In his fourth year at New Mexico State University, Alex Davis has seen it all when it comes to New Mexico State-New Mexico games.
The junior tight end and graduate of Las Cruces High School knows the importance placed on the game. With the Aggies off to a 0-2 start in a season that most thought would be a breakout year, Saturday's game is that much more important.
"It feels like we need to win this one for sure," Davis said. "We have
to go out and be ready to play."
That the Aggies, or the Lobos for that matter, will be ready to play is unquestioned. At UNM, the question is who will step in for the injured Quincy Wright, who was the nation's third leading rusher before falling to a knee injury in a win over Baylor last weekend.
You have to look no farther than redshirt freshman DonTrell Moore, who has rushed for a grand total of, oh, 93 yards in his third career game. No matter who starts in the backfield for UNM, it is obvious that the 2-2 Lobos have no trouble scoring points. In four games, UNM has averaged 26.5 points, including a season-high 38 against Division I-AA Weber State on Aug. 31.
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Without Wright, UNM will count on the leadership of junior quarterback Casey Kelly, who is averaging over 140 yards passing per game.
The Aggies, meanwhile, have an injury situation of their own at quarterback. An important position on any team, but especially at NMSU, where the ability to run is a priority. Sophomore Buck Pierce leads the team in rushing but suffered a bruised shoulder two weeks ago at University of California at Berkeley. Not surprisingly, the NMSU coaching staff is taking a wait-and-see approach as to Pierce's condition.
In Pierce's place is redshirt freshman Paul Dombrowski, who led NMSU on its only scoring drive against Cal. Of course, in a rivalry that has seen the Aggies go 27-60-5, there are always fans that point out the history. Take last year for example.
An injury-depleted NMSU team marches into Albuquerque and is summarily crushed by the Lobos 53-0. The Aggies, without starting quarterback K.C. Enzminger, failed to establish any substantial scoring drives and were run over by a bevy of Lobo backs.
It is still a series in which, I hate to say it, you can throw out all the record books, what with all the pre-game buildup and bragging rights.
It is a rivalry in which blowouts don't go unnoticed. One in which 53-0 losses aren't supposed to happen.
Clearly, since the first meeting between the schools in 1894, the Lobos have established themselves as the dominating program, including wins in the last two intrastate games.
Even with losses in three of the last five Aggie-Lobo games, Davis knows how sweet it would be to get the first win of the season - and avenge that 53-0 loss - with a victory over the Lobos Saturday.
"It would be nice to be 2-0. I don't know if the first win is the hardest to get," Davis said. "To get the first win against UNM would be a big momentum builder."
Count on it: NMSU 21, UNM 20.
Casey Stege is the sports editor for the New Mexico State Roundup.
