Aggies fall in home opener to Georgia State
Tyrain Taylor had a career-high 206 receiving yards and two touchdowns as the NM State football team fell 34-32 to Georgia State on Saturday night in front of 27,201 fans.
The crowd is the largest to ever witness a Sun Belt Conference game in Aggie Memorial Stadium. The previous attendance record was 20,323 against Idaho on Oct. 13, 2001.
With his 206 yards, which came on just 10 catches, Taylor lands at No. 6 in the Aggies’ (0-2) all-time single game receiving yards. Taylor also racked up a career-high two touchdowns on the night.
Tyler Rogers completed 31-of-55 passes to rack up three touchdowns and a career-high 445 yards, while Larry Rose III led NM State on the ground with 75 yards on 18 carries.
Defensively, Jaden Wright led NM State with 12 tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception returned for a touchdown. Rodney Butler chipped in 10 tackles and a sack.
Nick Arbuckle led Georgia State (1-1) as he completed 32-of-43 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns, while Joseph Peterson led the Panther defense with eight tackles.
Georgia State marched 72 yards in 13 plays to open the game, but Winston Rose broke up a pass in the end zone as the Aggie defense held the Panthers to a field goal with 10:36 left in the first quarter.
On the Panther’s next possession, Arbuckle completed a 15-yard pass to Penny Hart to give Georgia State a 10-0 lead, but the Aggies responded as Rogers completed a 75-yard pass to Taylor on the first snap of the Aggie’s next drive to leave the visiting team clinging to a 10-7 lead with 3:20 left in the first quarter.
Georgia State increased their lead to 17-7 with 14:55 left in the first half, as Kyler Neal rushed two yards into the end zone for his first of two rushing touchdowns of the night.
Following a turnover on downs by NM State on the Panther’s one yard line, Lewis Hill garnered his first career forced fumble. Jaden Wright recovered the ball at the 10-yard line and walked it into the end zone to cut Georgia State’s lead to 17-13 with 9:36 before the break.
Georgia State then increased its lead to 24-13 with 3:10 left in the half as Neal rushed five yards into the end zone.
With 8:57 left in the third quarter, Kawe Johnson stripped the ball from Arbuckle and Hanks recovered. One play later, Rogers connected with Jordan Bergsrom in the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown to leave the Aggies trailing 24-19.
On the following drive, the Aggie defense held the Panthers on third and three to force a 22-yard field goal by Lutz as the visitors took a 27-19 advantage with 4:58 left in the third quarter. Georgia State then added another touchdown with 14:31 left in the game as Arbuckle completed a 24-yard pass to Penny Hart.
Rose III then picked up his second touchdown of the season as he scrambled six yards down the right sideline into the end zone to cut Georgia State’s lead to 34-26 with 11:51 left in the game.
The Aggies made it a two-point game with 7:47 remaining as Rogers completed a 29-yard pass to Taylor to leave Georgia State clinging to what would be the final score of 34-32.
The Aggies return to Aggie Memorial Stadium next Saturday as they host UTEP in the annual Battle of I-10 rivalry game at 6 p.m. The game will air on AggieVision and will be broadcast on AM 570.
