LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The New Mexico State football team (4-8, 2-6 Conference USA) showed resilience once again in its season finale against Middle Tennessee State University (3-9, 2-6 CUSA) at Aggie Memorial Stadium Nov. 29, battling back from a 17-7 third-quarter deficit to force overtime. However, the Aggies ultimately fell 31-24 to conclude their second year under head coach Tony Sanchez.
NMSU quarterback Adam Damante earned his second straight start, as Logan Fife was ruled out again due to a back injury he suffered in the Aggies’ 42-9 loss to the University of Tennessee. Wide receiver Donovan Faupel was also ruled out.
MTSU quarterback Roman Gagliano made his third consecutive start, replacing Nicholas Vattiato who has been out with an undisclosed injury.
Following a strong opening drive from Middle Tennessee, NMSU safety Naeten Mitchell forced Blue Raider running back Jekail Middlebrook to fumble the ball in Aggie territory. It was recovered by NMSU defensive end Jamall Thompson Jr. to give the Aggies possession of the ball. This turnover marked the first time NMSU has caused one every game in a season for the first time since the 2011 campaign.
Later, Damante threw an impressive 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver TK King to put the Aggies up 7-0 toward the end of the first quarter. This marked the longest offensive play for NMSU this year.
The lead would not last long however, as MTSU needed just two plays to ensure a 64-yard drive of their own. It was running back DJ Taylor who marched down the field to tie the game.
Both teams struggled to get anything going in the second quarter, but that would change at the end of the period. After a promising drive to get into the end zone, Aggie running back Kadarius Calloway fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Middle Tennessee safety Juwon Gaston. This led to a 24-yard touchdown pass from Gagliano to wide receiver AJ Jones to take a 14-7 advantage heading into halftime.
The Blue Raider run would continue until the middle of the third quarter, as Damante threw a pass intended for King that was intercepted by Gatson. This led to a 25-yard made field goal for kicker Jacob Hathaway to give MTSU a 17-7 lead.
Following his interception, Damante bounced back the next drive by completing a 5-yard touchdown pass to King to cut the deficit to three. Damante would carry this momentum into the fourth quarter as he converted a 1-yard rushing touchdown to give the Aggies their second lead of the game, following a huge defensive stop.
His high level of play would not last long though, as he threw another interception on the next offensive drive. This led to a 19-yard touchdown pass from Gagliano to wide receiver Landon Collins, giving Middle Tennessee a 24-21 advantage.
Damante suffered an injury the next offensive possession, but did enough to get NMSU into field goal range. Aggie kicker Ryan Hawk made his return from an injury that sidelined him for two games and came up clutch by nailing a 35-yard field goal to tie the game with 58 seconds to go in the period.
The defense forced yet another turnover to end regulation. Due to the Damante injury, Parker Awad took over at quarterback in overtime. This was Awad’s first appearance in a game this season, after starting seven games last year.
NMSU won the coin toss and elected to send its defense on the field first. Following multiple defensive stops, Gagliano still managed to throw his third touchdown pass of the day to Jones to give MTSU a 31-24 lead.
Despite this, the Aggies still had a chance to tie the game and send it to double overtime. Two false starts and two incomplete passes put NMSU in a tough situation, however. Awad then put together an impressive 11-yard run, but followed it up with an incomplete pass intended for tight end Gavin Harris. This was the last play of the 2025 campaign.
Even though the Aggies finished just one game better than last year and went 2-4 in one-score games, Sanchez was proud of his players.
“I love my guys. They worked their tails off. They got so much grit. I don’t know if I’ve ever been involved in a season like this where we’ve had so many games that have come down to the end. Our guys always gave us a chance,” Sanchez said in the postgame press conference. “That 2025 group of Aggies, those guys will go down as warriors. Those guys fought their tails off for this university and I’m really proud of them for doing that.”
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