Mid-Season Takeaways for NMSU Coming Off a Tough Loss

The game on Saturday was frustrating for a bevy of reasons that I won’t talk about here. We all know the bad things that happened in the game and we know we should have won. Again, I will not talk about that here.

This post is all about dipping into the positivity pool and looking at all the good things the Aggies have done well this season and some takeaways from Saturday.

Protecting the Quarterback

I haven’t really talked about how well the offensive line has played this season and I apologize to them for that. They’ve really played well.

Halfway through the season, NMSU has attempted 291 passes and only given up 13 sacks. That’s a 4.46% sack rate. That’s amazing. I am going to go so far as to say the offensive line has been the team MVP up to this point in the season.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

I mean, you can’t average 352.2 yards passing per game and 111.2 yards rushing per game without a good offensive line, and NMSU has one.

Our Running Backs are GOOD

We all knew about Larry Rose III coming into this year but what about Jason Huntley? We saw some of him last year but he has shown that our backfield will be in good hands next year with his breakout game Saturday.

Huntley rushed for 81 yards and added 111 yards receiving with a touchdown, including a nice career long 61 yard catch and run in which he tip toed down the sideline on his way to the end zone.

He continuously provided a spark for the offense and has me excited for what he can do the rest of the year!

Defense

I know, I know, we gave up 45 points but that’s really not the defense’s fault. They basically lived on the field. If you still aren’t sold let me convince you.

Through the first quarter of yesterday’s game App St. only had 43 yards of offense with -9 in passing. Within the first five minutes, that total had been -13. The ONLY reason they had any points was due to the first interception.

Additionally, the defense was able to force three turnovers to help offset the six by the offense. Through six games the defense has forced 13 turnovers and looks ready to strike every week.

I’ll admit they have struggled at times this year, and still have room for improvement but they are much better than last year and have helped keep the Aggies in every game this year.

Our Players Fight

The most important mid-season takeaway for the Aggies would be that they never quit. No matter who they play or the score, this team is always fighting and trying to get back into the game or win.

This shows that these guy believe they can win and really like the coaching staff. I think Coach Martin is doing a great job and has obviously earned the respect of his players. That is evident on the field.

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The winning hasn’t quite happened yet but New Mexico State does have a 60% or better chance to win each of their remaining games except one.

I don’t know about you but I like those odds. #AggieUp