New Mexico State returns to action in road game at Massachusetts

LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State players want the San Jose State game back.

Whether the Aggies are able to make up the game against the Spartans or a different opponent remains to be seen.

"It's an unfortunate situation," Aggies safety Bryce Jackson said. "It's out of our control. A different opponent, the same opponent, it doesn't matter. We just want that game back."

Saturday's game against San Jose State was postponed due to the sudden death of Spartans player Camdan McWright on Friday.

While tragic, the postponement resulted in an unintentional second open week in the last three weeks.

"We have used that extra time to kind of rest our bodies," Aggies quarterback Gavin Frakes said. "We are feeling really good so hopefully we can bring a lot of energy into this next game. We usually put some pretty good work in on the bye week. I believe we had a bye week before the (New Mexico) game and that worked out pretty good for us. Having three open weeks in a row is kind of unheard of, but we are just going to try to use it to our advantage."

The Aggies do have a scheduled game to play on Saturday at Massachusetts (TV: Bally Sports Arizona Plus; The CW El Paso/Las Cruces; Comcast NM; FloFootball:  Radio: 99.5 FM KXPZ), followed by another open week.

"It's a situation where we haven't played for two weeks and they have had two weeks to prepare for us," said Aggies head coach Jerry Kill, whose team is 2-5 on the season. "Don Brown is a legendary coach. ... We are kind of double prepared so not playing, I kind of worry about losing our timing and our execution and things."

Kill said on Tuesday that the Aggies are open to playing a home game rather than an open week on Nov. 5, and he seemed open to the idea of playing a game on Dec. 3 if the school can find an opponent.

"We have an off week next weekend and we would be recruiting and if it's at the end of the season, we would have been recruiting then so whether it's next week or at the end, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter," Kill said. "It's going to be a home game and we could bring recruits in for official visits. We would have to work harder, but we could still get it done.

"Or if we play (Nov. 5), and I don't know exactly where that is at. I think they are still trying to get that situated. We would have to know by (Wednesday) so our quality control guys can start getting prepared so we can get to work on Sunday. I'm confident that we will play someone along the line."

NM State athletics director Mario Moccia said the administration is focusing on landing a Nov. 5 opponent, most likely against a FCS opponent.

"We will do what the football program thinks is important and right now, that is making up the lost game," Moccia said. "We are working on the bye week and after we have exhausted that, we will move to the end of the season."

Moccia said there are 11 FCS programs that are possible for a Nov. 5 game. Future Conference USA opponents Sam Houston State and Jacksonville State have been mentioned. On Tuesday, Moccia said Sam Houston State is no longer a possibility, and it's unclear if Jacksonville State would want a 12th game since they are still eligible for the FCS playoffs.

It's unlikely the Aggies will make up the game against San Jose State as the Spartans are on track for an appearance in the Dec. 3 Mountain West championship game. In the event the Spartans don't make the championship game, the teams could meet on Dec. 3, but Moccia said the administration wants a guaranteed game rather than a contingency plan.

"It was an unfortunate circumstance what happened with us and San Jose State, but it's bigger than football," NM State defensive lineman Lama Lavea said. "That gave us more time to prepare for UMass. I understand they have had a bye week as well, so they had two weeks to prepare for us.

"I think we worked very hard as a team and a coaching staff. It was unfortunate circumstances that happened to force us to prepare for a new team, but we were itching to play on Saturday."

Can Aggies stop road woes?

The Aggies have lost 21 straight road games entering Saturday's game at 1-6 UMass, a team the Aggies beat last year and enter Saturday as a 2.5 point road favorite.

The last time NM State won a road game was in 2018 at UTEP, but the last non-rivalry road win was in 2017 when the Aggies beat Georgia Southern and Texas State on the road.

"You have to steal games on the road and can't lose at home," Kill said. "I have had some great road teams and a lot of that is maturity and focus.

"Anytime you are on the road, you are seven points down. That's how I look at it. You have to be at your best when you go into someone else's house."

UMass has lost its last four games and its lone win was against FCS Stony Brook. Brown is in his second stint as the head coach at UMass. He was 43-19 at UMass from 2004-08.

"Both teams are the same," Kill said. "(Brown) has to build it up. It's two similar teams playing, but we have to go 4 1/2 hours to do it. It's their Homecoming game. I don't want to have a setback."

Both teams are similar in the fact that they each lean on defense and have struggling offenses. UMass is second to last in FBS in total offense with 243 yards per game and the Aggies are two spots ahead of them at 260 yards per game.

Offensively, UMass quarterback Gino Campiotti is their leading rusher with 380 yards. Running back Ellis Merriweather is their second leading rusher and he gained 168 yards with two touchdowns against the Aggies last year in a 44-27 NM State victory at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

"The have a lot of good skill players with a lot of formations and shifts and motions that are going to play with our eyes," Jackson said. "They want to run the ball with their quarterback. We definitely have to key the quarterback and be weary of his legs. They do a lot of spread and motions to get the quarterback open with different powers and counters."

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico State football returns to action in road game at Massachusetts