New Mexico
Gameday Central: Everything to know for New Mexico State vs Florida International
New Mexico State (2-5, 1-3 Conference USA) plays its third consecutive weekday game and second weekday game of the season against Florida International (2-6, 1-3 CUSA) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
The Aggies are coming off their first win since their season opener and their first FBS win of 2024 against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 15, defeating the Bulldogs 33-30 in double overtime. Sophomore quarterback Parker Awad started his fourth game of the season and threw a touchdown pass, while senior quarterback Brandon Nunez scored two rushing touchdowns and replaced Awad for NM State’s final three drives in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Aggies blocked a late LA Tech field goal as time expired in regulation and junior running back Mike Washington scored a game-winning four-yard rushing touchdown after being suspended for the first quarter by NM State coach Tony Sanchez for being late to a team meeting.
Senior defensive end Kale Edwards earned four sacks against LA Tech, becoming the first NM State player to record more than 3.5 sacks in a game since Cedric Wilcots II against Idaho in 2017. He became the second Aggie to win a CUSA Defensive Player of the Week honor this season after redshirt sophomore safety Tayden Barnes for his performance.
The Panthers are on a three-game losing streak, recently falling to Sam Houston 10-7 on Oct. 22. Sophomore quarterback Keyone Jenkins was benched for junior Chaydeen Perry during the contest, but FIU coach Mike MacIntyre said Jenkins will start against the Aggies. Jenkins has thrown for 1,438 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a quarterback rating of 27.9 this season. The Panthers’ defense ranks fourth in CUSA in yards allowed per game and fifth in points allowed per game in 2024.
Nunez will start his first game of the season at quarterback.
Here’s everything you need to know for game day:
More: NM State football: Mike Washington scores game-winning touchdown after first quarter suspension
New Mexico State (2-5, 1-3) at FIU (2-6, 1-3)
Location: Pitbull Stadium, Miami, Fla.
Kickoff time: Oct. 29, 5 p.m.
Channel: CBS Sports Network (Commentators: Dave Ryan and Donte Whitner)
Radio: 99.5 FM KXPZ and Sirius XM 970 (Commentators: Jack Nixon and Cory Lucas)
More: Complete scoring summary of the Louisiana Tech vs New Mexico State game
Things to know
- NM State has a 2-1 record against FIU, with wins in 2004 and 2023. The Aggies defeated the Panthers 34-17 last season in Las Cruces and will play a game in Miami for the first time.
- NM State has the ninth-best red-zone offense in the FBS, having scored on 94.1% of its red-zone trips (11 touchdowns, five field goals). It’ll face an FIU red-zone defense that ranks 27th in the FBS, allowing scores on 76.5% of red-zone possessions.
- Junior running back Monte Watkins will miss a second straight game due to remaining in concussion protocol after leaving the game against Jacksonville State on Oct. 9 in an ambulance.
- Both the Aggies and Panthers rank in the bottom half of CUSA in offensive yards per game and points per game. NM State ranks seventh and ninth in those categories, respectively, while FIU rank seighth and sixth, respectively.
- The Aggies are 0-3 on the road this season, losing all three games by an average of 36.3 points.
Pregame reading
Meet NM State DE Kale Edwards: New Mexico State football’s Kale Edwards hopes 4-sack game is just the start
QB battle continues for Aggies: New Mexico State football: 3 QBs in play to start, Sanchez talks transfer portal changes
Vote for who should be NM State’s QB: The polls are open! Who should be NM State football’s starting quarterback against FIU?
Read more about NMSU’s Brandon Nunez: Who is Brandon Nunez? NM State quarterback leads Aggies to OT victory against Louisiana Tech
Meet Aggies RB Seth McGowan: ‘I’ll never waver’: Seth McGowan enjoys fresh start at NM State three years after OU exit
Meet NM State coach Tony Sanchez: The coach with a chip on his shoulder: NM State’s Tony Sanchez determined to succeed
The Chaparral High School football program in Southern New Mexico is making a name for itself these days.
And for the first time, the state of New Mexico is taking notice of the Lobos program. Chaparral High School is located less than 30 miles from Northeast El Paso.
The Lobos are 8-3 overall and seeded No. 3 in the Class 4A playoffs. The eight wins are the most in school history and the No. 3 seed in the playoffs is the highest seed the Lobos have ever had in the playoffs.
The Lobos defeated No. 6 seed Moriarty, 42-41, in the state quarterfinals on Nov. 14 when Lobos quarterback Israel Nieto scored with a rushing touchdown and it was followed by a successful extra point to advance the Lobos. Twelve teams made the state playoffs.
There are multiple classifications in New Mexico, ranging from Class 2A to Class 6A, as well as six-man and eight-man football divisions.
Chaparral football history
The Lobos played their first varsity game in 2007 and went 1-9 that season. The Lobos have had seven seasons with no wins,
The Lobos had winning seasons in 2015 and 2017, both times going 6-4.
Chaparral breaks through in 2024
Chaparral made the postseason in 2024 and defeated Portales in the first round on the road, securing the program’s first-ever playoff win.
Fast forward to 2025
The Lobos have won 8 of their last 10 games after losing their season opener to Gadsden. They went 4-2 in District 2-4A, which placed them second behind Albuquerque St. Pius.
The Lobos defeated strong teams from Albuquerque (Academy and Manzano), the state’s largest city, and another team from Los Lunas (Valencia HS), which is near Albuquerque.
Chaparral players to watch
- Israel Nieto, QB. He has 1,786 yards passing, 634 yards rushing, 19 touchdown passes and 15 rushing touchdown runs.
- Raul Lopez, RB. Lopez has rushed for 1,092 yards and has 470 yards rushing.
- Aaron Eliserio, WR. He has caught eight touchdown passes.
Chaparral’s coaching staff
Joseph Frias, who played quarterback at El Paso’s Franklin High School and graduated in 2003, is the second-year head coach.
His staff includes defensive coordinator Stephen White, offensive coordinator Esai Ontiveros and defensive backs and wide receiver coach David Butler.
What’s next for Chaparral
The Lobos will play No. 2 St. Pius at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, at Nusenda Community Stadium in Albuquerque in the state semifinals. The winner will play either No. 1 Bloomfield or No. 4 Taos in the state finals.
What Chaparral head coach Joseph Frias said
“The kids have worked hard and bought into what we want to do,” Frias said. “Making the playoffs last year and winning a playoff game meant so much to the program. It gave us momentum.”
What Chaparral player Israel Nieto said
“We’ve had great support from the community, we’ve played with confidence and determination,” Nieto said.
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X
Joshua Wheeler was raised in Alamogordo, New Mexico and his work has been described as “lyrical and funny” as well as “poetic and highly entertaining.” One of the two books he will read excerpts from next month is about southern New Mexico.
As part of the Nelson-Boswell Reading Series, La Sociedad para Las Artes will host a public reading by Wheeler, a Louisiana State University professor, from his publications “Acid West: Essays” and “High Heaven: A Novel.”
The reading begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 in New Mexico State University’s CMI Theater in Milton Hall, Room 171. A free reception will follow, where copies of Wheeler’s books will be available for purchase.
Wheeler is now based in New Orleans where he teaches creative writing at LSU. His debut novel “High Heaven” explores the evolution of faith and technology through the U.S.’s space age. His collection of essays “Acid West” follows the history of innovation and identity as seen from southern New Mexico – from cowboys and UFOs to nuclear testing and spaceports.
The Nelson-Boswell Reading Series invites visiting writers to NMSU to share their work with the community. La Sociedad para Las Artes is seeking to establish a permanent endowed fund through the NMSU Foundation whose earnings will support creative writing programs, including visiting writers and reading series as well as creative writing workshops for children in Las Cruces Public Schools.
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CUTLINE: Louisiana State University assistant professor of creative writing Joshua Wheeler will read from “Acid West: Essays” and “High Heaven: A Novel” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 in New Mexico State University’s CMI Theater in Milton Hall, Room 171 as part of NMSU’s Nelson-Boswell Reading Series hosted by La Sociedad para Las Artes. (Courtesy photo)
New Mexico
Rain starts moving into New Mexico tonight, with more rain and mountain snow through Thursday
Grant’s Tuesday Evening Forecast
A storm system will start bringing rain and thunderstorms into New Mexico tonight. More rain and mountain snow will expand across the state through Thursday.
It’s been another mild day across New Mexico Tuesday with high temperatures hovering near and above average again today. High clouds have been filtering some of the sunshine though as upper level moisture increases ahead of our next storm system. We will already start to see some rain develop in southwest and western New Mexico this evening. These rain and very high elevation snow showers will lift northward into more of New Mexico by Wednesday morning, bringing an isolated chance for precipitation to areas along and south of I-40, with a spotty precipitation chance in northern New Mexico. Scattered showers and storms will redevelop across the western half of New Mexico Wednesday afternoon. High temperatures will see little change Wednesday.
Lift associated with the storm system will increase across New Mexico Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. This will cause a big increase in rain and mountain snow form southwest New Mexico to the northern mountains. On and off showers, storms, and mountain snow will continue through the morning and early afternoon, bringing all of New Mexico a chance for rain. Some of the heaviest rain will fall in southern New Mexico, along with the Rio Grande Valley and into the northern mountains. Precipitation will wrap up from south to north through Thursday evening with some lingering rain and mountain snow in northern New Mexico into early Friday morning. Forecast rainfall amounts have been trending higher across the state, along with snow totals. At least a couple inches of snow is likely above 8,000′, with up 6″ above 9,000′. High temperatures will be much cooler Thursday.
Cooler air sticks around Friday with a slight warming trend this weekend. Another storm is possible by Sunday, which could bring back rain and mountain snow chances.
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