It has been a wild ride for New Mexico State since they last played in the Sun Belt Conference in the 2004 season. They moved to the Western Athletic Conference beginning with the 2005 season. That move did not turn out as the Aggies had hoped as they never managed to win more than four games between 2005 and 2012. In 2013, the Aggies moved to the FBS Independent classification where they ended up with a 2-10 record. 2013 also marked the first season that Doug Martin was in charge of New Mexico State. Let's take a closer look at the 2013 season for the Aggies.
2013 New Mexico State Aggies
It was a rough season for the Aggies in 2013. Their offense was okay at best, but their defense was incredibly porous. The Aggies defense gave up an average of 550 yards and 44.6 yards per game!! In nine of twelve games, they gave up at least 40 points. To be fair, the schedule was not the easiest, but those kind of numbers are atrocious. New Mexico State lost each of their first seven games by at least 10 points. Things got a bit better in the second half of the season for the Aggies. They beat the transitional FCS team Abilene Christian 34-29 on a game saving tackle as time expired. They played both UL-Lafayette and Boston College close until the fourth quarter of each game, but lost both. They were routed by Florida Atlantic and finished with an eight point win over Idaho to end the season (24-16). The schedule for 2013 is below.
Offense
There is good news and bad news for the Aggies on offense in 2014. The good news is that they return eight starters from 2013. The bad news is they lose their top passer, rusher, and receiver from 2013. The quarterback position is expected to be handled by Junior College transfer Tyler Rogers. Rogers was in for the spring practices so he should have a good grasp of the offense by the start of the season.
The loss of the their top rusher from 2013 will not be as bad for the Aggies. Germi Morrison was the leading rusher with 451 yards and four touchdowns, but that yardage number was only 36 yards higher than the number two guy. The second leading rusher was Brandon Betancourt. He ran for 415 yards and touchdowns. Also returning is Xavier Hall (247 yards and one touchdown) and Marquette Washington, who redshirted in 2013. This group should be better in year two under Doug Martin.
The one big loss for New Mexico State was wide receiver Austin Franklin. He was the top target in 2013 with 52 receptions, 670 yards, and 7 touchdowns. There will be a stable of receivers trying to replace his presence, which includes the next seven leading receivers. Jerrel Brown had 33 catches for 484 yards with two touchdowns while Joshua Bowen was 2nd on the team in receptions with 39. Bowen had 324 yards and two touchdowns in 2013. Another guy to keep an eye on is redshirt freshman Gregory Hogan, who could crack the starting lineup in week one.
The offensive line returns four of the five starters from 2013. The one replacement is at left tackle, which was previously held by a four-year starter. The group only allowed 24 sacks last year. Despite losing their left tackle from 2013, this group should be better with a full year of Doug Martin's system under their belts.
Defense
As mentioned above, the defense was horrendous in 2013. Perhaps it is a good thing they only return five starters from the 2013 team. In addition, six of the top seven tacklers from 2013 are no longer with the team. The defensive line gave up an average of 300 yards rushing per game in 2013, which can only improve this year. They have to replace two starters and they will be led by senior defensive end Jay Eakins. He recorded 29 tackles and a sack last year. This unit should be improved from the 2013 version.
The linebacker unit will feature two new starters occupying the outside spots. Rodney Butler will anchor the middle and he has plenty of room to grow. He started four games in 2013 and played in all twelve. He ended up recording 39 tackles with two for a loss. This is an inexperienced group, but they cannot be much worse than they were last year.
The defensive secondary that gave up an average of 250 yards a game last season will also have to replace two starters. There is some inexperience here as well with the strong safety position coming down to a battle between two sophomores who both saw action in 2013. Winston Rose is expected to be one of the starting corners. He played in two games last year and recorded eight tackles, but ended up missing the rest of the season. Overall, this unit should be better than last year.
Special Teams
It is a mixed bag for New Mexico State on special teams. They return their kicker Maxwell Johnson, but lose their excellent punter Cayle Chapman-Brown. Maxwell went 10 of 12 last season with a long of 49 yards. He should be a rock in the kicking game during 2014. At punter, Brock Baca is expected to replace Chapman-Brown. Baca did see some action the past two years, but did so as the kickoff specialist. He has some big shoes to fill, but should do an adequate job.
2014 Season Outlook
It will be another tough season for Doug Martin and the Aggies in 2014. They do find a familiar home in the Sun Belt Conference, but they are not ready to seriously challenge in the conference. The schedule is better in 2014 with games against Cal Poly and at Georgia State to start the season. Those two games will decide how the season goes for New Mexico State. If they open with two wins, they have a chance to possibly reach four wins. If they lose those two games, it could be another double digit loss season. Here is the schedule for the Aggies in 2014:
Cal Poly and Georgia State are definitely winnable games. The UTEP game is a rivalry game, though it looks like UTEP is better than the Aggies. Still, anything can happen in a rivalry game. The only other winnable game is at Idaho in October. That means the Aggies are looking at between two and four wins this season. They are still two or three years away from competing in the Sun Belt due to the lack of talent on the roster, but it is still a step in the right direction.