The 2016 New Mexico State Aggies football team represented New Mexico State University as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Doug Martin, the Aggies compiled an overall record of 3–9 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for eighth in the Sun Belt. New Mexico State played home games at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Tyler Rogers was the team's starting quarterback.
Preseason
New Mexico State had a coaching shake up prior to the season, when Martin hired defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani, whom Martin served as offensive coordinator for at Boston College in 2012.[1] Spaziani replaced Zane Vance who served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2015. Vance was retained and promoted to Assistant Head Coach, Defensive Ends coach and Special Teams Coordinator.
Recruiting
Recruits
New Mexico State's recruiting class consisted of 23 recruits. New Mexico State's recruiting class was ranked 114th by Scout, 129th by 247Sports.com, not rated by Rivals and not rated by ESPN.[2][3][4][5]
| College recruiting information (2016)
|
| Name
|
Hometown
|
School
|
Height
|
Weight
|
40‡
|
Commit date
|
Josh Aganon
WR
|
Scottsdale, Arizona
|
Mesa Community College
|
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
|
180 lb (82 kg)
|
--
|
Dec 16, 2015
|
Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals:  247Sports: ESPN:
|
Darius Anderson
DT
|
Fresno, Texas
|
Hightower H.S.
|
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
|
301 lb (137 kg)
|
--
|
Feb 3, 2016
|
Recruit ratings: Scout:  Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
|
Drew Dan
WR
|
Muskogee, Oklahoma
|
Checotah H.S.
|
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
|
180 lb (82 kg)
|
--
|
Feb 3, 2016
|
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
|
Jefferson Hagen
OL
|
Moorpark, California
|
Moorpark College
|
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
|
290 lb (130 kg)
|
--
|
Apr 6, 2016
|
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
|
Bobby Hill
DT
|
Long Beach, California
|
Orange Coast College
|
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
|
285 lb (129 kg)
|
--
|
Feb 3, 2016
|
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
|
Jason Huntley
RB
|
Arlington, Texas
|
Martin H.S.
|
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
|
165 lb (75 kg)
|
--
|
Feb 3, 2016
|
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
|
Cameron Matthews
QB
|
Fort Worth, Texas
|
Trinity Valley School
|
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
|
195 lb (88 kg)
|
--
|
Feb 3, 2016
|
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
|
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: 114 Rivals: NR 247Sports: 129 ESPN: NR
|
- Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
- In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
|
Schedule
New Mexico State Aggies announced its 2016 football schedule on March 3, 2016. The 2016 schedule consists of 5 home and 7 away games in the regular season. The Aggies will host Sun Belt foes Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana–Lafayette, and Texas State, and will travel to Arkansas State, Idaho, South Alabama, and Troy. New Mexico State will skip out on two Sun Belt teams this season, Georgia State and Louisiana–Monroe.[6]
The team will play four non–conference games, one home game against New Mexico from the Mountain West Conference, and will travel to three road games against UTEP from Conference USA (C–USA), and Kentucky and Texas A&M both from the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|
| September 3 | 6:00 pm | at UTEP* | | beIN | L 22–38 | 30,119 |
| September 10 | 6:00 pm | New Mexico* | | AV, ESPN3 | W 32–31 | 17,852 |
| September 17 | 2:00 pm | at Kentucky* | | SECN | L 42–62 | 49,669 |
| September 24 | 4:00 pm | at Troy | | ESPN3 | L 6–52 | 21,146 |
| October 1 | 6:00 pm | Louisiana–Lafayette | - Aggie Memorial Stadium
- Las Cruces, NM
| ESPN3 | W 37–31 2OT | 8,142 |
| October 15 | 3:00 pm | at Idaho | | ALT2, ESPN3 | L 23–55 | 10,278 |
| October 22 | 6:00 pm | Georgia Southern | - Aggie Memorial Stadium
- Las Cruces, NM
| AV, ESPN3 | L 19–22 | 10,085 |
| October 29 | 5:30 pm | at No. 9 Texas A&M* | | ESPNU | L 10–52 | 99,960 |
| November 12 | 1:00 pm | at Arkansas State | | ESPN3 | L 22–41 | 20,178 |
| November 19 | 2:00 pm | Texas State | - Aggie Memorial Stadium
- Las Cruces, NM
| AV, ESPN3 | W 50–10 | 6,280 |
| November 26 | 2:00 pm | Appalachian State | - Aggie Memorial Stadium
- Las Cruces, NM
| AV, ESPN3 | L 7–37 | 5,366 |
| December 3 | 11:00 am | at South Alabama | | ESPN3 | L 28–35 | 14,812 |
|
[7]
Game summaries
At UTEP
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Aggies
|
3
|
0
|
13
|
6 |
22 |
| Miners
|
7
|
17
|
7
|
7 |
38 |
New Mexico
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Lobos
|
14
|
3
|
7
|
7 |
31 |
| Aggies
|
3
|
12
|
7
|
10 |
32 |
At Kentucky
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Aggies
|
21
|
14
|
7
|
0 |
42 |
| Wildcats
|
14
|
21
|
14
|
13 |
62 |
At Troy
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Aggies
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0 |
6 |
| Trojans
|
7
|
24
|
14
|
7 |
52 |
Louisiana–Lafayette
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
Total |
| Ragin' Cajuns
|
7
|
6
|
8
|
3 | 7 | 0 |
31 |
| Aggies
|
7
|
14
|
0
|
3 | 7 | 6 |
37 |
At Idaho
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Aggies
|
13
|
3
|
0
|
7 |
23 |
| Vandals
|
7
|
20
|
21
|
7 |
55 |
Georgia Southern
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Eagles
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
13 |
22 |
| Aggies
|
0
|
9
|
3
|
7 |
19 |
At Texas A&M
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| NMSU Aggies
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
7 |
10 |
| #9 TXAM Aggies
|
14
|
10
|
21
|
7 |
52 |
At Arkansas State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Aggies
|
3
|
3
|
9
|
7 |
22 |
| Red Wolves
|
13
|
14
|
14
|
0 |
41 |
Texas State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Bobcats
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
7 |
10 |
| Aggies
|
28
|
10
|
3
|
9 |
50 |
Appalachian State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Mountaineers
|
17
|
3
|
10
|
7 |
37 |
| Aggies
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
7 |
At South Alabama
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Aggies
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
14 |
28 |
| Jaguars
|
7
|
0
|
7
|
21 |
35 |
Roster
References
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| Bowls & rivalries | |
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| Culture & lore | |
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| Seasons | |
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