11-22-25
It’s the 102-nd I-10 Rivalry Football Game with NMSU playing UTEP for possession of the Old Outhouse Corncob. Wait. What? Oh, they’re playing for the Silver Spade and the Brass Spittoon. Well, I wasn’t far off. Anyway, this is potentially the final meeting between these two teams for the foreseeable future, as they won’t be in the same conference next season.
The UTEP coach said that this was going to be like a bowl game for the Miners (who aren’t going to a bowl game this season). Aggie Coach Tony Sanchez, who has played in this game as a player said, “Calling it a bowl game diminishes it.” The Aggies started off the game from behind before it began. Quarterback Logan Fife and kicker Ryan Hawk were both out for the game. Not to mention, the head ref muffed the coin toss, which seemed like a bad omen for the officiating. (He did have a good sense of humor about it.)
The Aggies literally got behind in the game in the first quarter, 21-0. Yikes! An interception and a fumble by backup QB, Adam Damante, and some big runs by the Miners got them those three touchdowns. However, the Aggies ran a fake punt at midfield. This led to an Aggie touchdown to Donovan Faupel to start the second quarter. The Miners got an interception on the next Aggie drive, but it was waved off on a Ruffing the Passer call. The Aggies would take that and Faupel scored again. Before halftime, Dijion Stanley ripped off a 57-yard run and the Aggies would tie it at 21.
27-year old freshman Australian kicker, David Barker, would put the Aggies up on a long field goal. The Miners answered that with a field goal before the end of the quarter and we were tied at 24. This set the stage for an absolutely operatic fourth quarter.
Barker put the Aggies up with another field goal, 27-24, early in the quarter. In the final minutes, Skyler Locklear led his team back down the field. He converted on a 4-th and 1 and ran for it on a 4-th and 11. UTEP scored the go-ahead touchdown, 31-27, with just under a minute left. No problem. Stanley ripped off another big run to get the Aggies to the UTEP 10. There, Damante picked out TK King in the endzone for the winning touchdown. 34-31 Aggies win!
Most of the 16k in attendance at the Sun Bowl went home disappointed, but hardly cheated. Broadcaster Adam Young almost lost his voice in excitement after calling that final touchdown. There wasn’t a call-in show for the Aggies after the game, which was too bad. They probably would have gotten some happy calls.
I tried to listen to the UTEP show, but they’d powered down for the night and I could barely hear it. Surprisingly, former NMSU AD, Mario Moccia, called in. His connection was bad, but the first thing I heard was, “Long time listener, first time caller.” Mario was saying that the schools really needed to make sure to get the rivalry going again as soon as possible. He advocated for playing the game early in the season for better attendance (before the inevitable disillusionment later in the season). I’m sure the hosts would have liked to have had a long talk with him. My dad told me earlier that he’s suing New Mexico State over his firing. From what I read, I won’t be surprised if he wins.
11-25-25
After last week’s game, Anita Skipper teased fellow broadcaster, Russ Langer, about having to go to Cancun for this week for the Men’s Basketball tournament. Augustine Ekwe was not able to enjoy the resort with the team because of passport issues. (I seem to recall from a different player that “travel issues” was a euphemism for “parole issues.”) The Aggies’ first opponent was UC Irvine.
In the first half, the Aggies took a 9-point lead. Lots of fouls were being called, but both teams were missing their free throws. The Aggies had a 3-minute scoring drought and UCI took a brief lead. Aggies got it back, 26-20, before the half.
Juice Mims had his fourth foul 4 minutes into the second half and had to take a seat for a while. Chris Terrell was fouled on a 3 and converted on 3 free throws for a 35-29 Aggie lead. The Anteaters would tie it and Mims came back in with 8 minutes to go. Gabe Pickens hit a big 3 to give the Aggies a 42-35 lead with 6 minutes left. They expanded it to a 10-point lead with 2 minutes left. The Aggies finished it off with a 57-45 win.
Not bad for coming into the game a 3-point underdog. The Aggies had some incredible team defense, and the team was now 5-0 for the first time since 1990. Jemel Jones had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Jae’Coby Osborne had 10 points and 5 rebounds. They’d be playing again tomorrow morning.
11-26-25
I got to listen to this game with the Aggies playing Georgia State at home before going to work. Both teams were missing their big men due to passport issues. The Aggies went down 11-2 on some poor shooting and GS hitting 3 3’s. The Aggies came back and tied it at 16 by halfway through first half. Chris Terrell gave the Aggies the lead with a 3. He hit another to make it, 21-16 Aggies.
It was a back-and-forth game, but the Aggies stayed in the lead. Jaelynn Randall hit a 3 to make it, 35-26, but then he got a technical foul. Coach Hooten was unhappy. Russ said, “I’m not a lipreader, but I don’t think he said “Happy Birthday.” It was 37-28 Aggies at the half.
The second half started with an alley oop to Juice Mims and the Aggies poured it on from there. Their lead was 21-points at its largest. It was a 77-58 Aggie win. Russ summed it up best, “Adios, amigos.” The Aggies are now 6-0 for the first time since 1970 when the Aggies went to the Final Four.
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