# 2017 New Mexico State Aggies football team

The 2017 New Mexico State Aggies football team represented New Mexico State University as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Doug Martin, the Aggies compiled an overall record of 7–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fifth in the Sun Belt; this was the program's first winning season since 2002. New Mexico State played home games at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
New Mexico State was invited to the Arizona Bowl, where the Aggies defeated Utah State in 26–20 overtime. This was the first bowl game appearance for the program since 1960. This would be the last season the Aggies finished with a winning record or appear in a bowl game until 2022.
This was the final season the Aggies competed as members of the Sun Belt. In March 2016, the presidents of the conference's member institutions voted to drop football-only members New Mexico State and Idaho following the 2017 season. The vote came after the NCAA announced a rule change that allows conferences to host football championship games with only 10 members. Starting with the 2018 season, the Aggies would compete as FBS independents until joining Conference USA in 2023.

## Schedule

New Mexico State announced its 2017 football schedule on March 1, 2017. The 2017 schedule consisted of five home and seven away games in the regular season. The Aggies hosted Sun Belt foes Arkansas State, Idaho, South Alabama, and Troy, and traveled to Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana–Lafayette, and Texas State.
The Aggies hosted one of the four non-conference opponents, UTEP from Conference USA, and traveled to Arizona State from the Pac-12 Conference, Arkansas from the Southeastern Conference and New Mexico from the Mountain West Conference.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 8:30 p.m. | at Arizona State* | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | P12N | L 31–37 | 46,596 |
| September 9 | 6:00 p.m. | at New Mexico* | Dreamstyle StadiumAlbuquerque, NM (Rio Grande Rivalry) | Stadium | W 30–28 | 32,427 |
| September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | Troy | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPN3 | L 24–27 | 15,446 |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | UTEP* | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM (Battle of I-10) | ESPN3 | W 41–14 | 17,546 |
| September 30 | 10:00 a.m. | at Arkansas* | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback StadiumFayetteville, AR | SECN | L 24–42 | 70,727 |
| October 7 | 1:30 p.m. | at Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer StadiumBoone, NC | ESPN3 | L 31–45 | 22,787 |
| October 14 | 4:00 p.m. | at Georgia Southern | Paulson StadiumStatesboro, GA | ESPN3 | W 35–27 | 16,278 |
| October 28 | 6:00 p.m. | Arkansas State | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ALT | L 21–37 | 10,041 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | at Texas State | Bobcat StadiumSan Marcos, TX | ESPN3 | W 45–35 | 12,012 |
| November 18 | 3:00 p.m. | at Louisiana | Cajun FieldLafayette, LA | ESPN3 | L 34–47 | 16,048 |
| November 25 | 2:00 p.m. | Idaho | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPN3 | W 17–10 | 21,894 |
| December 2 | 2:30 p.m. | South Alabama | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPN3 | W 22–17 | 26,268 |
| December 29 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. Utah State* | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ (Arizona Bowl) | CBSSN | W 26–20 $^{OT}$ | 39,132 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingAll times are in Mountain time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Arizona State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 13 | 0 | 18 | 31 |
| Sun Devils | 14 | 0 | 16 | 7 | 37 |
at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
* Date: August 31
* Game time: 8:30 p.m. MDT/7:30 p.m. MST
* Game weather: Mostly clear skies, 101 °F (38 °C)
* Game attendance: 46,596
* Referee: Michael Mothershed
* TV announcers (P12N): Roxy Bernstein, Anthony Herron, and Lewis Johnson
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | ASU |
| First downs | 27 | 19 |
| Total yards | 549 | 400 |
| Rushing yards | 151 | 79 |
| Passing yards | 398 | 321 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 30:20 | 29:40 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 40/57, 398 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Jason Huntley | 5 rushes, 84 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jaleel Scott | 8 receptions, 149 yards, 2 TD |
| Arizona State | Passing | Manny Wilkins | 22/27, 300 yards, 2 TD |
| Arizona State | Rushing | Kalen Ballage | 18 rushes, 79 yards, 2 TD |
| Arizona State | Receiving | John Humphrey | 7 receptions, 123 yards, TD |

### At New Mexico

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 13 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 30 |
| Lobos | 2 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 28 |
at Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 88 °F (31 °C)
* Game attendance: 32,427
* Referee: Jason McArthur
* TV announcers (Stadium): Chris Hassel, Daniel Jeremiah, and Shae Peppler
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | UNM |
| First downs | 23 | 21 |
| Total yards | 500 | 430 |
| Rushing yards | 99 | 176 |
| Passing yards | 401 | 254 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 30:22 | 29:38 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 34/57, 401 yards, 4 TD, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 21 rushes, 99 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Izaiah Lottie | 3 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico | Passing | Tevaka Tuioti | 10/19, 151 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico | Rushing | Jay Griffin IV | 1 rush, 61 yards, TD |
| New Mexico | Receiving | Jay Griffin IV | 5 receptions, 95 yards, TD |

### Troy

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trojans | 13 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
| Aggies | 3 | 0 | 13 | 8 | 24 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: September 16
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 89 °F (32 °C)
* Game attendance: 15,446
* Referee: Kevin Stine
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Adam Young and Danny Knee
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | TROY | NMSU |
| First downs | 26 | 18 |
| Total yards | 476 | 382 |
| Rushing yards | 190 | 51 |
| Passing yards | 286 | 331 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 34:09 | 25:51 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Troy | Passing | Brandon Silvers | 25/40, 286 yards, TD |
| Troy | Rushing | Jordan Chunn | 20 rushes, 87 yards, TD |
| Troy | Receiving | Deondre Douglas | 7 receptions, 101 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 32/45, 331 yards, 3 TD |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 12 rushes, 69 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Izaiah Lottie | 4 receptions, 93 yards, 2 TD |

### UTEP

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Miners | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Aggies | 7 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 41 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: September 23
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 86 °F (30 °C)
* Game attendance: 17,546
* Referee: Hubert Owens
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Greg Mescall and Jay Taylor
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | UTEP | NMSU |
| First downs | 15 | 21 |
| Total yards | 227 | 462 |
| Rushing yards | 135 | 179 |
| Passing yards | 92 | 283 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 30:25 | 29:35 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UTEP | Passing | Ryan Metz | 6/18, 54 yards, 3 INT |
| UTEP | Rushing | Quardraiz Wadley | 19 rushes, 77 yards |
| UTEP | Receiving | David Lucero | 2 receptions, 29 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 26/43, 283 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 17 rushes, 144 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jaleel Scott | 4 receptions, 74 yards |

### At Arkansas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Razorbacks | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas
* Date: September 30
* Game time: 10:00 a.m. MDT/11:00 a.m. CDT
* Game weather: Scattered clouds, 70 °F (21 °C)
* Game attendance: 70,727
* Referee: David Smith
* TV announcers (SECN): Taylor Zarzour, Andre Ware, and Olivia Harlan
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | ARK |
| First downs | 18 | 29 |
| Total yards | 355 | 494 |
| Rushing yards | 11 | 230 |
| Passing yards | 344 | 264 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 18:25 | 41:35 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 23/38, 344 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 8 rushes, 25 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jaleel Scott | 9 receptions, 174 yards, TD |
| Arkansas | Passing | Austin Allen | 19/26, 264 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Arkansas | Rushing | Devwah Walley | 19 rushes, 119 yards, TD |
| Arkansas | Receiving | Jordan Jones | 4 receptions, 84 yards |

### At Appalachian State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 31 |
| Mountaineers | 3 | 14 | 0 | 28 | 45 |
at Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, North Carolina
* Date: October 7
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. MDT/3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Overcast, 63 °F (17 °C)
* Game attendance: 22,787
* Referee: Marshall Lewis
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Matt Stewart and Stan Lewter
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | APP |
| First downs | 28 | 17 |
| Total yards | 532 | 425 |
| Rushing yards | 176 | 350 |
| Passing yards | 356 | 75 |
| Turnovers | 6 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 33:10 | 26:50 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 27/50, 356 yards, 2 TD, 6 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 21 rushes, 95 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jason Huntley | 3 receptions, 111 yards, TD |
| Appalachian State | Passing | Taylor Lamb | 10/21, 48 yards, 2 INT |
| Appalachian State | Rushing | Jalin Moore | 19 rushes, 241 yards, 2 TD |
| Appalachian State | Receiving | Thomas Hennigan | 6 receptions, 66 yards, TD |

### At Georgia Southern

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Eagles | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
at Paulson Stadium, Statesboro, Georgia
* Date: October 14
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. MDT/6:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny and humid, 80 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 16,278
* Referee: Tedd Pitts
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Matt Stewart and Tyoka Jackson
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | GASO |
| First downs | 25 | 13 |
| Total yards | 491 | 265 |
| Rushing yards | 92 | 192 |
| Passing yards | 399 | 73 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 28:24 | 31:36 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 31/51, 382 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Jason Huntley | 16 rushes, 85 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Anthony Muse | 5 receptions, 54 yards |
| Georgia Southern | Passing | Shai Werts | 6/9, 73 yards |
| Georgia Southern | Rushing | Wesley Fields | 13 rushes, 103 yards, TD |
| Georgia Southern | Receiving | Myles Campbell | 3 receptions, 41 yards |

### Arkansas State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Red Wolves | 7 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 37 |
| Aggies | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: October 28
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: Clear, 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 10,041
* Referee: Jeremy Parker
* TV announcers (ALT): Adam Young and Danny Knee
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | ARST | NMSU |
| First downs | 24 | 13 |
| Total yards | 417 | 256 |
| Rushing yards | 120 | 35 |
| Passing yards | 297 | 221 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 31:39 | 28:21 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Arkansas State | Passing | Justice Hansen | 25/40, 297 yards, 4 TD, INT |
| Arkansas State | Rushing | Justice Hansen | 17 rushes, 39 yards |
| Arkansas State | Receiving | Omar Bayless | 4 receptions, 73 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 20/40, 221 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 18 rushes, 55 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | O. J. Clark | 7 receptions, 113 yards |

### At Texas State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
| Bobcats | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
at Bobcat Stadium, San Marcos, Texas
* Date: November 4
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. MDT/2:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 79 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 12,012
* Referee: Kevin Stine
* TV announcers (ESPN3): David Saltzman and Stanford Routt
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | TXST |
| First downs | 26 | 30 |
| Total yards | 622 | 563 |
| Rushing yards | 119 | 163 |
| Passing yards | 503 | 400 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 30:46 | 29:14 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 29/46, 474 yards, 3 TD |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 19 rushes, 81 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jaleel Scott | 7 receptions, 130 yards, TD |
| Texas State | Passing | Damian Williams | 31/47, 321 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Texas State | Rushing | Tyler Watts | 1 rush, 76 yards, TD |
| Texas State | Receiving | Elijah King | 11 receptions, 129 yards, TD |

### At Louisiana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 34 |
| Ragin' Cajuns | 14 | 17 | 3 | 13 | 47 |
at Cajun Field, Lafayette, Louisiana
* Date: November 18
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. MST/4:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 80 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 16,048
* Referee: Ted Pitts
* TV announcers (ESPN3): David Saltzman and Hudson Mason
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | ULL |
| First downs | 26 | 29 |
| Total yards | 402 | 505 |
| Rushing yards | 89 | 279 |
| Passing yards | 313 | 226 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 22:58 | 37:02 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 17/24, 184 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Jason Huntley | 6 rushes, 58 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Larry Rose III | 7 receptions, 101 yards, TD |
| Louisiana | Passing | Jordan Davis | 20/34, 219 yards, 2 TD |
| Louisiana | Rushing | Trey Ragas | 23 rushes, 132 yards, 2 TD |
| Louisiana | Receiving | Ryheem Malone | 7 receptions, 113 yards, TD |

### Idaho

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Aggies | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: November 25
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. MST
* Game weather: Sunny and clear, 72 °F (22 °C)
* Game attendance: 21,894
* Referee: Jason Autrey
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Greg Mescall and Watson Brown
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | IDHO | NMSU |
| First downs | 16 | 23 |
| Total yards | 215 | 403 |
| Rushing yards | 41 | 172 |
| Passing yards | 174 | 231 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 31:55 | 28:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Idaho | Passing | Colton Richardson | 18/33, 167 yards, TD, INT |
| Idaho | Rushing | Aaron Duckworth | 13 rushes, 39 yards |
| Idaho | Receiving | Alfonso Onuwor | 6 receptions, 63 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Nick Jeanty | 31/49, 231 yards, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 22 rushes, 100 yards, 2 TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jaleel Scott | 8 receptions, 77 yards |

### South Alabama

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jaguars | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Aggies | 0 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: December 2
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. MST
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 69 °F (21 °C)
* Game attendance: 26,268
* Referee: Marshall Lewis
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Adam Young and Danny Knee
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | USA | NMSU |
| First downs | 21 | 26 |
| Total yards | 353 | 491 |
| Rushing yards | 22 | 40 |
| Passing yards | 331 | 451 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 26:55 | 33:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Alabama | Passing | Cole Garvin | 22/37, 268 yards, TD, INT |
| South Alabama | Rushing | Dallas Davis | 5 rushes, 15 yards, TD |
| South Alabama | Receiving | Jamarius Way | 7 receptions, 88 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 40/61, 451 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 12 rushes, 52 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Jaleel Scott | 9 receptions, 134 yards |
With the win, the Aggies became bowl eligible for the first time since 2002.

### Vs. Utah State (Arizona Bowl)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| NMSU Aggies | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 26 |
| USU Aggies | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
* Date: December 29
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. MST
* Game weather: Sunny, 80 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 39,132
* Referee: Rodney Burnette
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Dave Ryan, Corey Chavous, and Melanie Collins
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NMSU | USU |
| First downs | 16 | 22 |
| Total yards | 365 | 441 |
| Rushing yards | 174 | 187 |
| Passing yards | 191 | 254 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:58 | 31:02 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Tyler Rogers | 29/54, 191 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Larry Rose III | 16 rushes, 132 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Larry Rose III | 6 receptions, 48 yards |
| Utah State | Passing | Jordan Love | 25/44, 254 yards |
| Utah State | Rushing | LaJuan Hunt | 20 rushes, 133 yards, TD |
| Utah State | Receiving | Ron'quavion Tarver | 8 receptions, 97 yards |