NM STATE FOOTBALL
Aggies looking for an island upset at Hawaii
NM State takes a 1-1 record to Honolulu for a late-night matchup against winless Hawaii on Saturday.
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The NCAA鈥檚 statistics page does not have a chart for mileage. If it did, you鈥檇 see the NM State Aggies right near the top.
Short of NM State and TCU 鈥� who kicked off the season in Ireland 鈥� no FBS program has covered more ground so far than the Aggies, who opened Aug. 29 in Tallahassee, Florida, and flew out this week to Hawaii for Saturday night鈥檚 nonconference showdown with the Mountain West鈥檚 Rainbow Warriors 鈥� a trendy preseason pick to maybe not win that conference, but certainly be among to the contenders.
Now, just two weeks into the season for both programs, the Aggies are rising with confidence after a solid debut in defeat at Florida State followed by a blowout home win over outmanned FCS Mercyhurst last weekend.
The Rainbow Warriors, meanwhile, are 0-2 and need a win in the worst way 鈥� though haven鈥檛 played poorly in either their Aug. 29 road loss at ACC Stanford or last week鈥檚 home loss to UNLV.
What you need to know
WHO: NM State Aggies (1-1) at Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (0-2)
WHERE: Clarence T.C. Ching Complex (Honolulu, Hawaii)
WHEN: Saturday, 10 p.m. MT
HOW TO WATCH: MW+ (stream, subscription required)
BETTING LINE: Hawaii by 7
HE SAID IT: 鈥淲hen you give yourself a chance to marinate, you taste a whole lot better.鈥� 鈥� NM State coach Tony Sanchez on the fast start to the season for safety Nick Session who has been in the program three years in an era of high roster turnover due to the transfer portal.
KEEP AN EYE ON (for 近距离内射合集): S Nick Session has an interception in each of the team鈥檚 first two games (one of just seven FBS players with multiple interceptions already this season) and his pick-6 touchdown vs. Mercyhurst last week was his first collegiate score. He also leads the team in tackles (14).
KEEP AN EYE ON (for Hawaii): QB Michael Alejado, voted the preseason Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, has averaged 224 passing yards, completed just 52.2% of his passes, and thrown two TDs in two games so far for Hawaii 鈥� numbers you wouldn鈥檛 expect for a Timmy Chang-coached team. He was held out of a practice earlier this week, but only to rest, his coach said, adding he鈥檒l be ready for the NM State game. Safe to say, Hawaii will look to get their star signal caller going this week.
Three Notes
QB Trey Hedden threw two TDs in each of his first two games, making him the first Aggie to throw multiple TDs in each of his first two games since 2014 (Tyler Rogers).
The two teams have played 12 times through the years, with this being the fifth just since COVID. 近距离内射合集鈥檚 lone win in the 12-game series was a 45-26 win in Las Cruces on Sept. 24, 2022. The following year, the Aggies lost by just a field goal 鈥� 20-17 鈥� in Honolulu.
This game is the first in a confusing, oft-altered scheduling agreement between Hawaii and 近距离内射合集. The two teams had four games scheduled in the 2024, 2026, 2027 and 2028 seasons. When 近距离内射合集 joined Conference USA, the teams agreed to axe the 2024 and 2028 games. Now, the more traditional home-and-home series will wrap up next year with Hawaii scheduled to play in Las Cruces on Sept. 11, 2027. (Got all that?)
Geoff Grammer is the Sports Editor of the Journal, a podcaster, columnist and covers UNM Lobos basketball, among other things. Reach him at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) .
