New Mexico State is just over two months from the start of its 2025 season under second-year coach Tony Sanchez.
The 2024 season didn’t go the Aggies’ way, as they followed up a 2023 Conference USA Championship Game appearance with a 3-9 season. NM State is looking for a bounce back and hopes key additions like quarterback Logan Fife, offensive coordinator David Yost, running backs Dijon Stanley and Kadarius Calloway and defensive end Jamall Thompson give it a boost.
The Aggies open up the season against Bryant and avoid reigning CUSA champion Jacksonville State on their schedule. NM State does play CUSA runners-up Western Kentucky, the seemingly annually good Liberty, and Kennesaw State and Missouri State for the first time in school history.
Here’s a look at key games for the Aggies in the upcoming season:
vs Tulsa (Sept. 6)
This will be the first time the Aggies have hosted a non-conference Group of Five team not named New Mexico or UTEP since 2022, and the first time they’ve played the Golden Hurricane since 2001.
There’s much intrigue around Tulsa in 2025 under first-year coach Tre Lamb, and it looks to rebound from a 3-9 2024 season. Georgia coach Kirby Smart has called the 35-year-old Lamb, who coached Gardner-Webb to multiple FCS playoff appearances before spending last year at East Tennessee State, “one of the bright young coaches” in college football.
Quarterback Kurt Francis is the likely starter after throwing for 1,585 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions last season, and defensive transfers like Ray Coney (East Tennessee State) and Byron Turner (Florida State) could be key players. Tulsa holds a 15-4 record against NM State, but the Aggies won the last two matchups from 2000-01.
at New Mexico (Sept. 27)
This will always be the game NM State fans look forward to.
The Aggies travel to Albuquerque for the 115th Rio Grande Rivalry this season. NM State nearly made it three consecutive wins against the rival Lobos, but a poor defensive showing at 579 yards allowed led to a 50-40 defeat. Last year’s UNM team went 5-7 before former coach Bronco Mendenhall left for Utah State after one season.
Jason Eck, who went 26-13 with three FCS playoff appearances and two top 10 finishes in the FCS Coaches’ poll at Idaho from 2022-24, is the new coach. His quarterback with the Vandals, Jack Layne, is the Lobos’ potential replacement for now-Utah signal caller Devon Dampier after throwing for 1,477 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions last season.
Defensive line transfer Keyshawn James-Newby also followed Eck from Idaho to UNM after recording 10 sacks last season. Montana State transfer running back Scottre Humphrey should be one of UNM’s best players after rushing for 1,386 yards last season.
at Liberty (Oct. 14)
Sanchez called the Flames a team that’s had “great history” with his team over the years, and the two schools have clashed in exciting games recently.
Liberty defeated NM State in the 2023 CUSA Championship Game and nearly took a loss in Las Cruces last season before the Aggies squandered a 24-15 lead in the final 5:12 of the game. Last season’s preseason CUSA favorites underwhelmed at 8-4 with a 26-7 Bahamas Bowl loss to Buffalo, but third-year coach Jamey Chadwell’s team should be among the conference’s best again.
Transfers Ethan Vasko (Coastal Carolina) and Michael Merdinger (North Carolina) will battle to start at quarterback, and returning wide receiver Tyson Mobley has the potential to be one of CUSA’s best weapons. All-CUSA players such as linebacker Joseph Carter, linebacker/defensive end hybrid CJ Bazile Jr. and safety Brylan Green also return to lead the defense.
at Western Kentucky (Nov. 1)
The Hilltoppers will likely also be among the favorites to win CUSA, and came close last season.
WKU finished second in the conference and lost last year’s conference championship game to Jacksonville State before losing to James Madison in the Boca Raton Bowl for an 8-6 finish. Seventh-year coach Tyson Helton has new offensive and defensive coordinators this season (Rick Bowie and Da’Von Brown, respectively) and also plenty of new, intriguing players.
Abilene Christian transfer Maverick McIvor will likely start after tallying 8,012 passing yards and 63 touchdowns for the Wildcats from 2022-24, earning a second-team FCS All-American honor from FCS Football Central in 2024. Western Illinois transfer wide receiver Matthew Henry recorded 1,211 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 64 catches last season and BYU transfer Kody Epps has All-CUSA potential despite only catching eight passes last season.
Returning linebacker Anthony Brackenridge will lead the defense, and returning defensive backs Demarko Williams and Kent Robinson combined for three interceptions last season. NM State earned 331 rushing yards against the Hilltoppers last season, but committed five turnovers in a 41-28 defeat.
at UTEP (Nov. 22)
It’s unlikely the NM State-UTEP rivalry will come to an end after 2025, as both schools have expressed interest in continuing the series. Regardless, it will be their last matchup as conference foes with the Miners joining the Mountain West in 2026.
The series shifts to El Paso, TX, where the Aggies defeated UTEP 28-7 in 2023 on national television. NM State nearly made it consecutive victories against its Borderland rivals last season, but blew a 24-7 lead thanks to 35 unanswered points en route to a 42-35 defeat, meaning both teams finished 3-9.
The Miners return both of their leading receivers, Kenny Odom and Kam Thomas, who combined for 119 yards and a touchdown against the Aggies last season. Skyler Locklear returns to potentially start at quarterback again, and key returning defenders in linebacker Nate Dyman and safety Xavier Smith earned 14 total tackles and three passes defended in Las Cruces last season.