The New Mexico State Aggies (0-1, 0-1 ATS, 0-1 O/U) battle the Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-4, 7-4-1 ATS, 6-6 O/U) in a non-conference bout on Thursday night. The Aggies recorded a 2-10 record last season and lost to Nevada in the season opener last weekend. The Gophers went 8-4 last year including a 6-3 mark in Big Ten play. These foes last met in 2018 in a game Minnesota won 48-10.
The New Mexico State Aggies are in another rebuilding season after going 2-10 last year. They enter their second game of the season. The Aggies were labeled as seven-point dogs in a 23-12 home loss to Nevada last Saturday. The Aggies had another rough season in 2021 and have plenty of new players, especially on offense.
The Aggies have a new look at QB. Freshman Gavin Frakes received a good portion of the playing time last week and collected 143 passing yards. Diego Pavia had a rough debut, tossing three interceptions. The program also lost the top rusher from 2021 on a transfer. It was another young player, this time sophomore RB Jamoni Jones leading all RBs with 28 rushing yards last week. Justice Powers brought in 74 receiving yards in the opener. The senior WR only had 167 yards all of last season. The Aggies' offense had a decent passing gam e last year but will probably struggle to score points as seen last week.
First Aggie Walk for The Boss #AggieUp pic.twitter.com/zap1k1YQ8J
— New Mexico State Football (@NMStateFootball) August 28, 2022
The New Mexico State defense struggled in a big way last season but was definitely effective last week, limiting the Wolf Pack to only 257 total yards. The pass defense ranked 128th last year while the rush defense was 110th in 2021, however, they gained plenty of experience and return many key players in the secondary.
The Aggies scored an average of 22.6 points in 2021, landing them 104th. The defense squandered an average of 40.4 points, pegging them 128th in the FBS.