Injuries put a big dent into Aggies' hopes

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New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme glanced back at his golf cart last week and shook his head.

Sitting in the vehicle were three of the Aggies' top playmakers: receivers Chris Williams and Derek Dubois and running back Tonny Glynn, all out with various injuries.

Think any of them could have made a difference in the Aggies' 48th straight season without a bowl?

"The last two weeks in practice I've had guys who've scored 45 career touchdowns combined sitting in my golf cart instead of practicing," Mumme said as New Mexico State (4-8, 1-6 Western Athletic Conference) prepares to host Fresno State (7-4, 5-2) at 5 p.m. today in the teams' regular-season finale.

"So it's been a hard year for injuries."

Don't tell that to Fresno State, which has seen its own injury toll rise weekly. The Bulldogs' latest problems: starting running back Lonyae Miller and kick returner/cornerback A.J. Jefferson did not travel with the team.

But while New Mexico State has watched its season spiral out of control -- losing four straight games to put Mumme on the hot seat -- Fresno State has recovered enough to secure coach Pat Hill's eighth bowl in his 11 seasons.

"This team has been resilient," Hill said this week.

There isn't much a stake today, besides pride.

New Mexico State has no chance at a postseason berth.

Fresno State is guaranteed to go to a bowl next month after missing out on one last year. Today's game will have little impact on which bowl the Bulldogs go, but wait until Saturday. That's when Hawaii will try to secure a guaranteed bid to a Bowl Championship Series bowl in its season finale against Washington.

"I don't think there were a bunch of people counting on us to be real good," Hill said.

In fact, some might have predicted during the preseason that the Aggies would finish ahead of the Bulldogs.

Armed with one of the top passing offenses in the nation, New Mexico State started 2-1 -- including a 29-24 win against regional rival Texas-El Paso.

The Aggies went to Auburn the following week and were down just 21-20 at halftime.

But then came the injuries. New Mexico State eventually lost to Auburn 55-20. And the slide began.

Quarterback Chase Holbrook has missed 21/2 games.

Williams, who was leading the WAC in receptions, went down with a broken collarbone last month.

Glynn followed with a broken ankle earlier this month. And Dubois injured his knee shortly after.

The Aggies likely reached their lowest point in their last game, a 35-17 loss to previously winless Utah State.

"It's been frustrating from [an injury] standpoint because we haven't had the depth," said Mumme, who completes his third season today. "We haven't recruited enough here yet to be able to overcome those kind of injuries."

Hill credits the players' focus and drive for "picking up the flag when someone goes down."

Fresno State has lost players to injuries or suspension at every position except quarterback.

The Bulldogs have lost eight players for the season, including six starters. They also enter today banged up at tight end (Bear Pascoe is nursing an ankle injury) and running back (Miller is out, Clifton Smith and Anthony Harding are bruised from last week, and Ryan Mathews is recovering from an ankle injury).

"I think it's been drilled in our heads over the years that when someone goes down, the next guy has to step it up," Smith said. "This game here is an opportunity to again show what this team is made of.

"Nothing was going to stop us from turning things around."

 

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Aggies close out season vs Fresno



LAS CRUCES - It's not where the New Mexico State Aggies thought they would be at the outset of the 2007 season.

Sitting at 4-8, 1-6 in the Western Athletic Conference, the Aggies are set to host Fresno State (7-4, 5-2 in the WAC) tonight at Aggie Memorial Stadium. The game, to be televised on ESPN2, was hoped to be a pivotal moment for both teams heading into the year. For one team it is. The Bulldogs look destined to enter postseason play, a regularity in head coach Pat Hill's ????-year tenure with the program. NMSU on the other hand has fallen well short of expectations, and have been relegating to playing out the final string of games once more.

The Aggies have lost six of their last seven contests.

"Coming into the season, we felt real good about a bowl game," defensive end Jared Naylor said. "Midway through the season, we just started losing games. It's been disappointing. It just slipped away from us."

The latest blow to NMSU's year came on Monday, when defensive coordinator Woody Widenhofer announced his retirement from football, after 40-years in the business as an assistant, and at times, head coach. The announcement didn't come as a huge surprise, as the Aggies have regressed on defense throughout the year and
have currently given up 441 point in the Western Athletic Conference, second to last in the conference. It was expected that some assistants and even coach Hal Mumme could be asked to leave the program following the year. Widenhofer's departure could mark the first domino to drop, though some wonder if he alone was the problem that has plagued the Aggies throughout the season.

Regardless, there is no doubt that the defense didn't help the team achieve it's ultimate goal.

"I just think offenses are so dynamic now," Widenhofer said. "You almost have to go out and recruit all corners of the secondary. There are more spread offenses. The kickoff from the 30-yard line has increased field position. When you look at things like that, for an offense, it's just "cha-ching'. They cash in every time."

NMSU will be asked to slow down Fresno State, an offense powered by the ground game. Fresno is second in the WAC in rushing yards per game and come in with a stable of running backs. Starting for the Bulldogs in the backfield tonight will

Quarterback Tom Brandstater has also had a nice year for Fresno. A season after enduring a healthy dosage of criticism for his up-and-down play during a 4-8 season, the QB has bounced back strong, throwing for 14 touchdowns, just five interceptions and 2,164 yards in 2007.

"They're dangerous," NMSU linebacker Michael Brewer said. "They have a good offense. They can run it well and they pass it well too."

Last weekend against Kansas State, Fresno got a solid performance from Brandstater and a standout effort from Anthony Harding, who ran for 116 yards on 22 carries in the Bulldog 45-29 win. Harding was the fourth Fresno back to rush for over 100 yards in a game this season.

"It was a good win for us against Kansas State last week," Hill said. "t was our best overall game of the year. Our receivers played well. Our running game is good, we had another back go over 100 yards."

With seven win, FSU is eligible for a bowl appearance and look to carry things over into tonight's game.

"We want to finish with momentum," Brandstater said. "This is a big game for us. We have to come out and execute. New Mexico State's defense has done some good things and we have to take care of the ball. If we can run and pass, we'll be effective. We've done good things on offense all year. We are coming off a very productive game against Kansas State."

NMSU has been ravaged by injuries on offense and has seen its production slip with the football. Mumme said that their was an outside chance that Tonny Glynn could return from a high ankle sprain that has seen him sit out the last 2 1/2 games. Any hope of the team getting receiver Chris Williams back appears unlikely as well as Derek Dubois.

The team hit a new low last week, falling to Utah State in Las Cruces, snapping the UtAgs 16-game losing streak. It was a devastating loss for NMSU, who could at least hang its hat on the fact that they were ahead of Utah State and Idaho as WAC bottom feeders. Now, that's not the case. USU has moved a game ahead of NMSU in the standings after beating the Vandals last week. Idaho remains in last, still without a conference win and just one win on the season all together.

The Aggies had a chance to regroup, having a bye last week. Mumme said that he took the opportunity to get away from the game and enjoy life away from football for a few days.

"I went quail hunting in the Organ Mountains and we entertained four or five of our staff members and players who couldn't go home for the holiday," Mumme said. "We had a nice Thanksgiving."

For the end of the season, Mumme said he would like to go out with a win, if for nothing else, than to bid farewell to the Aggie seniors, as well as the team's defensive coordinator.

"It's been a rough last nine or 10 games," Mumme said. "We have some seniors. I told the guys that we can go out with a bang and let coach Widenhofer and the seniors go out with a win."