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Aggies suffer through winless drought
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The forecast Saturday calls for rain in Boise, perhaps some snow, but even a monsoon may not help to end the New Mexico State Aggies’ winning drought this season.
The Aggies are losers of nine straight games and are winless this season (0-8, 0-4 WAC).
The Broncos are 6-2 this season and are 4-0 in the WAC. BSU has won all five times these teams have battled on the gridiron and are 4-0 on the blue in 2005.
The Aggies are at the bottom of the barrel in almost every category in the WAC. They are last in the WAC in passing efficiency, scoring offense, rushing defense, total defense, scoring defense and turnover margin. They are eighth in the WAC in passing defense, defensive passing efficiency and punt returns.
The three categories in which the Aggies are in the top three in the WAC are: No. 3 in passing offense, No. 2 in kickoff returns and No.1 in net punting. These things can win you a punt, pass and kick trophy, but have yet to produce a win in the WAC.
NMSU is ranked worse than 100th in the NCAA in nine different categories.
The passing game actually got a boost last week when Aggie starting quarterback Royal Gill went down with an injury, and junior backup Joey Vincent came in and threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns and 386 yards of total offense, the highest for an Aggie this season. He doubled Royal’s total offense average. Royal, a Boise native, was last in the league in quarterback efficiency (108.27).
Other than Vincent’s performance in the Idaho game, he hasn’t done much. He is 64-for-122 passing with seven interceptions and those three touchdowns for an efficiency rating of 99.15.
On offense, the one bright spot for the Aggies, is tailback Justine Buries. Buries leads the team and is third in the WAC with 85.7 yards per game. He has 600 yards on 132 carries and has scored four touchdowns, one more than the rest of the Aggies. The rest of the Aggies average 3.3 yards per game.
Vincent is second on the team with 76 yards on 35 carries.
Buries doesn’t get as many carries as he would on a team that wasn’t always playing catch-up. The Aggies have a year-long habit of falling behind early. They have been outscored 100-17 in the first quarter this season and 56-8 in the third quarter. They have outscored their opponents 58-47 in the fourth quarter this season, but most of that scoring has been against reserve defenses.
The Aggie defense does have one standout, linebacker Jimmy Cottrell. He has 110 tackles this season, and averages 13.79 tackles per game, No. 2 in the NCAA.
The Aggie defense has knocked down 42 passes this season and has intercepted four balls, but the team has almost zero pass rush, totaling seven sacks through eight games this season. On the flipside, Aggie quarterbacks have been sacked 32 times and intercepted 16 times.
What makes the losing streak even less bearable is this two-game stretch against Idaho teams.
The Aggies lost to the University of Idaho in overtime last week 38-37 at home when the Vandals overcame a second-half deficit and scored on a two-point conversion in the second overtime to win the game. Now, the Aggies have to come to Boise to play a team that has won six straight games and 29 in a row at home.
NMSU scored a season-high 37 points against Idaho and Buries earned his fourth 100-yard game in the WAC this season. Tim Tolbert gained 120 receiving yards against Idaho, had seven catches and scored a touchdown. Cottrell had 19 tackles against the Vandals.
These Aggies may hit a season low in Bronco Stadium Saturday as the team with the nation’s longest home winning streak hosts the team with the nation’s third longest losing streak.
Dustin Lapray / Asst. Sports Editor
