NMSU in Motown, prepping for Monday's Quick Lane Bowl

Dec. 24—Opened two decades ago as a new home to an old NFL franchise, spacious Ford Field in downtown Detroit is about the same age as most of the players who were running around on its artificial turf field Friday morning.

In town to face Bowling Green in Monday's Quick Lane Bowl, New Mexico State's football team had its first look at the stadium Friday. The Aggies (6-6) worked out in helmets and shorts in the same building that has already hosted a Super Bowl, a Final Four, Wrestlemania and even the Rolling Stones.

It has also housed the Detroit Lions, an NFL franchise that shares a kinship, of sorts, with NMSU. The Lions have just one playoff win since 1957 while the Aggies have just one bowl victory since 1961. It almost seems fitting, then, that both teams have pried themselves off the deck and put themselves in a position to ease some of that pain from an uncomfortable past.

NMSU lost its first four games and was 1-5 before rattling off five wins in the back half of the season to reach bowl eligibility in its final year as an FBS independent. All the Lions have done is bounce back from a 1-6 mark to reach .500 and enter the playoff race.

It all seemed to come together when the Aggies gathered in one of Ford Field's end zones before Friday's practice to sing the school's fight song.

NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia said the team has been dealing with Michigan's nasty winter weather. When the team arrived Thursday, it was 42 degrees. By Friday, the city was digging out from a snowstorm with temperatures well below freezing.

The Aggies were also given a security briefing upon arrival.

"Coach [Jerry] Kill was pretty direct with them that you're here to have a good time, however this is a business trip," Moccia said on the Aggies radio network. "It's good to have those messages to remind them to have fun yet be responsible. Coach Kill was rather direct in those discussions so there's no room for interpretation."

Moccia said ticket sales are "going well" and said New Mexico State has sold approximately 1,300 tickets. The school is asking fans to buy tickets through the Aggies' website — even if they don't have plans to attend. Each ticket, used or not, sells for $89.

Kill will sign unused ticket and send it back. Fans purchasing multiple tickets in packages up to 50 or more seats are eligible for other perks like a signed football, Aggies helmet, team sweatsuit and commemorative bowl shirt.

NOTES

The Aggies had a chance to tour the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit while the players got a swag bag that included shoes and a travel suit. ... Kill showed up to the team's arrival wearing cowboy boots and a poncho that had NMSU's logo on it. ... Four of the seven Quick Lane Bowls have been decided by 19 or more points. The Western-most team to win the annual game was Minnesota in 2018. ... All but one Quick Lane Bowl has been played on Dec. 26. The only one that didn't was last year's game, which was moved from a Sunday to a Monday to accommodate the NFL.

LOBOS

Bryant Vincent appears to be the choice to take over as offensive coordinator at UNM. He served this past season as the interim head coach at Alabama-Birmingham, leading the Blazers to a 7-6 record and a win over Miami (Ohio) in the Bahamas Bowl.

UAB's offense set school records for total yards, yards per game, total rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. The offense averaged 438.2 yards a game; UNM's 228.1.

Vincent will have total control over a UNM offense that finished dead last in the country during a 2-10 season. The Lobos averaged more than two fewer yards per play than Vincent's Blazers did.

New Mexico head coach Danny Gonzales fired OC Derek Warehime during the 2022 season. For the past two months, Gonzales said he would replace him with someone who'd had head coaching experience and was capable of revamping the team's entire system. Vincent was apparently on campus earlier this week finalizing the paperwork on his contract.

UNM had not made an announcement about Vincent by Friday night, but Vincent's Wikipedia page had already been edited to reflect his new position with the Lobos.