th, preceded only by Texas Tech, who received 54 votes. While the Wyoming victory wasn’t impressive, it’s good to see the Aggies getting more votes by the week, so a huge win over the Lobos would do wonders for them. A whopping TWENTY ranked teams are playing away from home this week; somebody has got to lose. That may just pave the way for the Aggies to be ranked for the first time since 2012 and only the second time since 1961.

PREDICTION:

- It’s not farfetched to believe that the Utah State Offense will get back to its explosive ways after such an off-brand performance last week. It wouldn’t be hard to get back either, as New Mexico’s defense is not exactly the strongest. I can surely see the defense regressing against a Lobos offense that’s at least slightly better than Wyoming’s. Honestly, this feels like it’s going to be a usual USU game: A wicked fast offense, a ton of yards, and 20+ points for the opponent.

FINAL SCORE: Utah State 42, New Mexico 23

What’re your thoughts on the game? Let us know in the comments.

Follow Alex Eiden (UnderDogsAlways) on Twitter @alexyatta_ and follow the MountainWestConnection @MWCConnection