The New Mexico State Aggies finally took a step in the proper direction in Dewayne Walker's third year as coach. Though the Aggies ended up with merely a 4-9 mark, they were more competitive through and 2 of their losses came by six points or less. They were also able to take down a Big 10 competitor in Minnesota.
The Aggies have an opportunity to earn more wins this year as the Conference is weaker is without Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii. They lose some big players though so nothing is guaranteed.
Offense
New Mexico State rated sixth in the conference in offense with 24.5 points/game and they came fifth in the League with 398.1 yards/game of total offense. Almost all of their offense came thru the air as they averaged 273.1 yards/game, good for third in the WAC.
Sophomore quarterback Andrew Manly was the starter last season till suffering a torn ACL in week 3. He will be depended on to keep New Mexico State among the top-notch passing schools in the league. For that to happen, he'll need players to appear and the young offensive line to hold it's own.
WR Taveon Rogers and RB Kenny Turner have since graduated and the Aggies will need to find someone to replace their stats. Rogers brought in 59 passes for 1,048 yards and nine TDs last season, while Turner dashed for 1,074 yards and 10 scores. Wide receivers Kemonte ' Bateman and Austin Franklin are both counted on to replace Roger's production. Robert Clay is set to come in and take over at running back.
The offensive line is dealing with the loss of 3 starters and may be made to put three underclassmen in the starting line-up. Fortunately , junior left tackle Davonte Wallace is back to anchor the unit.
Defense
The New Mexico State defense continued to struggle last year as they finished dead last in the conference in total yards permitted and scoring defense with 462.2 yards and 36.8 points given up per game. They weren't able to stop the rush as they ranked last in the league with 218.8 running yards permitted per game.
Their defense will once again be the weakness of the team, but as nasty as they were a year back, they should be able to post better stats in 2012. The return of senior defensive end Donte Savage should ideally supply a boost and the addition of a few junior college transfers should help too. One being Kalvin Cruz, who should start.
Junior Bryan Bonilla, the team's top returning tackler, leads a linebacker unit that should also get a boost from the addition of a junior college transfer in Trashaun Nixon.
While the Aggies should be stronger up front this year, they'll be worse in the back where four starters must be replaced.
Conference Prediction: 4th Place
New Mexico State could very well win 5 times this year, as they have winnable games against Sacramento State, New Mexico, Texas-San Antonio and Idaho to start the year. They would then face some troublesome opponents in Utah State, Louisiana Tech, Auburn, San Jose State and BYU. Those five games are complicated matchups and could finish up in losses. Their season curtain call against Texas State though is another winnable game which could put their record to five victories in 2012.
If the they can somehow take down San Jose State, who they lost to 34-24 last season, or UTEP, who they lost to 16-10 last season, then they could play for a bowl game for the 1st time since 1960.
The Aggies have an opportunity to earn more wins this year as the Conference is weaker is without Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii. They lose some big players though so nothing is guaranteed.
Offense
New Mexico State rated sixth in the conference in offense with 24.5 points/game and they came fifth in the League with 398.1 yards/game of total offense. Almost all of their offense came thru the air as they averaged 273.1 yards/game, good for third in the WAC.
Sophomore quarterback Andrew Manly was the starter last season till suffering a torn ACL in week 3. He will be depended on to keep New Mexico State among the top-notch passing schools in the league. For that to happen, he'll need players to appear and the young offensive line to hold it's own.
WR Taveon Rogers and RB Kenny Turner have since graduated and the Aggies will need to find someone to replace their stats. Rogers brought in 59 passes for 1,048 yards and nine TDs last season, while Turner dashed for 1,074 yards and 10 scores. Wide receivers Kemonte ' Bateman and Austin Franklin are both counted on to replace Roger's production. Robert Clay is set to come in and take over at running back.
The offensive line is dealing with the loss of 3 starters and may be made to put three underclassmen in the starting line-up. Fortunately , junior left tackle Davonte Wallace is back to anchor the unit.
Defense
The New Mexico State defense continued to struggle last year as they finished dead last in the conference in total yards permitted and scoring defense with 462.2 yards and 36.8 points given up per game. They weren't able to stop the rush as they ranked last in the league with 218.8 running yards permitted per game.
Their defense will once again be the weakness of the team, but as nasty as they were a year back, they should be able to post better stats in 2012. The return of senior defensive end Donte Savage should ideally supply a boost and the addition of a few junior college transfers should help too. One being Kalvin Cruz, who should start.
Junior Bryan Bonilla, the team's top returning tackler, leads a linebacker unit that should also get a boost from the addition of a junior college transfer in Trashaun Nixon.
While the Aggies should be stronger up front this year, they'll be worse in the back where four starters must be replaced.
Conference Prediction: 4th Place
New Mexico State could very well win 5 times this year, as they have winnable games against Sacramento State, New Mexico, Texas-San Antonio and Idaho to start the year. They would then face some troublesome opponents in Utah State, Louisiana Tech, Auburn, San Jose State and BYU. Those five games are complicated matchups and could finish up in losses. Their season curtain call against Texas State though is another winnable game which could put their record to five victories in 2012.
If the they can somehow take down San Jose State, who they lost to 34-24 last season, or UTEP, who they lost to 16-10 last season, then they could play for a bowl game for the 1st time since 1960.