After 63 years the NMSU Aggies are playing in consecutive bowl games
Albuquerque, New Mexico (KVIA) -- It's been an incredible two seasons for the New Mexico State Aggies, in large part because of head coach Jerry Kill.
The list of accomplishments are almost too long to list but one of the craziest is that playing in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday will mark the Aggies first time going to back-to-back bowls in 63 years.
It's been a long and rough ride for Aggie nation, especially for the players on that 1959-60 team.
“That football program was a joke," Don Yannessa a former offensive tackle for the Aggies said. "You have no idea the embarrassment and the amount of torture I sustained by my friends.”
Over 60 years ago Yanessa was a star offensive tackle for one of the best football teams to ever come out of New Mexico State.
“It was extraordinary and I mean extraordinary," Yannessa said.
In 1960 the Aggies went 11-0, became ranked and went to consecutive bowl games for the first time ever.
“I knew all the way back to the turn of the century that they were one of the worst football programs, I mean if every team would have played like that in America the U.S. government would have banned football but the thing is all of a sudden you get the right guy at the helm and they buy into it," Yannessa said. "The next thing you know you’re doing things that have never been done before and people are going like wow!”
Yannessa had hoped his team had laid the platform for a successful program but instead the 1960 squad is remembered as the greatest in Aggie history, that was until now.
This season the Aggies secured their first ever win over an SEC team, first double digit win season in 63 years, fist consecutive winning seasons since 1967 and of course their first back-to-back bowls since Yannessa and his team did it.
"I never thought it would take this long, but I endured, i've always been loyal to them, now I'm so proud of them now I'm going to write a check I can't even tell you how much for cause she'll get angry," Yannessa said.
"It's a huge opportunity, we're excited but more excited for the State and the alumni they never really got to experience this," NMSU linebacker Keyshaun Elliott said. "I'm just proud of the coaches and the players sticking together and nobody thought we'd be in this moment but here we are today."
On Saturday the Aggies have a chance to also equalise the winningest season in program history which naturally was 11 wins in 1960. It's something Yannessa would love to see them accomplish.
NMSU play Fresno State at 3.45 p.m. on Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl.
