New Mexico State completely dominated in season opener, lose 29-7 to Cowboys

The stadium was packed in 90 degree weather for the Aggies home opener against the Wyoming Cowboys. The game was being broadcast on ESPN2 for the first time in a decade and the atmosphere couldn’t be any more electric.

The players were jumping around and had definitely been ready for this one to start.

And then they weren’t.

WY had ball for 13 min in first quarter and had 158 yards, compared to two minutes and -5 yards for New Mexico State.

The Wyoming defense was dominating, keeping the Aggies from getting anything going all night-they didn’t get their first first down until under a minute to go in the half.

To make things worse, the special teams unit couldn’t get things figured out and ruined a lot of the momentum the team had with penalties and dumb mistakes, pushing a struggling offense deeper into their own territory.

The offense finished the first half with -22 total yards and one first down. It was the fewest yards Wyoming had allowed in a half in the last 15 seasons.

Still, the defense played well and they were only down 15-0, despite being on the field for more than 21 minutes.

The second half was more of the same.

I’m not going to say too much here because Wyoming just dominated. They held NM State to seven first downs, -9 yards rushing and 135 yards of total offense for the game (WY had 450) Nick Jeanty even replaced Romero for a few series in the 3rd but couldn’t muster any momentum either. We knew this offense may take a step back after losing the leading passer, rusher and receiver from last year but nobody could have predicted they’d look this bad.

The Aggies had half their total offensive yards in penalties (12 for 57 yards) and lost time of possession 40:41-19:19.

However, the defense is as good as everyone thought they would be but the offense looked desperate for a leader and a play-maker, not finding either.

They must find one fast as the next game is five days away in Minnesota, which may be a blessing in disguise since it leaves them no time to dwell on this missed opportunity.

As disappointing as this game was, fans shouldn’t either.