New Mexico-Utah St
Time: 4 PM ET
Spread: UTA -19.5
Spread: 54
Betting Odds courtesy of Bovada
New Mexico comes in as losers of three of its past four contests, and it won’t get much easier this week visiting 7-3 Utah State. Utah State is 19.5-point favorites against the Lobos, who are just 1-4 in Mountain West play.
Last week, the Lobos fell 60-49 against Boise State. New Mexico led 28-14 after the first quarter and were up 42-35 at the half, but Boise State scored three TDs in the fourth quarter while New Mexico was unable to muster a score. Both teams totaled over 600 yards and New Mexico had 505 of those yards via the rush. The Lobos rank 4th in the nation in rushing yardage, racking up 326.3 yards per game on the ground.
Churl Pressley has been the best back on the field for the Lobos, averaging 9.2 yards per carry and having amassed 872 yards on the season, with 11 TDs. Teriyon Gipson has a team-high 116 carries this season with a solid 5.4 yards per carry and seven TDs. QB Lamar Jordan has rushed for 382 yards on the season while having completed 42 passes for 545 yards. He’s been good at avoiding miscues, with just one INT on 43 attempts, while also averaging 7.17 yards per attempt.
Utah State has been strong primarily due to a very tough defense. The Aggies allow just 19.2 points per game this season and none of its past three opponents have got past 20. Last week, Utah State held Wyoming to just a field goal. Offensively, Utah State is hardly devastating, but averaging 26.8 points per game is enough with such a tough D. The Aggies have a balanced attack, averaging 229.7 passing yards per game and 154.8 via the rush.
Aggies QB Kent Myers has done pretty well after both Darrell Garretson and Chuckie Keeton both went down. Myers is 30-of-36 (83.3 percent) with three TDs and no interceptions. He’s also almost posting a 200 QB rating.
Over those two contests, the Aggies have averaged 27.5 points per game. While Garretson and Keeton both brought a lot to table, neither have passed with that kind of accuracy.
Of course, Myers will fall off in eventuality, but it’s an impressive start to his collegiate career. He’s just a freshman and is a little small (6’1” 185), but Utah State may be onto something very good with him taking the snaps. He could have a big day in a game the Aggies are such heavy favorites in.
