# 2024 New Mexico State Aggies football team

The 2024 New Mexico State Aggies football team represented New Mexico State University in Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies were led by Tony Sanchez in his first year as the program's head coach. The Aggies played home games at Aggie Memorial Stadium, located in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
This is New Mexico State's first season since 2021 without Diego Pavia as their starting quarterback. Pavia, having led New Mexico State to a 10–5 2023 season that included an upset win against the Auburn Tigers, transferred to the Vanderbilt Commodores.

## Coaching changes

Following the conclusion of the 2023 season, second-year head coach Jerry Kill announced that he would be stepping down. Kill saw one of the largest turnarounds in college football history, leading the Aggies to bowl appearances in both of his seasons including a 10-win season in 2023, the program's first double-digit winning season since 1960. Wide receivers coach Tony Sanchez was named the Aggies' new head coach. Special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Tyler Wright was promoted to offensive coordinator while Sam Houston defensive coordinator Joe Morris, originally hired as the Aggies' defensive line coach, was later named defensive coordinator after incumbent defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling left for Utah State.
On October 11, Wright was fired two weeks after a report on the presence of over 150 racist, sexist and homophobic posts on his X account made before joining New Mexico State's coaching staff. Wright was indefinitely suspended while New Mexico State investigated the posts and missed games against New Mexico and Jacksonville State before being dismissed. Offensive line coach Andrew Mitchell assumed play-calling duties on an interim basis during the investigation and remained in the role after Wright's firing.

## Preseason
### C-USA media poll

The Conference USA preseason media poll was released on July 19. The Aggies were predicted to finish tied for fifth.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Liberty | 197 (18) |
| 2 | Western Kentucky | 173 (2) |
| 3 | Jacksonville State | 166 |
| 4 | Middle Tennessee | 98 |
| 5 | New Mexico State | 97 |
| 5 | Sam Houston | 97 |
| 7 | Louisiana Tech | 88 |
| 8 | FIU | 81 |
| 9 | UTEP | 76 |
| 10 | Kennesaw State | 27 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | Southeast Missouri State* | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPN+ | W 23–16 | 10,738 |
| September 7 | 8:15 p.m. | Liberty | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPN2 | L 24–30 | 16,562 |
| September 14 | 8:30 p.m. | at Fresno State* | Valley Children's StadiumFresno, CA | TruTV | L 0–48 | 39,079 |
| September 21 | 5:00 p.m. | at Sam Houston | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | L 11–31 | 13,059 |
| September 28 | 6:00 p.m. | New Mexico* | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM (Rio Grande Rivalry) | ESPN+ | L 40–50 | 21,062 |
| October 9 | 5:30 p.m. | at Jacksonville State | AmFirst StadiumJacksonville, AL | ESPN2 | L 13–54 | 16,555 |
| October 15 | 7:00 p.m. | Louisiana Tech | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPNU | W 33–30 $^{2OT}$ | 9,671 |
| October 29 | 5:00 p.m. | at FIU | Pitbull StadiumMiami, FL | CBSSN | L 13–34 | 9,103 |
| November 9 | 4:00 p.m. | Western Kentucky | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPN+ | L 28–41 | 12,710 |
| November 16 | 5:45 p.m. | at No. 15 Texas A&M* | Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX | SECN | L 3–38 | 105,815 |
| November 23 | 12:30 p.m. | at Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN+ | W 36–21 | 10,123 |
| November 30 | 2:00 p.m. | UTEP | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM (Battle of I-10) | ESPN+ | L 35–42 | 15,358 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings released prior to gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Southeast Missouri State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redhawks (FCS) | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Aggies | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 23 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: August 31
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 90 °F (32 °C)
* Game attendance: 10,738
* Referee: Garrett Dickerson
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Adam Young and Danny Knee
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SEMO | NMSU |
| First downs | 15 | 20 |
| Total yards | 352 | 270 |
| Rushing yards | 57 | 210 |
| Passing yards | 295 | 60 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 37:24 | 33:36 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Southeast Missouri State | Passing | Paxton DeLaurent | 27/45, 295 yards, TD, INT |
| Southeast Missouri State | Rushing | Steven Lewis | 1 rush, 27 yards |
| Southeast Missouri State | Receiving | Dorian Anderson | 6 receptions, 115 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Parker Awad | 5/18, 37 yards, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Seth McGowan | 11 rushes, 87 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | PJ Johnson III | 2 receptions, 35 yards |

### Liberty

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Flames | 3 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 30 |
| Aggies | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: September 7
* Game time: 8:15 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 85 °F (29 °C)
* Game attendance: 16,562
* Referee: Rodney Burnette
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Brian Custer, Rod Gilmore and Lauren Sisler
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | LIB | NMSU |
| First downs | 18 | 18 |
| Total yards | 473 | 275 |
| Rushing yards | 217 | 117 |
| Passing yards | 256 | 158 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 28:56 | 31:04 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Liberty | Passing | Kaidon Salter | 16/29, 256 yards |
| Liberty | Rushing | Quinton Cooley | 12 rushes, 111 yards, 2 TD |
| Liberty | Receiving | Treon Sibley | 5 receptions, 155 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Parker Awad | 9/22, 158 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Seth McGowan | 15 rushes, 66 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Monte Watkins | 1 reception, 64 yards, TD |

### at Fresno State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 48 |
at Valley Children's Stadium, Fresno, California
* Date: September 14
* Game time: 8:30 p.m. MDT/7:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 39,079
* Referee: Christian Watson
* TV announcers (TruTV): J. B. Long and Mike Golic Jr.
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | FRES |
| First downs | 11 | 20 |
| Total yards | 138 | 525 |
| Rushing yards | 77 | 281 |
| Passing yards | 61 | 244 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 30:00 | 30:00 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Parker Awad | 6/15, 48 yards, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Seth McGowan | 11 carries, 47 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jordan Smith | 2 receptions, 31 yards |
| Fresno State | Passing | Mikey Keene | 12/22, 221 yards, 2 TD |
| Fresno State | Rushing | Malik Sherrod | 15 carries, 113 yards, TD |
| Fresno State | Receiving | Mac Dalena | 2 receptions, 82 yards, 2 TD |

### at Sam Houston

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Bearkats | 14 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 31 |
at Bowers Stadium, Huntsville, Texas
* Date: September 21
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. MDT/6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 94 °F (34 °C)
* Game attendance: 13,059
* Referee: Reed Brotherson
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Tom Franklin and Ken Moore
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | SHSU |
| First downs | 12 | 24 |
| Total yards | 152 | 382 |
| Rushing yards | 78 | 280 |
| Passing yards | 74 | 102 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 23:22 | 36:38 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Santino Marucci | 14/29, 74 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Seth McGowan | 12 rushes, 50 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | T. J. Pride | 5 receptions, 33 yards |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Hunter Watson | 9/21, 64 yards, 2 INT |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | Hunter Watson | 12 rushes, 116 yards, 2 TD |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Noah Smith | 4 receptions, 38 yards |

### New Mexico

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lobos | 7 | 14 | 9 | 20 | 50 |
| Aggies | 7 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 40 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: September 28
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 93 °F (34 °C)
* Game attendance: 21,062
* Referee: Rory Bernard
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Adam Young and Danny Knee
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | UNM | NMSU |
| First downs | 28 | 27 |
| Total yards | 579 | 474 |
| Rushing yards | 331 | 285 |
| Passing yards | 248 | 189 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 33:36 | 26:24 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico | Passing | Devon Dampier | 13/28, 248 yards |
| New Mexico | Rushing | NaQuari Rogers | 21 rushes, 122 yards, 3 TD |
| New Mexico | Receiving | Caleb Medford | 2 receptions, 91 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Santino Marucci | 13/29, 189 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larenzo McMillan | 1 rush, 84 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | T. J. Pride | 3 receptions, 63 yards |

### at Jacksonville State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Gamecocks | 7 | 26 | 14 | 7 | 54 |
at AmFirst Stadium, Jacksonville, Alabama
* Date: October 9
* Game time: 5:30 p.m. MDT/6:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Clear, 75 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 16,555
* Referee: Ron Hudson
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Clay Matvick and Steve Addazio
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | JVST |
| First downs | 22 | 28 |
| Total yards | 350 | 530 |
| Rushing yards | 206 | 334 |
| Passing yards | 144 | 196 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 30:04 | 29:56 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Parker Awad | 9/16, 120 yards, TD, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Mike Washington | 13 carries, 76 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | PJ Johnson III | 3 receptions, 84 yards, TD |
| Jacksonville State | Passing | Tyler Huff | 11/18, 196 yards, 2 TD |
| Jacksonville State | Rushing | Tre Stewart | 21 carries, 118 yards, 2 TD |
| Jacksonville State | Receiving | Michael Pettway | 1 reception, 54 yards |

### Louisiana Tech

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 30 |
| Aggies | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 33 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: October 15
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 80 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 9,671
* Referee: Douglas Mercer
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Mike Corey and Forrest Conoly
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | LT | NMSU |
| First downs | 20 | 21 |
| Total yards | 360 | 364 |
| Rushing yards | 127 | 160 |
| Passing yards | 233 | 204 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 37:11 | 22:49 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Louisiana Tech | Passing | Evan Bullock | 22/41, 233 yards, 2 TD |
| Louisiana Tech | Rushing | Omiri Wiggins | 14 carries, 63 yards, TD |
| Louisiana Tech | Receiving | Tru Edwards | 9 receptions, 110 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Parker Awad | 11/22, 155 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Seth McGowan | 17 carries, 66 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | T. J. Pride | 4 receptions, 69 yards, TD |

### at FIU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 34 |
at Pitbull Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Date: October 29
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. MDT/7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 81 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 9,103
* Referee: Douglas Mercer
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Dave Ryan and Donte Whitner
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | FIU |
| First downs | 15 | 18 |
| Total yards | 246 | 438 |
| Rushing yards | 216 | 100 |
| Passing yards | 30 | 338 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 31:02 | 28:58 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Santino Marucci | 2/4, 18 yards, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Mike Washington | 11 rushes, 88 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | P. J. Johnson III | 2 receptions, 14 yards |
| FIU | Passing | Keyone Jenkins | 18/27, 338 yards, 4 TD |
| FIU | Rushing | Kejon Owens | 13 rushes, 39 yards |
| FIU | Receiving | Eric Rivers | 11 receptions, 295 yards, 3 TD |

### Western Kentucky

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 14 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 41 |
| Aggies | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: November 9
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. MST
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: W 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h)
* Game attendance: 12,710
* Referee: Rodney Burnette
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Adam Young and Danny Knee
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | WKU | NMSU |
| First downs | 17 | 14 |
| Total yards | 413 | 460 |
| Rushing yards | 116 | 331 |
| Passing yards | 297 | 129 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 5 |
| Time of possession | 30:30 | 29:30 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Caden Veltkamp | 18/27, 246 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Western Kentucky | Rushing | Elijah Young | 16 carries, 74 yards |
| Western Kentucky | Receiving | Kisean Johnson | 5 receptions, 88 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Santino Marucci | 10/20, 129 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Mike Washington | 19 carries, 152 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Seth McGowan | 3 receptions, 47 yards |

### at No. 15 Texas A&M

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| New Mexico State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| No. 15 Texas A&M | 17 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
at Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
* Date: November 16
* Game time: 5:45 p.m. MST/6:45 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind: SE 10 miles per hour (16 km/h)
* Game attendance: 105,815
* Referee: Matt Loeffler
* TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal, Aaron Murray and Ashley ShahAhmadi
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | TAMU |
| First downs | 12 | 28 |
| Total yards | 214 | 565 |
| Rushing yards | 122 | 209 |
| Passing yards | 92 | 356 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 25:25 | 34:35 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Santino Marucci | 6/19, 80 yards |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Seth McGowan | 14 carries, 75 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Mike Washington | 2 receptions, 24 yards |
| Texas A&M | Passing | Marcel Reed | 20/31, 268 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Texas A&M | Rushing | Amari Daniels | 5 carries, 84 yards, TD |
| Texas A&M | Receiving | Theo Melin Öhrström | 5 receptions, 111 yards |

### at Middle Tennessee

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 10 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 36 |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
* Date: November 23
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. MST/1:30 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny, 57 °F (14 °C)
* Game attendance: 10,123
* Referee: Douglas Mercer
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Jake Rose, Jeremy Kellem and Justin Beasley
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | MTSU |
| First downs | 18 | 25 |
| Total yards | 382 | 447 |
| Rushing yards | 145 | 170 |
| Passing yards | 237 | 277 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 27:16 | 32:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Parker Awad | 12/16, 221 yards |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Seth McGowan | 12 rushes, 83 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Seth McGowan | 6 receptions, 96 yards, TD |
| Middle Tennessee | Passing | Nicholas Vattiato | 30/45, 277 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Middle Tennessee | Rushing | Jekail Middlebrook | 10 rushes, 80 yards |
| Middle Tennessee | Receiving | Holden Willis | 3 receptions, 67 yards, TD |

### UTEP

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Miners | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| Aggies | 17 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 35 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: November 30
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. MST
* Game weather: Sunny, 64 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 15,358
* Referee: Garrett Dickerson
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Adam Young (play-by-play) and Danny Knee (analyst)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | UTEP | NMSU |
| First downs | 14 | 33 |
| Total yards | 298 | 543 |
| Rushing yards | 121 | 203 |
| Passing yards | 177 | 340 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 20:28 | 39:32 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UTEP | Passing | Skyler Locklear | 12/26, 177 yards, TD |
| UTEP | Rushing | Jevon Jackson | 18 rushes, 79 yards, 2 TD |
| UTEP | Receiving | Kam Thomas | 4 receptions, 90 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Parker Awad | 22/51, 340 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Mike Washington | 26 rushes, 130 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | P. J. Johnson III | 3 receptions, 90 yards, TD |