Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
A 3-10 season doesn’t often give much reason to be hopeful, but for New Mexico State, at least a few things went right. They beat rival New Mexico for the first time in 5 tries, and they didn’t lose to any 1-AA teams. They did finish at the bottom of the WAC on a 7 game losing streak, but to be fair that included road games against Ohio State, Boise State, and Hawaii.
So despite the struggles, there is some room for optimism for the Aggies. No, they’re probably not going to knock off Boise State, but with 9 offensive starters returning (including QB and RB positions) and 6 on defense, the table is set to continue improving.
Schedule
9/11 San Diego State
9/18 at UTEP
9/25 at Kansas
10/2 Boise State
10/9 New Mexico
10/16 at Fresno State
10/23 at Idaho
10/30 San Jose State
11/6 at Utah State
11/13 Louisiana Tech
11/20 at Nevada
11/27 Hawaii
New Mexico fans have to endure one of the worst fates a team can suffer: the opening week bye. After that comes a schedule that will prove challenging, but if the team has made the advances they’re hoping for, then a win should be possible between SDSU and UTEP. After that, it’s mostly a tough road with a few winnable games mixed in- the rivalry game is on home soil this time, and a second win in a row against New Mexico would ease what might otherwise be another painful season.
Coaching
DeWayne Walker enters his second year as head coach of the Aggies, after three seasons as defensive coordinator for UCLA and a career coaching defensive positions around the NFL. There is nothing to indicate that his job is on the line given the rebuilding process he’s inherited.
Rankings
The WAC issues both a media and a coaches poll, and both have the Aggies 8th, ahead of San Jose State.
Outlook
I think it’s very possible that New Mexico State will be much improved this year- but won’t win many more games. The Aggies simply weren’t close in most of their losses last year and have to bridge an awfully large gap to start winning those games. To make matters worse, they don’t have a 1-AA team to build some momentum against this year. 4 wins will be an outright success against this schedule, as would 2 or 3 conference victories. Look for them to scare a lot of teams that could coast past them a year ago.
New Mexico State Connections
Aggie Alert- Scout message board
Las Cruces Sun-News – Local coverage of the Aggies