Saturday, September 13, 2008

Initial thoughts on NMSU football opener

Well, the New Mexico State Aggies lost their season opener at Nebraksa 38-7 on Saturday night in Lincoln, Neb.

First the bad news. The Aggies were beaten up on the line. Nebraska rushed for more than 300 yards and controlled the action and had some long runs. The 3-3-5 defense showed vulnerability against the run. Nebraska's big offensive line did a good job of surging forward.

The Aggies also fell prey to some play action fake and bootleg plays. Nebraska took advantage of its experience in the backfield and took advantage of NMSU's inexperience in running the new defense.

New Mexico State missed too many assignments and will need to correct those before next week.

On offense, the Aggies missed too many chances to get some points on the board. They had a field goal blocked and threw a pick deep in Nebraska territory.

But the Aggies might have found their starting running back. Junior college transfer Marquell Colston did a good job of running hard and he showed a burst of speed that has been missing in the team's running backs.

The starting tackles, Kyle Smith and Patrick Blount, both of whom are starting for the first time, played fairly well.

Richie Bolin took a shot to his back in the first half and didn't return. Tight end Ryan Franzoy had his left knee in a brace in the second half. I should have more on that later in the week.

New Mexico State plays at UTEP next Saturday.

- Felix

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was the story last year and we saw it again today. On the one hand, the defense has to get better at stopping the rushing attack. On the other hand, the offense needs to capitalize when they have the opportunity to do so, especially in the red zone. Granted, the team was overmatched. Hopefully they look and perform better against UTEP and UNM as they move into conference play.

Anonymous said...

Same old song and dance.

It was pretty tough to watch and Utep want's to end it's 8 game losing streak against us and get some revenge.

Now, Mumme takes a 1-17 road record and a 6 game losing streak to the Sun Bowl.
A place where NMSU has not won since 1994.
It does not look good!

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:18- yes we need to improve quickly, but quit being negative Nancy and get behind this team. We lost to Nebraska in their third game of the year and it was our first, with a new defense, and a superstart receiver who hadnt played in 11 months. I live in Albuquerque and am driving down to El Paso this weekend. If you are close to El Paso than I am, your butt better be there too supporting the Aggies. That goes for everybody else too. It's one game folks!!!

Anonymous said...

What a messy performance.
Clean it up NOW or the vultures will be flying.

See you in the Sun Bowl.

Anonymous said...

The Good: A: Much better play from the defense, Holding a big12 powerhouse to only 38 ponits is a big win in my book...yes there was some mistakes...but the overall play was much better than in years past.

B: Found a RB in Marquell Colston

C: ST Play was much better, not counting the blocked kick

The Bad: No offensive flow at all, but hey it's Nebraska

The Ugly: Easy one....The Aggies were 1 for 4 in the red zone., that won't get it done...aggies must get better play in the end-zone

Overall: Tho I was hoping for the upset, I'm happy about the new 3-3-5 defense, it did well, holding Nebraska to 38 points! & it'll get better with time.

Anonymous said...

Ms. Albuquerque,
Who's being negative?
NMSU has a losing streak and hasn't won in the Sun Bowl in 14 years.
Just because I state the facts doesn't make me negative.

This isn't your website where you can try and make NMSU look like a top 25 team.
If you want to tell your readers and say NMSU is 17-1 on the road, won 6 straight and NOT lost in the Sun Bowl since 1994.
Then go ahead and LIE to them but, the facts are the facts!

BTW, I've been a season holder for FB and MBB since 1999 and have only missed one game (childs birth) for both sports. I've also traveled twice to Hawaii to support the team's so, don't you dare try to make me look negative when in reality, you only show up for the big games or a sure win.

Also, everyone is fed up of your "I live in Albuquerque, blah, blah, blah" crap!
I have friends that travel from the Colorado border on a regular basis to support the Aggies and you never hear a peep from them!

See you at the Sun Bowl!

"Negative Nancy"

Anonymous said...

there were very few positives for this game, chase looked bad the players looked as if they were in slow motion the defense didnt tackle well etc. but it was nebraska at nebraska (whatever that means) so before we get down lets see how they due against utep. regardless everyone needs to get out there and support them. the university desperately needs the fans. p.s. Mumme might be most of our problem.

Anonymous said...

It's a new week and now it's time to clean the windshield.

1994? It's been a while since we won in the Sun Bowl.
I hope this is the the year change things!

Anonymous said...

I saw a lot of kids limping on Saturday.
How bad are the injuries?

Anonymous said...

NMSU is thin. Injuries will do them in like
they always do. They have some good players,
but not enough of them. They are poorly coached.
But I don't think even Pete Carroll could
win at NMSU. It's a tough deal and Mumme has made a number of missteps to seemingly make it worst.

I wish the player's well but I'm not holding my breath on a bowl appearance. Get up to five wins. That'd be a nice goal. They should schedule some wins. Not Nebraska.

Anonymous said...

Bowl appearance? Did you say bowl appearance? Come on, you gotta crawl before you walk. If we are more realistic, then maybe we wouldn't get so bummed when we get it handed to us. Let's just hope for some competitive games, that we will still be in, when the fourth quarter rolls around. I like going to aggie games, I just don't usually like the results, but I still go!

Anonymous said...

Aim low, end low.

Aim high, end high.

The goal is to win every game. Can we do that? Only 11 wins are now possible.

Coaches often say the biggest improvement comes between the first and the second game. Let's hope so. Beat UTEP, and it's easier to think of winning again. One game at a time; learn from mistakes; and keep moving forward.

Anonymous said...

The 3-game box score stands at: Nebraska 163,New Mexico State SEVEN!! Way to go!!