The wait is finally over.

It’s officially game week for the New Mexico State football team, with Wyoming coming to town for a season-opening, week zero showdown at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

The Aggies are coming off of a bowl winning season for the first time in nearly six decades, but as head coach Doug Martin has reiterated throughout the offseason; it’s time to focus on what’s ahead, and right now, that’s Wyoming. Here are a few things you need to know about the Cowboys from the Mountain West heading into Saturday night.

Offense will have to bounce back from tough 2017

Despite producing a top-10 NFL draft pick in quarterback Josh Allen last year, Wyoming ranked near the bottom in several major offensive categories in 2017, struggling both on the ground (108.8 yards per game, good for 118th in FBS) and through the air (177.2 passing yards per game, good for 104th in FBS) throughout the season.

Their 286 total yards per game was the fifth lowest mark for any offense in Division I, and with NMSU’s defense being a team strength entering the season for the first time in years, it’s unlikely the Cowboys’ offense, led by first year starter and redshirt freshman quarterback Tyler Vander Waal, makes any significant jumps this early in the season.

Early uncertainty for o-line

Ask any football coach and they’ll tell you that games are won in the trenches. While a deal of Wyoming’s issues on offense last season can be attributed to line play, the unit boasts a load of depth and experience entering this year, according to head coach Craig Bohl.

That will be put to the test early in the 2018 campaign, with injuries and shuffling amongst the line leaving seniors Zach Wallace at left tackle and Kaden Jackson at right guard as the only two lineman starting in the same position as last season. That lack of continuity could lead to a favorable matchup for NMSU’s defensive front, who return nearly every contributor from last season’s historic pass rushing show that picked up 43 sacks (good enough for the fifth most in the country).

Any time Wyoming is forced into passing situations, the likes of Terrill Hanks, Cedric Wilcots and Malik Demby will be able to tee off and, hopefully for the Aggies, have a repeat performance of last year’s pass rush that registered a school record seven sacks in their season opener against Arizona State.

Defense, grit look to be Wyoming’s forte

With all that being said about Wyoming’s offensive performance in 2017, the team still went 8-5 and brought home a Famous Idaho Potato Bowl victory, in large part because of the quality play that came from the defensive side of the ball.

The Cowboys limited teams both in yardage totals and on the scoreboard, ranking in the top 25 nationally in both yards and points allowed per game (with 333 and 17.8 respectively).

Wyoming’s clear specialty, though, was their stoutness in the passing game and their ability to create turnovers. The opportunistic defensive group helped maintain the country’s number one turnover margin with their nation leading 38 total takeaways, which came in an impressively balanced manner (20 interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries, both ranking in the top two nationally) all while holding teams to a fifth ranked 160 yards passing per game.

NMSU’s offense will be finding their way with a first-year starter at quarterback, too, so expect a low scoring, defensive battle between two teams with a lot to prove in 2018.