NM STATE FOOTBALL
Aggies seek first win Saturday vs. FCS Mercyhurst
The Aggies return to Las Cruces as heavy favorites Saturday after quarterback Trey Hedden's strong debut at Florida State.
Published
The NM State Aggies checked the boxes last week.
They found a quarterback. They collected $1.4 million for playing a power conference school on the road. They more than held their own in a 34-17 loss. And they said the right things afterward 鈥� no moral victories.
Now, they get to show off their product in front of their own fans 鈥� this time as the heavily favored home team over FCS Mercyhurst at 7 p.m. Saturday in Aggie Memorial Stadium.
Here鈥檚 what you need to know ahead of Saturday鈥檚 game:
WHO: FCS Mercyhurst Lakers (0-1) vs. NM State Aggies (0-1)
WHERE: Aggie Memorial Stadium (Las Cruces)
WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.
HOW TO WATCH: ESPN+ (stream)
BETTING LINE: Aggies by 28.5 (as of Thursday night)
HE SAID IT: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be able to throw the ball around the yard. We鈥檝e got to be better, more efficient running the football.鈥� 鈥� NM State third year head coach Tony Sanchez said after reviewing game film of the Florida State loss, in which the Aggies threw for 272 yards and rushed for 47.
KEEP AN EYE ON (for Mercyhurst): RB Byron Cardwell Jr. played at San Diego State last season and returning Mercyhurst RB Jameir Gamble led the Lakers in rushing last week with 36 yards on just nine carries (4.0 per carry).
KEEP AN EYE ON (for 近距离内射合集): QB Trey Hedden, the FCS transfer from Furman, threw for 272 yards at Florida State, the most for an Aggie in a season opener since 2017 (Tyler Rogers, 398).
Three Notes
Last week鈥檚 NM State at Florida State game was the highest-rated sports broadcast in CW Network history 鈥� albeit a fairly short sports history 鈥� averaging 1.96 million total viewers, per Nielsen data released by the network earlier this week. Viewership of the game peaked at 2.4 million total viewers from 7:15-7:30 p.m. MT, the network said and was the second highest-rated program on any network of the night among adults aged 25 to 54.
S Nick Session had an interception in the FSU loss, marking the 17th consecutive game the Aggies have forced a turnover.
WRs TK King and Brodie Malone-Bradford combined for 174 receiving yards at Florida State, the most for any receiving duo in FBS last week.
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) .
