New Mexico will travel to San Marcos, Texas, for the first time Saturday to face newest WAC member Texas State in what will be the Aggies' final game as a member of the conference.
It will be the first meeting between the two schools, with Texas State wrapping up its first year at an FBS football program. Saturday’s game will mark the third team this season that NMSU will have played a team for the first time in the program’s history, also having faced Texas San Antonio and Sacramento State earlier in the year.
NMSU enters on a 10-game losing streak, having not won since the season opener against Sacramento State.
The story of the Aggies' season has been wide receiver Austin Franklin, who ranks seventh nationally in receiving with 1,154 yards and nine touchdowns on 69 catches. Franklin has recorded seven 100-yard receiving games this season and leads the team in scoring with 56 points on nine touchdown receptions and a two-point conversion catch.
NSMU quarterback Manley is fourth in the WAC in passing yards per game, having thrown for 2,516 yards and 16 touchdowns, completing 53.8 percent of his passes. He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in nine straight games.
Defensively, safety Davis Cazares leads the team and the conference in tackles with 110, ranking 22nd in the nation. He is just the 23rd player in school history to have over 100 tackles in a single season.
The Bobcats enter Saturday’s game with a 3-8 overall record and a 1-4 record in conference play. Texas State is 2-3 at home this season.
The Bobcats are averaging 366.3 yards per game of total offense, 211.2 yards passing and 155.1 yards on the ground. The defense is allowing 34.0 points a game and 490.7 yards a contest.
Shaun Rutherford leads the Texas State offense with 2,068 yards passing this season and 14 touchdown passes, averaging 188.0 yards a game. The rushing attack is led by Marcus Curry, who is averaging 59.9 yards a game and 5.7 yards a carry this season with nine touchdowns. Andy Erickson leads the receiving corps, having caught 39 passes for 482 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Joplo Bartu leads the way with 78 tackles, followed by Jason McLean with 63.
It will be a bittersweet game for the Aggies (1-10 overall, 0-5 WAC),
who will no longer play in the WAC after this season since the
conference will not have enough teams to support football. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
