A Hipster Preview of BYU and New Mexico State

What’s up everybody? This week’s NM State preview is all about celebrating Independence; free from the bounds of conference affiliation and being tied down to “the man.”

Because why would you want to be in a conference that schedules FCS teams in Week 11 when you can make your own schedule all year, beef it up with teams you’re actually competitive against and provide your fan base with a game worth watching? You don’t.

That’s why independence is kick-ass. Because it allows you to go your own way, find out exactly who you are and find your style.

So, for this article, throw some mousse in your hair, grow out your perfectly manicured beards, throw on some skinny jeans and a beanie (made by independent labels, NO BRAND NAMES), and grab your hedgehog or miniature pot-bellied pig and a cup of fair trade organic coffee cause it’s about to get all kinds of ironic up in here.

You may also need a pair of fake glasses to read the rest but that’s just a suggestion. You do you.

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State of New Mexico Preview

The Aggies come into this Indy football production off a bye week after defeating the Alcorn State Braves on senior day two weeks ago.

Junior Jason Huntley had a big day against the Braves with four total touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving, one kick return). He’ll look to continue his hot streak of five straight games with at least one touchdown after having only one the first five weeks. Huntley has been the do it all back for the Aggies this season, providing big plays to boost an improving offense.

Photo by Todd Bennett/Getty Images

Part of his success is due to the emergence of quarterback Josh Adkins, a hipster in his own right. The redshirt freshman is putting together a good year, throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and 11 TDs in 7 ¹⁄₂ games. The open week was spent giving him more play calling responsibility, similar to what Tyler Rogers had last year so it will be interesting to see how the offense looks.

WR Johnathan Boone is Adkins’ favorite target, leading the team with 584 yards followed by Huntley so expect those two to see the ball quite a bit.

Defensively the Aggies have struggled lately but hope to rebound after getting an extra week to prepare and get people healthy. BYU doesn’t have a super potent offense so that bodes well.

Also, CONGRATS to Terril Hanks on getting invited to the Reese’s Senior Bowl! He’ll be the sixth Aggie ever to go and second in the last two years (Jaleel Scott last year).

Game Details (out of logical order because I don’t follow the crowd)

Location: The most anti-society, Independent place in the U.S. Hipster haven* LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah!

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Prediction: BYU does their own thing and has for years. Hipsters love this school for their unique rules for students and athletes. They also have a lot of tech startups, live music every Friday during the downtown “Gallery Stroll” and have very few bars.

For this reason, I’m going all in on the Cougs 31-14. Not that I care who wins though.

Series History: BYU leads the series 2-0, winning 50-14 in 2012.

TV: ESPN 2. Because of course everyone’s gotta jack our Hipster style.

Date: Saturday, November 17

Time: 8:15 MT

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Y-U-B Cougars Preview

BYU is the epitome of hipster football, if there is such a thing. Spurn conference affiliation and continue to succeed with resources similar to P5 teams. Oh, and they also have success despite a lot of their players leaving for a few years on mission trips.

Although they don’t have a great record this year (5-5) they have had some good performances, including a 28-23 win over Arizona and a 24-21 win in Madison against Wisconsin.

The Cougars have made defense their staple in victories. They rank 24th in total defense and have held good offenses in check (Arizona scored 23, Washington 35, Hawaii 23). Unfortunately they struggle on offense coming in at 115th in total offense.

Freshman QB Zack Wilson leads the Cougars offense with 885 passing yards and six scores. He is averaging a little above 60% accuracy on the season and is not the first option for moving the ball. That belongs to the cache of runners in the backfield.

RB Squally Canada started the year for BYU and still leads the team with 412 rush yards but has gotten less touches throughout the season. That has led to a lot of RBs getting touches—nine different players had at least one rush last week against UMass.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

On defense, look out for Sione Takitaki. He’s a junior linebacker with four games of 11 or more tackles. He had 14 tackles last week and can taki-taki anyone into the ground.

I would add more players but honestly, the stats aren’t really all that impressive. Plus I’m a hipster and do my own thing.

Enjoy the game everyone!

*I have no idea if Provo is actually a hipster haven. I just know they’re Mormon. I’m also not making fun of BYU or Provo, I’m just trying to be funny and enjoy this Indy matchup