NMSU picks up first-ever Conference USA win; Pavia makes statement on the field, not off

Oct. 5—You never forget your first.

New Mexico State rode a 17-point fourth quarter to move back to .500 with their first-ever Conference USA victory, a 34-17 win over Florida International at Aggie Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night

Head coach Jerry Kill said he was pleased with his team's progress and overall effort while noting they still have a long way to go.

"We played the way I said I want to see a Jerry Kill football team play," Kill said. "The only thing that we didn't do that I didn't like is we didn't play very smart. We didn't play very smart in the first half. And we could play a lot smarter football."

Quarterback Diego Pavia (20-for-31 passing, 256 yards) accounted for three total touchdowns, including a 43-yard rushing score that broke a 17-17 tie early in the fourth quarter.

In his first game since KOB-TV released a video of him urinating in the University of New Mexico's indoor practice facility, Pavia was not made available to the media following Wednesday's game. Kill did not disclose whether Pavia has been disciplined, or how, only stating the matter will be handled internally. Kill did credit Pavia for approaching the situation maturely.

"There's nobody in this room or anybody else that would want to have to do what he has to do," Kill added.

Pavia's teammates voiced further support for their quarterback in the wake of the video's release.

"He owned up to it," cornerback Andre Seldon said during the postgame press conference. "Accountability, that's a big thing — one of our pillars that we have up every day on the board in practice. He showed accountability. We never stopped believing in him.

"That's our quarterback, we're behind him right or wrong. I'm just glad to see him playing good."

NMSU (3-3, 1-1) pulled every string possible to get pressure on FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins (25-for-32 passing, 252 yards) and it showed, with NMSU posting a season-high seven sacks as the freshman scrambled to just 1.9 yards per carry.

"Pressure makes diamonds and the more pressure you can get on people, it makes them nervous," Kill said. "And he's just a freshman but he's a great talent. He's a very, very good player."

Heightened pressure only compounded the Panthers woes in the fourth quarter as Jenkins tossed two interceptions, the Aggies' first two of the season.

"When you win the turnover battle, you win the game — most of the time," Kill said. "You look at our losses, it's (been) turnovers. Other than that, we've been in pretty good shape."

After FIU opened with a three-and-out, Pavia marched the Aggies 76 yards down the field with an 11-play scoring drive, capped by wide receiver Chris Bellamy's 11-yard touchdown reception to give NMSU a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Panthers didn't wait long to answer, with Jenkins finding wide receiver Kris Mitchell for a 40-yard reception to set them up in the red zone. Three plays later, Jenkins put his left foot in the ground on 3rd and 1 and roared ahead for a six-yard rushing touchdown to tie it at 7 apiece.

And it looked like FIU might take a lead of their own, too. Facing fourth and 1 in NMSU territory, the Panthers opted for a "tush push" — a quarterback sneak designed to overpower the defense, popularized by quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles — before NMSU met them with a push of their own.

Jenkins appeared unprepared to take the snap, just enough time for the Aggies to pile up on the backend and hold FIU at the line of scrimmage. A review confirmed the call and returned the ball to NMSU within their own 10, starting a drive they later punted on.

On the Aggies' fourth drive, Pavia missed wide receiver Trent Hudson on a deep ball on second and 5. Two plays later, wide receiver Jordin Parker won out in the secondary and Pavia made them pay for it, hitting Parker for a 49-yard touchdown to push NMSU ahead 14-7.

After Pavia was intercepted by cornerback C.J. Christian on an ensuing drive, running back Kejon Owens broke one for 36 yards to set up Shomari Laurence's six-yard touchdown run to even it at 14-14 heading into halftime.

FIU and NMSU traded field goals in the third quarter before Pavia (11 carries for 46 yards) pulled the ball for a 43-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, handing the Aggies a 24-17 lead.

NMSU continued to corral Jenkins in the final quarter and when the Aggies got the ball back, running back Monte Watkins' 32-yard sprint looked like a surefire score — until he tripped over himself within the five. Running back Star Thomas picked up where he left off on the next play, roaring in from three yards out to put NMSU up 31-17 with 10:35 left in the fourth.

Down by two scores, FIU answered with three straight completions, the third going for 39 yards on a seamless catch and run from Jenkins wide receiver Eric Rivers into the red zone. Jenkins fired a pass into the end zone before Keyshaun Elliott batted it up into the air and into Seldon's arms for his first interception of the year.

"I've been wanting one, I've been expressing more earlier in the week," Seldon said. "I'm just glad we got it and I'm glad I got it in that situation because we were backed up."

On FIU's next drive, Jenkins threw his second interception to Torren Union with a little over six minutes remaining with the Aggies looking to drain the clock and keep Jenkins in check. Ethan Albertson's 28-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining sealed a 34-17 final and NMSU's first CUSA victory in front of a midweek crowd of 11,540.

"Our crowd did a heckuva job of coming out and supporting us," Kill said after. "Trying to get used to a Wednesday game or a Tuesday game, I've been a part of this in the MAC before. And it's hard.

"But what better thing to do, there's not that much to do in Las Cruces. You can come to the game, drink some beer and have some fun. A lot of them did have that, so we appreciate their support."