New Mexico Lobos Preview. Texas A&M Aggies

What:

New Mexico Lobos at Texas A&M Aggies

When:

Saturday, September 2nd , 2023, at 5:00 p.m.

Where:

Kyle Field in College Station, Texas

Coverage:

The game will be broadcast on ESPN. On the radio waves, the Lobo Sports Radio Network will have the call. The flagship station is 96.3 FM/770 AM KKOB in Albuquerque.

Breakdown:

The New Mexico Lobos will kickoff the 2023 season on Saturday night when they pay the Texas A&M Aggies a visit.

New Mexico is coming off a 2-10 season and is facing pressure from fans to produce a winning season in what will be Danny Gonzales’ fourth. There are new faces in new places for this season for UNM, all bringing about a new level of hope for the team.

The Aggies are coming off a 5-7 season that has head coach Jimbo Fisher on the hot seat. Needing a big season, Texas A&M is looking to lay the wood to anyone this year.

What to expect from the Aggies:

Texas A&M is chock-full of talent. At quarterback, they start Conner Weigman, a 6-foot-2 215-pound sophomore. Weigman started four of the Aggies’ last five games at the end of last season, throwing for 896 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. Weigman led the Aggies to win over LSU late in the season as well.

Weigman will be targeted mainly Ainias Smith, a junior that has 21 starts and has 1,321 receiving yards in his career. Smith will be flanked by Evan Stewart, a sophomore who had eight starts last season and had 649 yards receiving. Tight end Donovan Green will also see the bulk of the targets. Green had just 233 yards receiving last season, but his 6-foot-4 250-pound frame will give UNM fits.

At running back, the Aggies expect to start Le’Veon Moss or Amari Daniels. Daniels saw action in four games last season, while Moss had just 114 yards on the ground as the fourth back in the lineup. Both are talented and will get plenty of touches in this one.

The Lobos Can Win if:

Turnovers are always a big part of the game, but if the Lobos defense can force around four turnovers, then I think they can hang in there with the Aggies. If not, then it could become a field day.

Keeping the A&M offense off the field will be huge in this one. It will be interesting to see how well the new offense fairs against the A&M defense as well. Running the ball will be a key factor for the Lobos to stay in it.

The Lobos will lose if:

Texas A&M is loaded with talent and returns 14 starters from last season. This is a team that I

believe is a dark horse to make the College Football Playoff. If the Lobos are unable to pressure

Weigman and he can stand back and play pitch and catch with his receivers, it will be a long night in College Station for UNM.

Final Thoughts and Prediction:

This is obviously the money game this season for UNM. That being said, there will be areas where the Lobos will be able to evaluate and take with them for the rest of the season. Being able to keep the team healthy will also be a major goal, especially with many winnable games on the horizon.

I don’t like the Lobos chances in this one, but I can see them covering the 38-point spread as of this writing. I like Texas A&M to win 41-14.