NM STATE FOOTBALL
Aggies surge past Mercyhurst in home opener
NM State scored the final 38 points in a 51-14 victory, fueled by 553 yards of offense and a resurgent rushing attack.
Published
Modified
Once the Aggies got rolling, they really got rolling.
NM State scored the final 38 points of Saturday鈥檚 home opener against FCS Mercyhurst, overcoming a slow start for a 51-14 blowout win in front of an announced Aggie Memorial Stadium crowd of 9,189.
The Aggies improved to 1-1 on the season.
Key stat: The Aggies racked up 553 yards of total offense, but maybe more importantly got 235 of those on the ground after not getting the run game going in the season opener at Florida State a week prior.
Turning point: With 12:44 left in the second quarter, Mercyhurst took a 14-13 lead and had gained 144 yards on 20 plays from scrimmage. From that point on, Mercyhurst ran 38 plays and amassed just 93 yards and no points.
Aggie up: Senior running back James Jones rushed for 137 hards and scored a pair of touchdowns in the win 鈥� one on the ground and one receiving.
Aggie down: They were long ones, but they were still missed. Kicker Ilya Uvaydov was 1-of-3 on field goal attempts, missing from 46 and 51 yards out.
Add-ons: NM State had two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and has now forced a turnover in 18 consecutive games... QB Trey Hedden threw for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns, giving him 525 yards passing and four throwing TDs in the first two games.
Next up: NM State (1-1) plays at Hawaii (0-2) next Saturday (Sept. 12) at 10 p.m. MT in Manoa, Hawaii (Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex). The game will be streamed on MW+ (subscription required). Mercyhurst (0-2) plays in Albuquerque against the UNM Lobos.
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) .
