NMSU previews Liberty to open up conference play in weekly press conference

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – NM State football will face arguably its toughest opponent to open up conference play in week two of the season, taking on Liberty at Aggie Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The last time these two teams faced was in the Conference USA Championship game where the Flames handed the Aggies a 49-35 loss. Head coach Tony Sanchez, running back Mike Washington and safety Nick Session preview the championship rematch.

PROS AND CONS OF FACING SUCH A BIG OPPONENT EARLY IN THE SEASON

Facing such a big opponent in just week two of the season can be a disadvantage, especially for a program like NMSU. The team still has a lot of growing pains to go through in terms of having starters out on the field getting time in at the division one level for the very first time and the lack of experience as a unit considering the team brought in 31 transfers during the off season (3rd most in all of FBS).

However, Sanchez is confident that the team was able to address these issues in week one and have since moved on. Playing in week two means all of its players are energized and healthy – something that wasn’t in NMSU’s favor the last time around against Liberty battling injuries late in the season.

“It is nice to play later in the year because you’ve got that experience under your belt,” Sanchez said. “But there’s give and take with that. You then have the wear and tear of a long season which isn’t on them yet. For the most part, with the exception of Pete, we’re healthy right now. But they are too. It’s one of those deals where whether at the beginning or the end of the schedule you face them, you’ve literally just got to live in that one week. And once the game starts just live in those 6 seconds. If we do that, I think we’ll be fine.”

STOPPING LIBERTY’S KAIDON SALTER AT QUARTERBACK WILL BE KEY

In the championship game Liberty’s quarterback Kaidon Salter had a career high day against NMSU with an 80% completion rate for 319 yards. With the addition of 393 yards rushing, Salter led the Flames to a total of 712 yards on offense. NM State’s defense will have a tall order stopping the CUSA Player of the Year, but will be a vital part if the Aggies want to ensure the win.

“I understand how big of a game this is, I wasn’t here last year but it was one of the first games brought to my attention on this years schedule,” said safety Nick Session, a transfer out of Oklahoma State. “Last year coach Morris was with Sam Houston and led the team to being one of the only defenses to stop Salter and keep Liberty to under 30 points. Now that he’s over here he’s seen this offense and knows what to do – I trust him and am very confident in his scheme.”

“The biggest thing for us is we’ve got to get him to go through his progressions,” said Sanchez. “Last year we gave him way too much time sitting back in the pocket, he was able to hit his first read numerous times with wide open throws. We’ve got to get him off his mark and do a better job at forcing him to be a little bit more one dimensional. A part of that will be on offense and eating up time to not let Salter see as much of the field.”

CREATING EXPLOSIVE PLAYS, INCREASING THE AGGIES PASS GAME IS A PRIORITY

NMSU has one of the most talented running backs room the program has seen in years relying heavily on its run game in week one. In a way the teams hand was also force to rely on the run due to the quarterbacks struggles to find success in the air. In week one the Aggies recorded 210 yards rushing with just 60 yards passing. If they want to produce on offense against Liberty, they’re going to have to put together a more balanced game.

“We have to create a plan that makes our quarterbacks a bit more efficient and give them easy throws early on,” said Sanchez. “We’ve got a solid offensive line and a real talented back field, but we’re going to need to be balanced and make some plays in the throwing game. If were able to play balanced and make some plays down the field we will give ourselves a great chance to be in it in the fourth quarter.”

“Fun fact about me, I have been playing this coaching staff for Liberty since my freshman year and lost every time,” said running back Mike Washington. “This is one of those games that there’s a lot building up to it and they are the team to beat. In order to do that, we know we need to establish the run game to win. We also know that they know we have a good back field and will load the box. Therefore, we need to establish the passing game also.”

New Mexico State has faced Liberty the past three times on the road, bringing the Flames to Aggie Memorial Stadium for the first time as conference opponents.

Kickoff is set for Saturday, September 7th at 8:15 p.m. MT.

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