Shooting Blanks at New Mexico State (TCY)

[bbgunn]

(For those of you following my last attempt at this dynasty, I found a computer at work on which I can install TCY without worrying about it being erased… at least I hope. Therefore, let’s try this again. Here’s hoping that the third time’s the charm…)

I read in a recent article that New Mexico State University’s football team has not been to a bowl game in 40-plus years, the longest such streak in Division I FBS. Now that’s futility! So I thought, “Why not help the Aggies out?”

Thus begins my latest TCY dynasty.

I’m going to ease into this dynasty, presenting everything in a barebones format. Of course, depending on how long this lasts, everything is subject to change, and if there is some feature you would like included, please let me know.

Some notes on how I’m running this dynasty:
- I will use the run and shoot offense. The defense will likely be a 4-3, as we want to concentrate on stopping the run.
- I take care of recruiting, the offensive game plan, and hiring/firing assistants. My assistants take care of everything else.
- I’ll only recruit prospects with a test score over 1000.
- Initially, I’ll only recruit prospects within a 600-mile radius of Las Cruces, New Mexico, where NMSU is located. If we win at least 8 games in a season, I’ll increase it by 50 miles. If we win a conference championship, 100 miles. If we win the national championship, 250 miles.
- The Solecismic Eight will be in Alaska.
- Game setting will be on All-star (the most difficult level)

[bbgunn]

START
2004 SEASON

[bbgunn]

Syndicate Coordinator
O.J. Frederickson, 52
Good at academic eligibility, decent at soliciting donations, and fair at syndicate investigation. Not bad for a syndicate coordinator at NMSU.

Offensive Coordinator
Julio Burroughs, 53
His strengths are with the QBs, RBs, OL and with rehabilitation from injuries. He is terrible with receivers, though.

Defensive Coordinator
Tommie Olive, 53
His strengths are with the DBs and avoiding injury. However, he is terrible at play calling, defensive line development, and linebacker development. Plus, the kids just plain hate his guts. I am going to have to definitely reevaluate this guy at the end of the season.

Due to our recruiting radius, the following may be our two most important scouts:
South West Scout
Kelvin Innis, 42
His strengths are with both lines and the receivers. However, his weaknesses are in the areas of running backs and kickers. Not bad, really.

Deep South Scout
Duane Grant, 63
OK with the kickers and the defensive line, at least poor at everything else. I will definitely be in the market for a new scout for the Deep South at the end of the season.

[bbgunn]

Let’s look at the 2004 projected starting lineups. Positions are listed first, followed by player name, year, current rating and potential rating (as scouted by Kelvin Innis, our South West Scout):

OFFENSE (Run-and-shoot formation)
QB Bart Johnston (Sr, 22/28)
RB Ty Blair (Jr, 24/36)
WR Warren Barber (Sr, 34/44)
WR Graham Leeuwenberg (Jr, 14/36)
WR Tyrell Hager (Fr, 9/29)
WR Ian Caldwell (Fr, 8/23)
LT Julio Tanuvasa (Sr, 53/65)
LG Drew Clancy (Jr, 22/35)
C Harold Lawrence (So, 12/34)
RG Norm Tanner (Jr, 10/13)
RT Donnell Collins (Fr, 7/37)

DEFENSE (4-3 formation)
LE Grant Ruth (Jr, 34/43)
LT Christian Whalen (Sr, 21/33)
RT Irving Alcott (Jr, 20/29)
RE Harold Atkins (Jr, 44/53)
OLB Bert Carman (Sr, 30/41)
ILB Ricky Daniels (Sr, 25/25)
OLB Harold Grant (Fr, 25/66)
LCB Gary Monroe (Sr, 46/49)
RCB Bubba Keating (So, 31/51)
FS Carlos Whitfield (Fr, 24/24)
SS Joe Palmer (Sr, 22/22)

SPECIAL TEAMS
P Bert Colston (Fr, 13/52)
K Toby Schwartz (So, 33/33)
PR Bubba Keating (CB)
KR Warren Barber (WR)

Basically, this team stinks, especially on the offensive side of the ball. This is going to be a long season, y’all.

[bbgunn]

(The Aggies play in the Sun Belt Conference in TCY. Sun Belt games have an * next to the team name. 2004 was a transitional year in the Sun Belt Conference, so the conference schedule is limited to only five games this season.)

Week 2: @Arkansas
Week 3: @California
Week 4: Troy*
Week 5: New Mexico
Week 6: @UTEP
Week 7: Louisiana-Lafayette*
Week 8: @Anchorage
Week 9: @North Texas*
Week 10: Navy
Week 11: Middle Tennessee St.*
Week 13: @Utah St.*

Our yearly rivalry game is with New Mexico.

At Sun Belt media day, the coaches picked us to finish third in the conference in 2004. North Texas was a near unanimous choice to win it all, while the next three teams finished closely in voting. Middle Tennessee was second, followed by us and Utah State, the “other” Aggies in the Sun Belt. Rounding out the conference predictions, from fifth to ninth, are Troy, Arkansas State, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Louisiana-Monroe.

[bbgunn]

When I recruit, I use what I call a four-year rotating plan. Basically, it looks like this for a run-and-shoot offense:

YR1: QB, WR, WR, C, G, T, DE, DT, ILB, OLB, CB, S (Walk on: TE, P)
YR2: QB, RB, WR, C, G, T, DE, DT, ILB, OLB, CB, S (Walk on: FB, K)
YR3: QB, WR, WR, C, G, T, DE, DT, ILB, OLB, CB, S (Walk on: RB, TE, P)
YR4: QB, RB, WR, C, G, T, DE, DT, ILB, OLB, CB, S (Walk on: FB, K)

So, in Year 1, I recruit a quarterback, two wide receivers, a center, and so on. Following this plan assures that I will always have enough players at a position, and that they will be somewhat evenly divided between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen. In 2004, I will be recruiting the positions listed at YR1.

[bbgunn]

Nothing but recruiting in Week 1.

NEXT UP
New Mexico State (0-0) at Arkansas (0-0)(-14)

Other top Sun Belt games:
North Texas (0-0) at #8 Texas (0-0)(-15)

[bbgunn]

2004 WEEK 2
Arkansas 59, New Mexico State 3
On a balmy, 96-degree sunny afternoon at Fayetteville, we were thoroughly outplayed by the Razorbacks. We lost the yardage battle 544-147. One bright spot is that we had no turnovers whatsoever. What’s worse is that we lost two starters to injuries. Our #2 WR Graham Leeuwenberg tore his biceps muscle and is out for 28 weeks. Meanwhile, our best player on offense, T Julio Tanuvasa, pulled a quadriceps muscle and will miss 5 weeks.

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Bart Johnston – 8-25, 76 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
QB Glover – 3-11, 5 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
(Just assume that the guys with no first names are backups.)
Rushing
RB Berlin – 9 rush, 48 yds
Receiving
WR Graham Leeuwenberg – 5 ctch, 51 yds, 0 TD
Defense
DE Grant Ruth – 7 tackles
OLB Bert Carman – 6 tackles, 2 assists, 1 sack

[bbgunn]

WEEK 2 IN THE SUN BELT
Scores
(Home team listed last.)
Arkansas State 10, Missouri 58
Idaho 14, Boise State 47
Louisiana Lafayette 3, Kodiak 38
Louisiana Monroe 0, Auburn 57
Middle Tennessee State 0, Florida 70
North Texas 0, Texas 66
Troy 30, Marshall 35
Utah State 7, Alabama 42

NEXT UP
New Mexico State (0-1) at California (1-0)(-12)
Missouri at Troy
Arkansas State at #10 LSU
Idaho at Utah State (the first Sun Belt game of the year)
LA-Lafayette at Louisiana Tech
Middle Tennessee State at Akron
Sitka at North Texas

[bbgunn]

2004 WEEK 3
California 42, New Mexico State 7
48 degrees in Berkeley in September! Anyway, our run-and-shoot attack was better this week in terms of yardage; we gained 262 yards. However, QB Bart Johnston threw four picks. The Golden Bears won the yardage battle 487-309 – not too bad. If not for those picks, we may have made this more competitive.

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Bart Johnston – 18-45, 219 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing
RB Ty Blair – 13 rush, 47 yds, 0 TD
Receiving
WR Tyrell Hager – 6 ctch, 78 yds
WR Ian Caldwell – 5 ctch, 47 yds, 1 TD
Defense
OLB Harold Grant – 7 tackles, 4 assists
DE Harold Atkins – 6 tackles, 1.5 sacks
CB Gary Monroe – 3 tackles, 1 assist, 2 INT

[bbgunn]

WEEK 3 IN THE SUN BELT
Scores
Missouri 23, Troy 12
Arkansas State 0, #10 LSU 48
Idaho 20, Utah State 44
LA-Lafayette 13, Louisiana Tech 42
Middle Tennessee State 20, Akron 23
Sitka 28, North Texas 59

NEXT UP
Troy (0-2) at New Mexico State (0-2)(-3). Forecast: 72 degrees, sunny.
#25 Utah at Utah State [TV4]
Memphis at Arkansas State
Idaho at Washington State
LA-Lafayette at #15 Kansas State
LA-Monroe at Arkansas
Middle Tennessee State at Juneau
North Texas at #20 Colorado

[bbgunn]

2004 WEEK 4
Troy 17, New Mexico State 7
Our first home game of the year, and our first conference game, turns out to be a dud. I’m extremely disappointed, because I thought we had a good chance to win this game. However, Troy’s running game was too much for us to handle. They gained 188 yards and never turned over the ball. Meanwhile, we had three turnovers, including two interceptions.

We suffered another big loss to the offense. RB Ty Blair will miss the rest of the season after tearing knee ligaments in the first quarter.

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Bart Johnston – 25-50, 176 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
Rushing
RB Berlin – 12 rush, 49 yards
Receiving
WR Warren Barber – 5 catches, 33 yards, 1 rushing TD
WR Tyrell Hager – 5 catches, 41 yards
WR Ian Caldwell – 2 catches, 35 yards
Defense
OLB Harold Grant – 13 tackles, 2 assists

[bbgunn]

WEEK 4 IN THE SUN BELT
Scores
#25 Utah 45, Utah State 20 [TV4]
Memphis 13, Arkansas State 3
Idaho 0, Washington State 63
LA-Lafayette 6, #15 Kansas State 31
LA-Monroe 7, Arkansas 41
Middle Tennessee State 21, Juneau 35
North Texas 7, #20 Colorado 62

NEXT UP
New Mexico (0-3) at New Mexico State (0-3)(-3)
Arkansas State at LA-Monroe
Idaho at Oregon
Middle Tennessee State at LA-Lafayette
North Texas at Baylor
Troy at South Carolina
Utah State at UNLV

[bbgunn]

2004 WEEK 5
New Mexico 65, New Mexico State 14
I don’t understand how we lost this, a rivalry game at home, so badly. We were beaten in the yardage battle (they outgained us 442-302), but our rushing game was on. We had our first 100-yard rusher of the season, and it was our backup running back, sophomore Wendell Rivers (11/32 rating). Perhaps it was a combination of a bad passing game and a defense that gave up too many big plays to the Lobos. Now we are 0-4 and in a tailspin.

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Bart Johnston – 8-23, 97 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
QB Hanrahan – 6-8, 75 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
RB Jeffrey Berlin – 8 rushes, 13 yards, 1 TD
RB Wendell Rivers – 7 rushes, 106 yards
Receiving
WR Juan Sims – 6 catches, 96 yards
Defense
CB Bubba Keating – 10 tackles, 2 assists
OLB Harold Grant – 5 tackles, 2 assists, 1 sack

[bbgunn]

WEEK 5 IN THE SUN BELT
Scores
Arkansas State 20, LA-Monroe 35
Idaho 0, Oregon 51
Middle Tennessee State 38, LA-Lafayette 21
North Texas 14, Baylor 48
Troy 3, South Carolina 41
Utah State 13, UNLV 20

NEXT UP
New Mexico State (0-4) at UTEP (1-2)(-8)
Arkansas State at #20 Ole Miss
LA-Monroe at Wyoming
Middle Tennessee State at North Texas
Utah State at Troy
Barrow at LA-Lafayette

[Izulde]

Wow, you guys are sucking. But that'll make the climb up all the sweeter.

[Young Drachma]

Maybe the rough OOC schedule will help when it gets to Sun Belt time? One can hope?

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Wow, you guys are sucking. But that'll make the climb up all the sweeter.

Definitely. If I get us out of this mess somehow, I deserve the stadium named after me.

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Maybe the rough OOC schedule will help when it gets to Sun Belt time? One can hope?

That's my hope. It helps that the other Sun Belt teams are doing nearly as badly as the Aggies are.

[bbgunn]

2004 WEEK 6
New Mexico State 10, UTEP 38
Before the game, I make the decision to start backup quarterback Wade Hanrahan (Jr, 19/23 rating), a converted tight end, instead of Bart Johnston. Johnston had been throwing too many picks and making too many mistakes. In the game against New Mexico, Hanrahan came in for Johnston and went 6-for-8.

How did it go? We got off to a good start, going up 10-0 early in the second quarter thanks in large part to Hanrahan’s play. However, it went downhill from there. We couldn’t stop the UTEP running game once it got going. Now we are 0-5 on the year. Still, I feel good about having Hanrahan in there instead of Johnston. Hopefully that will translate into wins in the Sun Belt.

One thing I don’t feel good about is another serious injury to a key player, this time on defense. OLB Harold Grant, our leading tackler so far, broke his tibia and will be out for at least nine weeks. That is basically the rest of the season unless we go to a bowl game, which we likely will not.

Yards (rush-pass-total)
NMSU: 33-279-312
UTEP: 263-162-425

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Wade Hanrahan - 19-31, 232 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
QB Bart Johnston - 2-7, 47 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
RB Jeffrey Berlin - 8 rush, 21 yds
Receiving
WR Warren Barber - 8 catches, 119 yds, 1 TD
Defense
DE Grant Ruth - 8 tackles, 3 assists
CB Bubba Keating - 6 tackles, 2 assists

[bbgunn]

WEEK 6 IN THE SUN BELT
Arkansas State 7, #20 Ole Miss 62
LA-Monroe 10, Wyoming 27
Middle Tennessee State 33, North Texas 7
Utah State 29, Troy 14
Barrow 14, LA-Lafayette 33

NEXT UP
Louisiana-Lafayette (1-4) at New Mexico State (0-5)(-5)
Arkansas State at Middle Tennessee State
Louisiana-Monroe at Idaho
North Texas at Utah State

[bbgunn]

2004 WEEK 7
Louisiana Lafayette 31, New Mexico State 7
Well, looks like Wade Hanrahan just played himself back to the bench. Five friggin interceptions! (One of them was returned for a touchdown.) Again, we started well, scoring a passing TD early in the first quarter. Then we just quit on ourselves. One not-so-fun statistic: we had 13 third down opportunities and converted only one of them. We are now 0-6 on the year, and 0-2 in the Sun Belt.

Yards (rush-pass-total)
Louisiana-Lafayette: 166-166-332
NMSU: 57-109-166

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Wade Hanrahan - 12-37, 109 yds, 1 TD, 5 INT
Rushing
RB Jeffrey Berlin - 6 rush, 34 yds
Receiving
WR Ian Caldwell - 3 catches, 32 yds
WR Warren Barber - 3 catches, 29 yds, 1 TD
WR Sims - 3 catches, 36 yds
Defense
OLB Bert Carman - 8 tackles
ILB Ricky Daniels - 7 tackles, 2 assists, 1 sack

[bbgunn]

WEEK 7 IN THE SUN BELT
Arkansas State 7, Middle Tennessee State 24
Louisiana-Monroe 38, Idaho 10
North Texas 35, Utah State 14

NEXT UP
New Mexico State (0-6) at Anchorage (2-3)(-21)
The weather forecast says 40 degrees and fair. Not as bad as I expected for Alaska.
Louisiana-Lafayette (2-4) at Idaho (0-5)
Troy (1-4) at Arkansas State (0-6)
Utah State (2-4) at #8 Clemson (5-0)
Juneau (3-2) at Louisiana-Monroe (2-3)

[bbgunn]

WEEK 7 RECRUITING
Finally, we got a visit! We got 10 of them, in fact. Details are below. Don’t get your hopes up with this crew, of whom only one is ranked nationally overall, and three ranked nationally in their respective positions. Believe it or not, all were offered scholarships. That is how tough this New Mexico State job is.

Visits
QB Al Glenn, NM (scout 38+)
WR Craig Sies, CO (scout 44+)
WR Dwight Kerns, CO (scout 59-, #86 position)
C Percy Whitlock, TX (scout 38-)
G Sherman Bishop, UT (scout 35+)
T Shaun Crosland, CO (scout 53-)
DE Irv Delvalle, TX (scout 75-, #346 nation, #46 position)
DT Lonnie Roach, AZ (scout 37+)
CB Alonzo Brenner, CO (scout 47+)
S Sam Arnold, NM (scout 40+, #90 position)

Commitments
none
Rejections
none

[Izulde]

Delvalle would be a great pickup for you if you could land him.

[bbgunn]

I'm going to try something new. I'm going to do the game recaps in a newspaper-like style, like I did with my old UAB dynasty. Let me know what you think.


Anchorage 48, New Mexico State 10
ANCHORAGE, AK - The woes continue for the New Mexico State Aggies. They lose their seventh game of the year to the University of Anchorage 48-10 in front of a sparse crowd in Alaska.

QB Bart Johnston returned to the starting lineup, but his presence could not help the Aggies (0-7) compete in this matchup. The quarterback had an average day, going 17-32 for 195 yards. However, New Mexico State's Achilles heel all season has been their inability to stop the run. They allowed Anchorage (3-3) 202 yards on the ground. All but one of Anchorage's six touchdowns came on the ground, and those were scored by four different players.

"If we are going to be a good team, we have to do something about our run defense," first-year coach B.B. Gunn said after the game.

Box Score: New Mexico State at Anchorage  
Anchorage, AK.  
Week 8, 2004  
Attendance: 9,600 (21,100).  
Weather: 40 degrees, fair.  
  
1Q: 04:13 ANCH - Kendall Molden 33 field goal.  
2Q: 14:00 ANCH - Lester Stevenson 7 run.  
2Q: 14:00 ANCH - Kendall Molden extra point.  
2Q: 02:13 NMST - Toby Schwartz 24 field goal.  
2Q: 00:26 ANCH - Kendall Molden 30 field goal.  
3Q: 12:37 NMST - Tyrell Hager 55 pass from Bart Johnston.  
3Q: 12:37 NMST - Toby Schwartz extra point.  
3Q: 07:17 ANCH - Johnny Brewer 2 run.  
3Q: 07:17 ANCH - Kendall Molden extra point.  
3Q: 00:51 ANCH - Amos Manning 5 run.  
3Q: 00:51 ANCH - Kendall Molden extra point.  
4Q: 11:17 ANCH - John Warren 26 pass from Lester Stevenson.  
4Q: 11:17 ANCH - Kendall Molden extra point.  
4Q: 07:46 ANCH - Lester Stevenson 13 run.  
4Q: 07:46 ANCH - Kendall Molden extra point.  
4Q: 00:28 ANCH - Colin Clayton 2 run.  
4Q: 00:28 ANCH - Kendall Molden extra point.  
  
Game MVP: ANCH 4 Lester Stevenson  
  
New Mexico State  0      3      7      0      -      10  
Anchorage         3      10     14     21     -      48  
  
Team Statistics          NMST          ANCH  
  
First Downs              9             22  
  
Total Rushes             21            46  
Net Rushing Yards        17            202  
Yards Per Carry          0.8           4.3  
Rushing Yards            42            218  
Tckld Loss/Yards         2-2           4-10  
Sacked/Yards Lost        4-23          1-6  
  
Pass Attempts            32            20  
Completions              17            12  
Passing Yards            195           146  
Yards Per Attempt        6.0           7.3  
Interceptions            1             0  
Fumbles/Lost             1/1           1/0  
  
Total Plays              53            66  
Total Yards              212           348  
Yards Per Play           4.0           5.2  
  
3rd Down Plays           1/13          4/14  
  
Penalties                12            5  
Penalty Yards            88            45  
  
Avg. Drive Start         OWN 27        OWN 49  
Time Of Possession       26:56         33:04  
  
New Mexico State Individual Statistics  
  
Rushing                  Att    Yards  Avg    Long   TD     Stufd  Sackd  
5 Johnston               7      -21    -3.0   3      0      2      4  
21 Rivers                5      25     5.0    18     0      1      0  
29 Berlin                5      12     2.4    5      0      0      0  
42 Rice                  4      1      0.2    1      0      2      0  
  
Passing                  Att    Comp   Yards  Yd/Att Long   TD     Int  
5 Johnston               32     17     195    6.0    55     1      1  
  
Receiving                Catch  Yards  Avg    YAC    Long   TD  
89 Caldwell              6      43     7.1    3      17     0  
85 Sims                  6      73     12.1   7      22     0  
21 Rivers                1      4      4.0    4      4      0  
99 McClellan             1      6      6.0    0      6      0  
8 Brummitt               1      8      8.0    0      8      0  
80 Barber                1      6      6.0    0      6      0  
88 Hager                 1      55     55.0   37     55     1  
  
Punt Returns             Att    Yards  Avg    TD  
33 Keating               3      10     3.3    0  
  
Kick Returns             Att    Yards  Avg    TD  
80 Barber                4      83     20.7   0  
33 Keating               3      72     24.0   0  
22 Kinney                2      58     29.0   0  
  
Punting                  Punts  Yards  Avg    Long   In20  
13 Hastings              10     283    28.3   48     0  
  
Kicking                  FG     FGA    Long   PAT    Att  
16 Schwartz              1      1      24     1      1  
  
Defense                  Tackle Assist Sack   Int    IntYds IntTD  
33 Keating               10     3      0.0    0      0      0  
52 Daniels               6      2      0.0    0      0      0  
72 Berry                 6      0      0.0    0      0      0  
95 Atkins                5      4      0.0    0      0      0  
24 Monroe                5      1      0.0    0      0      0  
46 Wohlman               4      2      0.0    0      0      0  
96 Carman                4      1      0.0    0      0      0  
98 Alcott                2      2      0.0    0      0      0  
89 Caldwell              2      0      0.0    0      0      0  
85 Sims                  2      0      0.0    0      0      0  
27 Whitfield             2      0      0.0    0      0      0  
40 Barbour               2      0      0.0    0      0      0  
92 Ruth                  1      4      0.5    0      0      0  
79 Williamson            1      0      0.5    0      0      0  
77 Whalen                1      3      0.0    0      0      0  
37 Palmer                1      1      0.0    0      0      0  
42 Rice                  1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
22 Kinney                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
29 Berlin                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
53 Lawrence              1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
67 Clancy                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
13 Hastings              1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
94 Shuler                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
74 Kinney                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
25 Crocker               0      1      0.0    0      0      0  
  
Miscellaneous            Fumb   FForc  Recov  MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd  
69 Shelton               0      0      0      0      1      1  
67 Clancy                0      0      0      0      1      1  
60 Tanner                0      0      0      0      0      1  
53 Lawrence              0      0      0      0      0      1  
5 Johnston               1      0      0      0      0      0  
37 Palmer                0      1      0      0      0      0  
  
Player                   Stokes Awarded  
42 Howie Rice            2  
33 Bubba Keating         2  
21 Wendell Rivers        1  
29 Jeffrey Berlin        1  
89 Ian Caldwell          1  
88 Tyrell Hager          1  
95 Harold Atkins         1  
72 Jared Berry           1  
52 Ricky Daniels         1  
96 Bert Carman           1  
27 Carlos Whitfield      1  
37 Joe Palmer            1  

[bbgunn]

WEEK 8 INJURIES
Another key injury. RB Jeffrey Berlin, who has filled in nicely for us since Ty Blair is out for the season, will himself miss the rest of the season with a broken collarbone.

 Player                #    Pos  Elig  Health       Injury            Full Strn.  
Blair, Ty               32   RB   Sr*   Out          Torn Knee Ligamen 19 Weeks   
Leeuwenburg, Graham     84   WR   Jr    Out          Torn Biceps Muscl 23 Weeks   
Ruth, Grant             92   DE   Sr*   Probable     Shoulder Tendonit 3 Weeks    
Tanuvasa, Julio         75   T    Sr    Out          Pulled Quadriceps 7 Weeks    
Carman, Bert            96   OLB  Sr    Doubtful     Hip Pointer       5 Weeks    
Gilmore, Ty             91   DE   Jr*   Out          Elbow Ligament Su 19 Weeks   
Grant, Harold           47   OLB  So*   Out          Broken Tibia      7 Weeks    
Collins, Donnell        63   T*   So*   Probable     Broken Nose       1 Week     
Durnwirth, Fred         41   ILB  Jr    Probable     Broken Hand       6 Weeks    
Berlin, Jeffrey         29   RB   Jr    Out          Broken Clavicle   8 Weeks    
Williamson, Joe         79   DT   Fr    Questionable Arthroscopic Knee 2 Weeks

[bbgunn]

WEEK 8 IN THE SUN BELT

Home teams are now listed in caps.
#8 CLEMSON 90, Utah State 7
Louisiana-Lafayette 35, IDAHO 24
Troy 41, ARKANSAS STATE 17
LOUISIANA-MONROE 31, Juneau 13

School                 W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  Streak  
Middle Tennessee State   3  3  0  .500  136 163 3  0  0  1.000 95  35  Won 3       
Louisiana-Monroe         3  3  0  .500  121 168 2  0  0  1.000 73  30  Won 2       
Louisiana-Lafayette      3  4  0  .428  142 194 2  1  0  .666  87  69  Won 3       
Utah State               2  5  0  .285  134 266 2  1  0  .666  87  69  Lost 2      
Troy                     2  4  0  .333  117 152 2  1  0  .666  72  53  Won 1       
North Texas              2  4  0  .333  122 251 1  1  0  .500  42  47  Won 1       
**New Mexico State       0  7  0  .000  58  300 0  2  0  .000  14  48  Lost 7      
Idaho                    0  6  0  .000  68  278 0  3  0  .000  54  117 Lost 6      
Arkansas State           0  7  0  .000  64  281 0  3  0  .000  44  100 Lost 7      

NATIONAL COACHES TOP 25
Obviously, there are no Sun Belt Conference teams here.

School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Michigan                7-0     B10   1     2     1.50    4       
Oklahoma                6-0     B12   2     5     3.50    1       
Miami of Florida        5-0     ACC   3     3     3.00    5       
Ohio State              6-0     B10   4     1     2.50    2       
Nebraska                6-0     B12   5     4     4.50    3       
Florida                 6-0     SEC   6     9     7.50    9       
Southern California     5-0     PAC   7     8     7.50    6       
Clemson                 6-0     ACC   8     14    11.00   8       
Washington              6-0     PAC   9     6     7.50    11      
Maryland                6-0     ACC   10    7     8.50    10      
Texas                   5-1     B12   11    17    14.00   15      
Michigan State          7-0     B10   12    16    14.00   12      
Colorado                6-0     B12   13    11    12.00   7       
Tennessee               5-1     SEC   14    12    13.00   14      
Louisiana State         5-1     SEC   15    13    14.00   13      
Utah                    6-0     MWC   16    10    13.00   18      
Penn State              5-1     B10   17    19    18.00   17      
Syracuse                6-0     BET   18    15    16.50   16      
Oregon                  5-1     PAC   19    25    22.00   21      
Virginia Tech           4-1     ACC   20    26    23.00   24      
Georgia                 4-2     SEC   21    20    20.50   23      
Alabama                 5-2     SEC   22    21    21.50   27      
Pittsburgh              6-1     BET   23    18    20.50   20      
Mississippi             6-1     SEC   24    28    26.00   25      
Boston College          5-1     BET   25    22    23.50   19      

[bbgunn]

WEEK 8 RECRUITING
We got two commitments from some below-average players, and two more players came to visit. However, we decided to give up pursuing our highest-ranked visitor, DE Irv Devalle out of Texas, after he told us that he would likely choose Texas Tech over us.

Changes to Visits, Commitments, and/or Rejections are noted in NMSU red below.

Visits
QB Al Glenn, NM (scout 38+)
WR Craig Sies, CO (scout 44+)
WR Dwight Kerns, CO (scout 59-, #86 position)
C Percy Whitlock, TX (scout 38-)
T Shaun Crosland, CO (scout 53-)
ILB Troy Ramsey, NM (scout 89--, #444 nation, #27 position)
OLB Vernon Ruth, AZ (scout 58+, #79 position)
CB Alonzo Brenner, CO (scout 47+)
S Sam Arnold, NM (scout 40+, #90 position)

Commitments
G Sherman Bishop, UT (scout 35+)
DT Lonnie Roach, AZ (scout 37+)

Rejections
none

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Delvalle would be a great pickup for you if you could land him.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

[bbgunn]

New Mexico State (0-7, 0-2 Sun Belt) at North Texas (2-4, 1-1)
North Texas favored by 18
Weather forecast: 79 degrees, fair

This game will feature the Aggies' run-and-shoot offense versus the Mean Green's I-formation. North Texas is in the top 50 nationally in yards per rush, while NMSU is one of the worst teams at yards allowed per rush (97th nationally). NMSU may still be winless after this game.

[bbgunn]

Before the game with North Texas, I decide to switch the defense to a 46 scheme, which brings the strong safety in for run defense. I need to try something to help our defense stuff the run.

[bbgunn]

New Mexico State 27, North Texas 21
DENTON, TX - New Mexico State used a dominant third quarter while containing a late North Texas rally to win their first game of the year, as well as the first win under coach B.B. Gunn.

The key to the win may have been the Aggies' rushing game. NMSU (1-7, 1-2) was barely outrushed by the Mean Green (2-5, 1-2), but the fact that the Aggies had 145 yards rushing was big for the team, whose run game has been close to non-existant most of the season. The big third quarter, when the Aggies scored all three of their touchdowns, was successful because NMSU was able to use the pass to set up the run. They were able to catch the North Texas defense off guard with many running plays.

Another key to the win was the play of quarterback Bart Johnston, the player of the game. He easily had his best game of the year.

"My goal going into the game was not to make any mistakes," Johnston said. "I was happy that I didn't throw any picks."

Box Score: New Mexico State at North Texas  
Denton, TX.  
Week 9, 2004  
Attendance: 14,500 (30,500).  
Weather: 79 degrees, fair.  
  
1Q: 00:08 NTEX - Geoff McKenzie 7 run.  
1Q: 00:08 NTEX - Jon Woods extra point.  
2Q: 00:41 NMST - Toby Schwartz 24 field goal.  
3Q: 11:09 NMST - Warren Barber 2 pass from Bart Johnston.  
3Q: 11:09 NMST - Toby Schwartz extra point.  
3Q: 08:00 NMST - Ian Caldwell 11 pass from Bart Johnston.  
3Q: 08:00 NMST - Toby Schwartz extra point.  
3Q: 07:20 NTEX - Geoff McKenzie 59 run.  
3Q: 07:20 NTEX - Jon Woods extra point.  
3Q: 03:20 NMST - Wendell Rivers 1 run.  
3Q: 03:20 NMST - Toby Schwartz extra point.  
4Q: 12:17 NTEX - Cole Stevens 8 pass from Preston Vaughn.  
4Q: 12:17 NTEX - Jon Woods extra point.  
4Q: 08:41 NMST - Toby Schwartz 33 field goal.  
  
Game MVP: NMST 5 Bart Johnston  
  
New Mexico State  0      3      21     3      -      27  
North Texas       7      0      7      7      -      21  
  
Team Statistics          NMST          NTEX  
  
First Downs              27            22  
  
Total Rushes             31            28  
Net Rushing Yards        145           166  
Yards Per Carry          4.6           5.9  
Rushing Yards            148           192  
Tckld Loss/Yards         2-3           1-1  
Sacked/Yards Lost        0-0           4-25  
  
Pass Attempts            37            31  
Completions              27            20  
Passing Yards            292           260  
Yards Per Attempt        7.8           8.3  
Interceptions            0             1  
Fumbles/Lost             2/1           3/0  
  
Total Plays              68            59  
Total Yards              437           426  
Yards Per Play           6.4           7.2  
  
3rd Down Plays           6/13          6/11  
  
Penalties                5             7  
Penalty Yards            47            75  
  
Avg. Drive Start         OWN 27        OWN 25  
Time Of Possession       31:11         28:49  
  
New Mexico State Individual Statistics  
  
Rushing                  Att    Yards  Avg    Long   TD     Stufd  Sackd  
21 Rivers                15     93     6.2    17     1      2      0  
42 Rice                  12     48     4.0    10     0      1      0  
5 Johnston               2      -2     -1.0   0      0      2      0  
22 Kinney                1      6      6.0    6      0      0      0  
44 Roaf                  1      0      0.0    0      0      1      0  
  
Passing                  Att    Comp   Yards  Yd/Att Long   TD     Int  
5 Johnston               37     27     292    7.8    34     2      0  
  
Receiving                Catch  Yards  Avg    YAC    Long   TD  
80 Barber                10     126    12.6   35     34     1  
85 Sims                  8      78     9.7    12     21     0  
89 Caldwell              3      29     9.6    3      14     1  
88 Hager                 3      43     14.3   5      28     0  
99 McClellan             2      9      4.5    10     10     0  
8 Brummitt               1      7      7.0    0      7      0  
  
Punt Returns             Att    Yards  Avg    TD  

Kick Returns             Att    Yards  Avg    TD  
80 Barber                2      51     25.5   0  
  
Punting                  Punts  Yards  Avg    Long   In20  
13 Hastings              3      113    37.6   39     1  
  
Kicking                  FG     FGA    Long   PAT    Att  
16 Schwartz              2      2      33     3      3  
  
Defense                  Tackle Assist Sack   Int    IntYds IntTD  
95 Atkins                7      3      2.0    0      0      0  
52 Daniels               6      2      1.0    0      0      0  
92 Ruth                  5      2      0.0    0      0      0  
24 Monroe                5      1      0.0    1      0      0  
96 Carman                4      1      0.0    0      0      0  
33 Keating               4      0      0.0    0      0      0  
46 Wohlman               3      0      0.0    0      0      0  
31 Camacho               3      0      0.0    0      0      0  
98 Alcott                2      0      1.0    0      0      0  
41 Durnwirth             2      1      0.0    0      0      0  
77 Whalen                2      0      0.0    0      0      0  
42 Rice                  1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
99 McClellan             1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
82 Spindler              1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
8 Brummitt               1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
80 Barber                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
13 Hastings              1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
43 Cowell                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
25 Crocker               1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
26 Fleming               1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
27 Whitfield             0      1      0.0    0      0      0  
  
Miscellaneous            Fumb   FForc  Recov  MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd  
53 Lawrence              0      0      0      0      6      0  
69 Shelton               0      0      0      0      6      0  
42 Rice                  1      1      0      0      0      0  
99 McClellan             0      1      0      0      0      0  
89 Caldwell              0      0      1      0      0      0  
85 Sims                  1      0      0      0      0      0  
67 Clancy                0      0      0      0      1      0  
63 Collins               0      0      0      0      1      0  
95 Atkins                0      1      0      0      0      0  
  
Player                   Stokes Awarded  
5 Bart Johnston          6  
21 Wendell Rivers        5  
42 Howie Rice            4  
89 Ian Caldwell          3  
95 Harold Atkins         2  
52 Ricky Daniels         2  
24 Gary Monroe           2  
80 Warren Barber         1  
16 Toby Schwartz         1  
98 Irving Alcott         1  
33 Bubba Keating         1  
37 Joe Palmer            1  

[bbgunn]

No new injuries at all. That's good. Ruth has been playing quite well despite his tendonitis.

 Player                #    Pos  Elig  Health       Injury            Full Strn.  
Blair, Ty               32   RB   Sr*   Out          Torn Knee Ligamen 19 Weeks   
Leeuwenburg, Graham     84   WR   Jr    Out          Torn Biceps Muscl 22 Weeks   
Tanuvasa, Julio         75   T    Sr    Out          Pulled Quadriceps 5 Weeks    
Gilmore, Ty             91   DE   Jr*   Out          Elbow Ligament Su 19 Weeks   
Grant, Harold           47   OLB  So*   Out          Broken Tibia      6 Weeks    
Berlin, Jeffrey         29   RB   Jr    Out          Broken Clavicle   7 Weeks    
Carman, Bert            96   OLB  Sr    Questionable Hip Pointer       4 Weeks    
Ruth, Grant             92   DE   Sr*   Probable     Shoulder Tendonit 2 Weeks    
Durnwirth, Fred         41   ILB  Jr    Probable     Broken Hand       5 Weeks    
Williamson, Joe         79   DT   Fr    Probable     Arthroscopic Knee 1 Week     

[bbgunn]

Vanderbilt 24, Louisiana-Monroe 7
LSU 59, Troy 7
Louisiana-Lafayette 38, Arkansas State 13
Idaho 20, Middle Tennessee State 17

School                 W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  Streak  
Louisiana-Monroe         3  4  0  .428  128 192 2  0  0  1.000 73  30  Lost 1      
Middle Tennessee State   3  4  0  .428  153 183 3  1  0  .750  112 55  Lost 1      
Louisiana-Lafayette      4  4  0  .500  180 207 3  1  0  .750  125 82  Won 4       
Utah State               2  5  0  .285  134 266 2  1  0  .666  87  69  Lost 2      
Troy                     2  5  0  .285  124 211 2  1  0  .666  72  53  Lost 1      
**New Mexico State       1  7  0  .125  85  321 1  2  0  .333  41  69  Won 1       
North Texas              2  5  0  .285  143 278 1  2  0  .333  63  74  Lost 1      
Idaho                    1  6  0  .142  88  295 1  3  0  .250  74  134 Won 1       
Arkansas State           0  8  0  .000  77  319 0  4  0  .000  57  138 Lost 8      

[bbgunn]

Unfortnately, two of our top targets, WR Dwight Kerns out of Colorado, and ILB Troy Ramsey from here in New Mexico, rejected us for WAC schools. They were both ranked nationally at their positions, and Ramsey was in the top 500 in the country. That is a big blow for us.

In addition, sadly, we pull the plug on our efforts to get OLB Vernon Ruth out of Arizona. I visited his home again, and he told me that he will likely accept a scholarship offer from North Carolina. This is very sad because he was ranked nationally at his position (#79), and we don't have too many of those type of players left for us in our recruiting area.

However, we did get a big commitment this week (well, big for us). Safety Sam Arnold from Anthony, NM - 26 miles south of Las Cruces - signed a letter of intent. He is the #90 safety in the nation. May not sound like much, but this is important for our school at this time.

Visits
QB Al Glenn, NM (scout 38+)
WR Craig Sies, CO (scout 44+)
C Percy Whitlock, TX (scout 38-)
T Shaun Crosland, CO (scout 53-)
DE Ralph Kochansky, AZ (scout 41+)
CB Alonzo Brenner, CO (scout 47+)

Commitments
G Sherman Bishop, UT (scout 35+)
DT Lonnie Roach, AZ (scout 37+)
S Sam Arnold, NM (scout 40+, #90 position)

Rejections
WR Dwight Kerns, CO (scout 59-, #86 position) (will attend Nevada)
ILB Troy Ramsey, NM (scout 89--, #444 nation, #27 position) (will attend Boise State)

[bbgunn]

Navy (3-4) at New Mexico State (1-7)
Navy favored by 5
Weather forecast: 59 degrees, fair

The Aggies face another run-first team, this time in Las Cruces. Coming off of their first win of the season, New Mexico State is flying high. But Navy is better than North Texas. Can the Aggies pull off the upset?

[EagleFan]

Grats on picking up that win.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Grats on picking up that win.

Thank you. It was a long time coming, that's for sure.

[Young Drachma]

At least the Navy game is at home.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

At least the Navy game is at home.

That's true... That'll help us out a little. I'm hoping the 46 defense will hold up.

[bbgunn]

Navy 52, New Mexico State 13
LAS CRUCES, NM - Navy's offense had their way with the New Mexico State Aggies in a blowout win over the home team. It was New Mexico State's seventh loss this year of at least 24 points.

The New Mexico State (1-8) passing attack continues to improve, as does quarterback Bart Johnston, although he did throw a couple of interceptions. However, the running game was completely shut down by the Midshipmen (4-4).

The real scapegoat, however, was the Aggie defense. Despite running the same 46 defense that worked in a win against North Texas last week, New Mexico State could not stop the run or the pass. This NMSU defense, among the worst in the nation, is light years away from being competitive.

Box Score: Navy at New Mexico State  
Las Cruces, NM.  
Week 10, 2004  
Attendance: 14,400 (30,300).  
Weather: 59 degrees, fair.  
  
1Q: 11:54 NAVY - Jake Banks 75 punt return.  
1Q: 11:54 NAVY - Rex Moss extra point.  
1Q: 05:57 NAVY - Jake Banks 20 pass from Ted Roberson.  
1Q: 05:57 NAVY - Rex Moss extra point.  
2Q: 14:54 NAVY - Chuck Spoljaric 3 run.  
2Q: 14:54 NAVY - Rex Moss extra point.  
2Q: 10:05 NAVY - Rex Moss 20 field goal.  
2Q: 05:56 NMST - Tyrell Hager 21 pass from Bart Johnston.  
2Q: 05:56 NMST - Toby Schwartz extra point.  
3Q: 08:52 NAVY - Kent Ford 39 pass from Ted Roberson.  
3Q: 08:52 NAVY - Rex Moss extra point.  
3Q: 03:25 NAVY - Ellis Ostroski 16 pass from Ted Roberson.  
3Q: 03:25 NAVY - Rex Moss extra point.  
4Q: 13:25 NMST - Tyrell Hager 2 pass from Bart Johnston.  
4Q: 13:25 NMST - Joseph McClellan run for conversion failed.  
4Q: 08:15 NAVY - Chuck Spoljaric 1 run.  
4Q: 08:15 NAVY - Rex Moss extra point.  
4Q: 02:17 NAVY - Kent Ford 8 pass from Colin Riley.  
4Q: 02:17 NAVY - Rex Moss extra point.  
  
Game MVP: NAVY 72 Casey Hill  
  
Navy              14     10     14     14     -      52  
New Mexico State  0      7      0      6      -      13  
  
Team Statistics          NAVY          NMST  
  
First Downs              21            12  
  
Total Rushes             44            20  
Net Rushing Yards        217           66  
Yards Per Carry          4.9           3.3  
Rushing Yards            230           95  
Tckld Loss/Yards         5-7           1-2  
Sacked/Yards Lost        1-6           4-27  
  
Pass Attempts            21            41  
Completions              14            21  
Passing Yards            178           189  
Yards Per Attempt        8.4           4.6  
Interceptions            2             2  
Fumbles/Lost             2/0           2/0  
  
Total Plays              65            61  
Total Yards              395           255  
Yards Per Play           6.0           4.1  
  
3rd Down Plays           8/16          2/15  
  
Penalties                8             10  
Penalty Yards            65            96  
  
Avg. Drive Start         OWN 41        OWN 31  
Time Of Possession       30:30         29:30

New Mexico State Individual Statistics  

Rushing                  Att    Yards  Avg    Long   TD     Stufd  Sackd  
5 Johnston               7      -30    -4.2   1      0      2      4  
21 Rivers                6      22     3.6    8      0      0      0  
42 Rice                  4      8      2.0    4      0      1      0  
44 Roaf                  2      2      1.0    1      0      0      0  
22 Kinney                1      64     64.0   64     0      0      0  
  
Passing                  Att    Comp   Yards  Yd/Att Long   TD     Int  
5 Johnston               40     20     185    4.6    32     2      2  
10 Hanrahan              1      1      4      4.0    4      0      0  
  
Receiving                Catch  Yards  Avg    YAC    Long   TD  
88 Hager                 4      57     14.2   44     32     2  
42 Rice                  3      -5     -1.6   0      -1     0  
8 Brummitt               3      48     16.0   2      24     0  
89 Caldwell              3      17     5.6    7      11     0  
80 Barber                3      23     7.6    9      13     0  
22 Kinney                2      9      4.5    2      6      0  
44 Roaf                  1      9      9.0    12     9      0  
99 McClellan             1      25     25.0   0      25     0  
82 Spindler              1      6      6.0    0      6      0  
  
Punt Returns             Att    Yards  Avg    TD  
33 Keating               1      8      8.0    0  
  
Kick Returns             Att    Yards  Avg    TD  
80 Barber                5      127    25.4   0  
33 Keating               2      52     26.0   0  
8 Brummitt               1      24     24.0   0  
  
Punting                  Punts  Yards  Avg    Long   In20  
13 Hastings              9      288    32.0   54     0  
  
Kicking                  FG     FGA    Long   PAT    Att  
16 Schwartz              0      1      0      1      1  
  
Defense                  Tackle Assist Sack   Int    IntYds IntTD  
95 Atkins                6      4      0.5    0      0      0  
92 Ruth                  6      6      0.0    0      0      0  
98 Alcott                6      0      0.5    0      0      0  
52 Daniels               5      2      0.0    0      0      0  
33 Keating               5      0      0.0    1      0      0  
54 Baldwin               4      2      0.0    0      0      0  
72 Berry                 3      1      0.0    0      0      0  
77 Whalen                3      0      0.0    0      0      0  
41 Durnwirth             3      0      0.0    0      0      0  
96 Carman                3      0      0.0    0      0      0  
27 Whitfield             2      3      0.0    0      0      0  
24 Monroe                2      0      0.0    1      18     0  
60 Tanner                2      0      0.0    0      0      0  
67 Clancy                2      0      0.0    0      0      0  
31 Camacho               2      0      0.0    0      0      0  
74 Kinney                1      1      0.0    0      0      0  
79 Williamson            1      1      0.0    0      0      0  
21 Rivers                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
80 Barber                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
88 Hager                 1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
59 Flaherty              1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
37 Palmer                1      0      0.0    0      0      0  
43 Cowell                0      1      0.0    0      0      0  
40 Barbour               0      1      0.0    0      0      0  
  
Miscellaneous            Fumb   FForc  Recov  MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd  
62 Wainright             0      0      0      0      2      0  
69 Shelton               0      0      0      0      0      1  
63 Collins               0      0      0      0      1      1  
67 Clancy                0      1      1      0      0      1  
60 Tanner                0      1      0      0      0      1  
53 Lawrence              0      0      1      0      1      0  
5 Johnston               1      0      0      0      0      0  
21 Rivers                1      0      0      0      0      0  
  
Player                   Stokes Awarded  
5 Bart Johnston          2  
42 Howie Rice            1  
21 Wendell Rivers        1  
22 Harvey Kinney         1  
8 Dave Brummitt          1  
88 Tyrell Hager          1  
67 Drew Clancy           1  
62 Marcus Wainright      1  
95 Harold Atkins         1  

92 Grant Ruth            1  
33 Bubba Keating         1  
24 Gary Monroe           1    

[bbgunn]

Tanuvasa is upgraded from Out to Doubtful. Please get better and come back in a hurry, big boy. We need ya.

 Player                #    Pos  Elig  Health       Injury            Full Strn.  
Blair, Ty               32   RB   Sr*   Out          Torn Knee Ligamen 18 Weeks   
Leeuwenburg, Graham     84   WR   Jr    Out          Torn Biceps Muscl 21 Weeks   
Gilmore, Ty             91   DE   Jr*   Out          Elbow Ligament Su 18 Weeks   
Grant, Harold           47   OLB  So*   Out          Broken Tibia      5 Weeks    
Berlin, Jeffrey         29   RB   Jr    Out          Broken Clavicle   6 Weeks    
Tanuvasa, Julio         75   T    Sr    Doubtful     Pulled Quadriceps 4 Weeks    
Carman, Bert            96   OLB  Sr    Questionable Hip Pointer       4 Weeks    
Ruth, Grant             92   DE   Sr*   Probable     Shoulder Tendonit 1 Week     
Durnwirth, Fred         41   ILB  Jr    Probable     Broken Hand       4 Weeks 

[bbgunn]

Troy 32, Idaho 20
Louisiana-Monroe 41, North Texas 14
Middle Tennessee State 31, Utah State 14

 School                 W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  Streak  
Louisiana-Monroe         4  4  0  .500  169 206 3  0  0  1.000 114 44  Won 1       
Middle Tennessee State   4  4  0  .500  184 197 4  1  0  .800  143 69  Won 1       
Louisiana-Lafayette      4  4  0  .500  180 207 3  1  0  .750  125 82  Won 4       
Troy                     3  5  0  .375  156 231 3  1  0  .750  104 73  Won 1       
Utah State               2  6  0  .250  148 297 2  2  0  .500  101 100 Lost 3      
**New Mexico State       1  8  0  .111  98  373 1  2  0  .333  41  69  Lost 1      
North Texas              2  6  0  .250  157 319 1  3  0  .250  77  115 Lost 2      
Idaho                    1  7  0  .125  108 327 1  4  0  .200  94  166 Lost 1      
Arkansas State           0  8  0  .000  77  319 0  4  0  .000  57  138 Lost 8     

[bbgunn]

No new commitments or rejections to talk about, but there were three new visitors. One of them however, a wide receiver, was waxing poetic about the East Carolina Pirates, so we pull the plug on him.

Visits
QB Al Glenn, NM (scout 38+)
WR Craig Sies, CO (scout 44+)
C Percy Whitlock, TX (scout 38-)
T Shaun Crosland, CO (scout 53-)
DE Ralph Kochansky, AZ (scout 41+)
ILB K.C. Brennan, TX (scout 45+)
OLB Casey Wilson, TX (scout 38+)
CB Alonzo Brenner, CO (scout 47+)

Commitments
G Sherman Bishop, UT (scout 35+)
DT Lonnie Roach, AZ (scout 37+)
S Sam Arnold, NM (scout 40+, #90 position)

Rejections
WR Dwight Kerns, CO (scout 59-, #86 position) (will attend Nevada)
ILB Troy Ramsey, NM (scout 89--, #444 nation, #27 position) (will attend Boise State)

[bbgunn]

Middle Tennessee State (4-4, 4-1) at New Mexico State (1-8, 1-2)
Middle Tennessee favored by 4
Weather forecast: 72 degrees, fair

One of the top Sun Belt teams faces one of the worst in what should be perfect weather on Saturday. This is another dangerous game for the Aggies; the Blue Raiders are another run-first team, employing the flexbone. They have nearly blown through their Sun Belt schedule so far, only losing once in a close game to Idaho. The key will be if the Aggie defense can stop anybody.

[Young Drachma]

Ouch. That Navy game was rough, but then...it happens. There will be better days.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Ouch. That Navy game was rough, but then...it happens. There will be better days.

That game was not one of our finer moments, that's for sure.

[bbgunn]

I'm going to go back to the old reporting style for the game recaps. The previous one had too many stats and lists.

New Mexico State 31, Middle Tennessee State 9

LAS CRUCES, NM - Most of the blame for New Mexico State's woeful season has been given to the defense. On Saturday, the defense won the game for the Aggies... with a little bit of help from visiting Middle Tennessee State.

New Mexico State (2-8, 2-2) pulled off a shocker against a team that was leading the Sun Belt Conference at kickoff. They might not have had a chance at a shocker if the Blue Raider offense had played well. Instead, the Blue Raiders (4-5, 4-2) fumbled the ball away on four straight possessions in the first half, including one turnover at the NMSU 10 yard line. The four turnovers led to only 10 Aggie points, and the home team led only 10-6 at the half.

Then the Aggie defense came out of the locker room on fire, putting together a one-half performance seldom seen in these parts.

On the third play of Middle Tennessee's first possession of the second half, starting cornerback Gary Monroe intercepted the ball - the fifth turnover for Middle Tennessee. The Aggie defense then proceeded to force three-and-out on the Blue Raider's next six possessions! (On the last of those possessions, New Mexico State blocked the punt and returned it for a touchdown.) That was immediately followed by another Gary Monroe interception on the third play of the next possession, this time returned for a touchdown with five minutes left in the game.

Other than starting a drive, the Blue Raiders did not have a first down in the second half until their last possession, when the game was already out of hand.

"Talk about a halftime adjustment," a stunned coach B.B. Gunn said after the game. "My goodness, that is the best our defense has played by far this year. Amazing."

Player of the Game: NMSU WR Warren Barber

Yardage (Rush-Pass-Total)
MTSU: 178-151-329
NMSU: 101-193-279

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Bart Johnston - 18-41, 193 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing
RB Wendell Rivers - 7 rushes, 47 yds
Receiving
WR Warren Barber - 10 catch, 131 yds, 1 TD
Defense
CB Bubba Keating - 9 tackles
LE Grant Ruth - 7 tackles, 5 assists, 1 sack
CB Gary Monroe - 3 tackles, 1 assist, 2 INT (1 TD)

[bbgunn]

Scores
Idaho 34, Arkansas State 16
North Texas 24, Louisiana-Lafayette 14
Utah State 28, Louisiana-Monroe 21
Troy 30, Ketchikan 3

Standings

School                 W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  Streak  
Louisiana-Monroe         4  5  0  .444  190 234 3  1  0  .750  135 72  Lost 1      
Troy                     4  5  0  .444  186 234 3  1  0  .750  104 73  Won 2       
Middle Tennessee State   4  5  0  .444  193 228 4  2  0  .666  152 100 Lost 1      
Louisiana-Lafayette      4  5  0  .444  194 231 3  2  0  .600  139 106 Lost 1      
Utah State               3  6  0  .333  176 318 3  2  0  .600  129 121 Won 1       
**New Mexico State       2  8  0  .200  129 382 2  2  0  .500  72  78  Won 1       
North Texas              3  6  0  .333  181 333 2  3  0  .400  101 129 Won 1       
Idaho                    2  7  0  .222  142 343 2  4  0  .333  128 182 Won 1       
Arkansas State           0  9  0  .000  93  353 0  5  0  .000  73  172 Lost 9    

[bbgunn]

WEEK 11 RECRUITING
We had four more players commit. Our (unimpressive) recruiting class is starting to round out. At least we are getting some academically-sound players.

Visits
QB Al Glenn, NM (scout 38+)
WR Craig Sies, CO (scout 44+)
WR Dusty Fleming, TX (scout 42-)
DE Ralph Kochansky, AZ (scout 41+)
ILB K.C. Brennan, TX (scout 45+)

Commitments
C Percy Whitlock, TX (scout 38-)
G Sherman Bishop, UT (scout 35+)
T Shaun Crosland, CO (scout 53-)
DT Lonnie Roach, AZ (scout 37+)
OLB Casey Wilson, TX (scout 38+)
CB Alonzo Brenner, CO (scout 47+)
S Sam Arnold, NM (scout 40+, #90 position)

Rejections
WR Dwight Kerns, CO (scout 59-, #86 position) (will attend Nevada)
ILB Troy Ramsey, NM (scout 89--, #444 nation, #27 position) (will attend Boise State)