Aggies corral Lobos for second straight win in Rio Grande Rivalry

New Mexico State surged ahead with a 17-point second quarter and held off New Mexico, 27-17, to rack up its second straight win over the Lobos, the first time the Aggies have won consecutive games in the Rio Grande Rivalry since 2016-17.

After doubts about whether he would actually coach Saturday’s game, Jerry Kill was on the sidelines and became the first NMSU head coach since Dewayne Walker (2009-10) to go 2-0 in his first two tries against UNM.

New Mexico head coach Danny Gonzales is now 1-2 against the Aggies.

“Much like I said on Monday, it’d be a great college football game,” he said. “I thought it was two good football teams fighting each other, and they made more plays than we did.”

After starting the season on a run of turnover-marred play, NMSU quarterback Diego Pavia more than made a mark in his first Rio Grande Rivalry appearance. The Albuquerque native and Volcano Vista graduate rushed for 96 yards on 11 carries (9.6 average), extending drive after drive with a run up the middle or off to the perimeter.

"He played within himself,” said associate head coach and offensive coordinator Tim Beck, speaking for Kill. “(Pavia) did a nice job of picking up some first downs with his legs every once in a while. They do such a good job of pressuring, bringing blitzes, stunts and twists and everything else you can imagine that it’s pretty hard to handle but he did a pretty good job of handling it.”

But it was Pavia’s passing performance (9-for-14, 203 yards) that broke the Lobos in the end, linking up with wide receiver Jonathan Brady for two passing touchdowns — the first, a 31-yard strike to break a 10-10 tie and the second a 75-yard connection over the middle that swung momentum back in the Aggies’ favor for good.

UNM’s Dylan Hopkins finished 20-for-29 passing with two touchdowns while running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt led the team with 83 yards on 16 carries. The Lobos outgained NMSU 401-397 as a team but failed to capitalize on two red zone trips.

UNM was crisp at the start, until the Aggies caught up to them in the red zone, stuffing a couple key runs and forcing the Lobos to settle for a 25-yard Luke Drzewiecki field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.

The Lobos forced a quick three-and-out on the Aggies’ first possession and roared right back into the red zone with a double-digit lead within reach — until safety Myles Roswer forced a fumble on running back Sherod White, giving NMSU the ball back within their own 10.

“Give them credit,” Gonzales said. “They made a play and caused a turnover.”

With NMSU’s second drive underway, Pavia looked right, looked left and found wide receiver Trent Hudson for a 31-yard completion on 3rd and 7. Then he found tight end Ron Tiavaasue for a 19-yard gain, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run from running back Star Thomas to give the Aggies a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.

On UNM’s ensuing drive, Hopkins hit Luke Wysong downfield for a 41-yard gain, before Croskey-Merritt followed up with a hard-charging 19-yard run to put the Lobos on the doorstep. On 2nd and goal from the one, New Mexico brought backup quarterback Justin Holaday in for a designed run, a rush around the left end ruled just short of the endzone.

Hopkins and Croskey-Merritt came back in on 3rd and goal, with the latter scoring on a dive to put the Lobos up 10-7 for the second lead change of the evening.

NMSU countered with another drive into the red zone, ending when linebacker Dimitri Johnson caught Thomas off the right end in the red zone to keep him short of the sticks on 3rd and 6. The Aggies promptly settled for Ethan Albertson’s 26-yard field goal with 4:31 left in the first half.

After UNM struggled to a late three-and-out, Pavia took over. He fired an incompletion on first down; scrambled for a gain of seven on 2nd down; scrambled again for the first; then scrambled once more, just before NMSU brought in freshman quarterback Eli Stowers — often used as a runner — for a 17-yard completion to tight end Thomaz Whiteford.

And then Pavia came back in again, this time dropping the dime to Brady for his first passing touchdown of the evening to give NMSU a 17-10 lead entering halftime.

Both teams traded three-and-outs to start the second half before the Aggies’ ground game promptly took over. Pavia, Thomas, Jones and Watkins took handoff after handoff until linebacker Alec Marenco downed Jones on third down — and after a slew of penalties, Albertson emerged to drill a 46-yard field goal to extend NMSU’s lead.

UNM swung back with a grinding 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Hopkins rolling out to his right and hitting wide receiver Andrew Erickson for a 1-yard touchdown reception. With 10:16 left, the Lobos were down 20-17 with more than enough time to piece another drive together.

But just one play later, Pavia delivered the backbreaker. He found Brady over the middle for a 75-yard touchdown, one that sucked the air right out of University Stadium and put the Aggies up by double digits once again.

Tasked with finding an answer, the Lobos flailed to another three-and-out and gave NMSU the ball back with 8:26 left. UNM forced Pavia out of the pocket and into an incompletion on 3rd and 1, bringing out the punt unit and giving the ball back to UNM with 5:56 left.

Twice it looked like UNM might have had a touchdown — Hopkins found Washington, only for the receiver to juggle one too many times on the edge of the end zone and the second, a drop from wide receiver Duece Jones.

“We had a couple balls that were dropped that should have been caught,” Gonzales said.

But with 44 seconds left, UNM settled for a 29-yard Drzewiecki field goal on 4th and 5 — one that hit the upright with fans slowly filing out of University Stadium. NMSU ran out the clock before fans and players streamed out onto the field, their second straight over the Lobos in hand.

To the end, Gonzales remained hopeful things will turn — soon.

“Our football team is hurting right now,” Gonzales said after the game. “I like the trajectory of this football team. We have a lot to play for and that one outcome doesn’t change the trajectory of the season.”

Sean Reider can be reached at sreider@abqjournal.com or @lenaweereider on X (Twitter).