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Nation’s top passer gears up for BSU
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If you enjoy an “air it out” offense, then you might want to tune in to this Sunday’s game between Boise State and New Mexico State. The 2-3 (0-1 in Western Atheltic Conference) Aggies from Las Cruces, N.M., put up some offensive yards. Actually they put up multiple yards, to be more accurate.
Sophomore quarterback Chase Holbrook (6-5, 235) has already thrown for more than 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. He leads the nation in passing yards. He is third in pass attempts and tied for fourth in touchdowns.
Having a quarterback pile up stats isn’t anything new to Head Coach Hal Mumme. Skilled NCAA quarterbacks Tim Couch and Jared Lorezen both played for Mumme at the University of Kentucky.
Of course Couch went on to become the No. 1 overall draft pick in the NFL draft and Lorenzen holds a handful of NCAA and Southeastern Conference passing records. Mumme and the New Mexico State offense currently lead the nation in passing yards per game and is one of only three teams to average more than 500 yards per game of total offense.
Two weeks ago, against the University of Texas El-Paso, Holbrook threw the ball 73 times for 506 yards and four touchdowns. The least amount of passes Holbrook has thrown in a single game this season is 40, in the season opener against Southeastern Louisiana. Holbrook does a great job with the Aggie offense, spreading the wealth around to a plethora of talented receivers.
Five different Aggie receivers have more than 20 catches already this year.
Sophomores Chris Williams (5-8, 155) and A.J. Harris (6-1, 210) lead the Aggie offense with 33 and 31 catches respectively. Williams has 535 receiving yards with four touchdowns. He is also the only Aggie receiver who is averaging more than 100 yards per game through the air. Junior Derek Dubois (5-9, 170) also has four touchdowns this season. He is tied for the highest on mark on the team.
Sophomore running back Jeremiah Williams (6-0, 205) and big wideout Nick Cleaver (6-3, 235) both have 20 receptions and at least two touchdowns as well. Cleaver, a junior, also leads the team in yards per catch at 17. Running back Jeremiah Williams leads the Aggies in rushing with 253 yards and three touchdowns. He is averaging more than five yards per carry.
With No. 19 Boise State coming into Las Cruces Sunday for an ESPN showdown, the Aggie offense will get its chance to shine on national television. BSU Head Coach Chris Peterson knows the Broncos must take it one game at a time and continues to stress the fact that he will not pay much mind to the early bowl game talk.
“All I know is we got New Mexico State, who’s going to throw it 70-something times at their place on Sunday night. It’s a chance for us to be on television again and show the nation what we’ve got.”
The Aggie defense has been suspect and is probably the only reason New Mexico State has a losing record.
The Aggie defense gave up 537 yards of total offense to UTEP in a close loss two weeks ago, and 449 total yards to Idaho in another close loss last week.
Senior linebacker Tim McManigal (6-0, 231) leads the defense in tackles with 31 and is tied with the team leader in sacks at two.
The Aggies have six sacks for the season and also come into the contest having intercepted opposing quarterbacks six times. Overall, the Aggie defense should prove to be a tougher opponent for Boise State than the La Tech defense.
New Mexico State may end up calling on sophomore place kicker Matt Pratt at some point this season, but right now he’s struggling. He’s missed three extra points already, only has two touchbacks and is only 2-for-5 on field goals with a long of 41 yards.
Junior punter Jared Kaufman, on the other hand, has been very effective so far.
Kaufman is averaging 45.2 yards per punt and has nailed five of his 16 punts inside his opponents’ 20-yard line.
Boise State at New Mexico: Quick Facts
Date: Sunday, Oct. 15
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico
Broadcast: ESPN
New Mexico State (2-3, 0-1)
Boise State (6-0, 2-0)
Quarterback Comparison
NMSU- Chase Holbrook leads the nation in passing yards (2048) and has thrown 16 touchdown passes.
BSU- Jared Zabransky has 1,069 passing yards for nine passing touchdowns, 160 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Receiving Comparison
NMSU- Five receivers have more than 20 catches this season. Six NMSU receivers have more catches that BSU’s leading receiver.
BSU- Drisan James leads the team with 17 receptions and one touchdown for the Broncos.
Defensive Comparison
NMSU- The Aggies have forced six interceptions, three fumbles and have given up 27.0 points per game this year.
BSU-The Bronco defense has intercepted opponents 11 times this season, recovered five fumbles and held opponents to 12.5 points per game.
KYE JOHNSON
Assistant Sports Editor