New Mexico State football plays at Liberty in first conference game since 2017
LAS CRUCES – The New Mexico State football team will play its first conference game since 2017 and the Aggies will face a familiar opponent.
The Aggies (1-1) travel to Liberty on Saturday (4 p.m., on ESPN +) in the Conference USA opener for both schools, who have played five times since 2018 as independent programs. They played twice during the 2018 and 2019 schedules as the schools aided each other in filling out independent schedules.
CUSA is the sixth different conference the Aggies have played football in and the first since their second stint with the Sun Belt Conference ended after four years in 2017.
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The Aggies have gone 14-35 since as an independent, winning the school's second bowl game since 1960 under second-year head coach Jerry Kill last season.
When he was hired prior to the 2022 season, Kill said NM State's entry to Conference USA was a major selling point for the program.
"It wasn't about me, it was about the kids," Kill said. "When you are an independent, it's hard to get a schedule No. 1; No. 2, you can't be an All-Conference player, you can't win a conference and it's darn hard to get in a bowl game. If you get in a conference, you have a lot of chances to do a lot of things. I think it's easier to recruit to a team that is going to be in a conference than an independent unless you're Notre Dame or someone like that."
Although they join Conference USA at the same time, there are stark differences between the programs. For instance, first-year Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell came from Coastal Carolina to replace Hugh Freeze. Chadwell makes a reported $4 million per season while Kill will make $600,000 for the 2023 season.
Liberty has gone 40-22 overall and 3-1 in bowl games as an independent since moving up to the FBS level in 2018.
"All of the years they have played, they have been good," Kill said. "Financially they are ahead of a lot of people and probably everybody in the league. Their facilities are unbelievable. It's a great place to go play. We will play in front of, I'm sure, a packed house. They are excited about their team and what they are doing."
But Kill also boasts a victory at Liberty as the Aggies won last year's meeting 49-14 as 24-point underdogs.
The Aggies opened at 13-point underdogs on Saturday.
"That was last year, that is long gone," Kill said. "I'm sure they remember it. They will be ready to play, but they will always be ready to play. It's our first conference game so it will be interesting to see how we handle it."
Western Illinois film review
Texas A&M transfer quarterback Eli Stowers rushed for a touchdown and passed for a touchdown against Western Illinois.
The Aggies scored two red zone touchdowns out of an inverted wishbone formation with Stowers and three running backs in the offensive backfield. The first clip is the second touchdown as Stowers pitches to Monte Watkins for a five-yard touchdown run.
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Stowers kept the ball to the right on the previous red zone possession. WIU crowds the line of scrimmage on this clip and the fake to Star Thomas on the dive gives the Aggies numbers to the field.
Stowers pitches just as he's hit, receiver Trent Hudson makes a block on the perimeter and Watkins makes a player miss on his way to the end zone. Stowers proved on two scoring plays he's both athletic enough to run the option and intelligent enough to make the right read.
The Aggies defense enters this week ranked No. 68 in pass defense. The secondary is relatively young and the most experienced player, strong safety Dylan Early, will be out in the first half against Liberty due to a targeting penalty against WIU.
The Aggies were starting to pull away in the third quarter, but WIU quarterback Matt Morrissey exposed some weaknesses when the Aggies brought pressure earlier in the game. On the second clip, WIU is in OO personnel with five receivers. NM State only rushes four.
The Aggies are in man against the receivers at the top of the screen and the receiver at the bottom of the screen. The Aggies are playing zone against the two inside receivers.
Inside receiver Donald McKinney has a free release and Aggies nickel Jeremiah Vessell comes off of him to help against the slot. Safety Jeremiah Dervil is late getting over and it's an easy score to keep WIU within two scores. Morrissey was 16 of 30 for 215 yards and two touchdowns. Aggies opponents are completing 55% of their passes through two games.
Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @jpgroves.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico State football plays at Liberty in Conference USA opener
