NM State Season Concludes with Overtime Loss to Middle Tennessee

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – On Saturday, NM State Football hosted Middle Tennessee for the 2025 regular-season finale. The Aggies (4-8, 2-6 CUSA) fought their way to overtime with a late game-tying field goal, but ultimately fell to the Blue Raiders (3-9, 2-6 CUSA) by a final score of 31-24. The Crimson & White concluded their third season in Conference USA and the second chapter of the Tony Sanchez era. 

Following a quality opening drive from MTSU, NM State’s defense created the first big play of the afternoon with Naeten Mitchell forcing a fumble at the Aggies’ 9-yard line. The strip allowed Jamall Thompson Jr. to jump on the ball and keep the Blue Raiders off the scoreboard.

Later, the Aggies would take over at their own 23-yard line to mark their best starting position of the game after beginning each of their first two drives inside their own 10. NM State found the end zone on its third drive as Adam Damante hit a deep shot to TK King, who eluded several MTSU defenders on his way to a 64-yard receiving touchdown. The game’s first score marked the longest offensive play for the Aggies this season.

The Aggies' lead would be brief as Middle Tennessee would score just two plays into its ensuing drive with a 64-yard score of its own, as running back DJ Taylor found the edge and sprinted past the Aggie secondary to tie the game at seven with 1:45 remaining in the first period.

Aside from the back-to-back scores, both offenses struggled to generate significant movement as the two sides combined to punt the ball eight times across the first 12 drives. The Aggies did move the ball into the MTSU red zone late in the second quarter; however, the drive would come to a halt on a fumble that gave the Blue Raiders the ball back on the Aggie 14-yard line.

The Blue Raiders took full advantage of the turnover as they submitted a touchdown drive of nine plays for 86 yards in just one minute and 40 seconds. With the score, MTSU would take a 14-7 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

On its second drive of the third quarter, NM State would commit its second turnover of the night, when a pass intended for TJ Pride was intercepted and returned to the Aggie 12-yard line, setting up the Blue Raiders with an opportunity to extend their lead. Joe Morris’ defense would bow its back and hold MTSU to three points, making the score 17-7 with just over six minutes left in the frame.

In need of a response, the Aggies would be led down the field by Adam Damante, who ultimately capped off the 11-play possession with a five-yard touchdown pass to TK King, who kept his focus after the ball was tipped by a Blue Raider defender, pulling the Aggies within three points near the end of the third quarter.

NM State’s defense then came up with a three-and-out to put the ball back in the hands of the offense at their own 18-yard line. On the ensuing drive, a 39-yard pass down the sideline to TK King, who was initially ruled to have scored a touchdown, set the Aggies up inside the one-yard line. Adam Damante then shoved his way into the end zone on the very next play to put the Aggies ahead 21-17 with 11:49 remaining.

Once again, the Aggie defense showed its worth as Gabe Peterson and Henry Davis III sacked Roman Gagliano before Jamall Thompson Jr. took down Gagliano for the second sack of the drive, forcing a Blue Raider punt. Unfortunately, NM State would give the ball back to MTSU two plays later by way of an interception in Blue Raider territory. The miscue eventually turned into an MTSU touchdown, giving the visiting side a 24-21 advantage with just over five minutes left on the clock.

Trailing by a field goal, Damante and the Aggie offense methodically used 12 plays to move the ball into field goal range, where Ryan Hawk would split the uprights from 35 yards out to pull the Aggies even at 24 with just 58 seconds remaining. The tying tally would also be the final score of regulation as the game went into overtime following an empty MTSU possession.

In overtime, NM State won the coin toss and elected to send its defense on the field first. Following a pass interference penalty near the end zone, Middle Tennessee would set up at the Aggie 11-yard line and score a touchdown three plays later. This would ultimately be the game-winning touchdown as the Aggies failed to find the end zone on their lone overtime possession.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Finishing with 178 receiving yards on ten receptions alongside a pair of touchdowns, TK King recorded the most yards by an Aggie in a contest since Tyrian Taylor tallied 206 against Georgia State on Sept. 12, 2025.  
• On his career day, King posted career highs in receptions (10), receiving yards (178) and receiving touchdowns (2). He also became just the third CUSA receiver to have 10 or more catches in a single game this season, joining teammate Donovan Faupel.
• The NM State defense forced another turnover on Saturday and ended the season with at least one turnover in every game this year, marking the first time that an Aggie defense has done so since 2011.
• Despite the loss, NM State did finish the season with four wins to accomplish something only four other teams were able to achieve in the last 14 years.
• Sone Aupiu finished the game with a career-best 11 tackles.
• In his second start as an Aggie, quarterback Adam Damante posted career highs in rushing yards (9), rushing touchdowns (1), pass attempts (44) and passing yards (311). Damante also became the first Aggie quarterback to throw for 300 yards in a game this season.
• Max Dean’s 59-yard punt serves as the longest of his collegiate career.

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