Despite a daunting schedule, the New Mexico State football team has looked impressive through the first half of the season, having a chance in just about every game they’ve played so far. However, not playing a full 60 minutes of their best football has cost the Aggies, who currently sit at 2-4, though that record could easily be flipped.

NMSU is coming off a tough loss at Appalachian State where they held a lead in the fourth quarter, but the Aggies couldn’t overcome the career-high 6 interceptions thrown by quarterback Tyler Rogers and allowed 28 fourth-quarter points to the Mountaineers. Head Coach Doug Martin was pleased with the offensive production from last Saturday’s contest, and with reason, as the Aggies scored over 30 points for the fourth time this season and out-gained App. State by over 100 yards on their way to amassing 500 total yards of offense for the first time since they beat New Mexico in the second game of the season, but noted that this team has to start finishing games if they want to live up to their full potential.

“With everything that happened, we still had a seven point lead with nine minutes left. Right there, our defense has to go out and get a stop and our offense has to score again and the game’s over. That’s what we haven’t learned how to do yet,” Martin said. “We have to make the plays at the end of the game to close it out.”

Saturday’s defeat isn’t the only time the Aggies have struggled to play a complete game this year. New Mexico State got off to slow starts against Arizona State and Troy, getting outscored 27-3 in the first quarters of those games, each of which ended up being one possession losses. NMSU also allowed 23 points in the fourth quarter against UNM, turning a game they were in complete control of for three quarters in to a thriller decided in the final minutes. These close games are frustrating when NMSU ends up on the losing side, but the Aggies have definitely played like a force to be reckoned with, giving two of the better teams in the Sun Belt and an ASU team that knocked off a nationally ranked Oregon weeks ago all they could handle.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’ve caught up with people talent wise in the conference,” Martin said. “As long as we’re playing at our highest level, we can beat anybody.”

While moral victories are frowned upon in football, it is encouraging when a team is in position to win a game despite not playing their best, and the Aggies have shown that throughout the season. Coach Martin and his players are rightfully confident going forward, entering Saturday’s contest with a much improved defense and the top ranked total offense in the conference. Rogers is poised to bounce back and build on an already outstanding statistical season where he ranks in the top three nationally in passing yards and passing touchdowns against a struggling Georgia Southern defense that has allowed nearly 40 points per game.

“A big thing that we’ve improved from last year is we’re not hung up over a loss,” sophomore defensive tackle Roy Lopez said, speaking on the team’s readiness entering Saturday. “We have the same confidence going into every game and we feel like we can win every game.”

We all know that NMSU is capable of playing a full game, as evidenced in their dominant win over I-10 rival UTEP. The Aggies more than doubled UTEP’s total offense and forced five turnovers in the only game of the season where they scored as many or more points as their opponent in each quarter played.

New Mexico State looks to get their first Sun Belt victory against a winless Georgia Southern team who is struggling on both sides of the ball, ranking in the bottom two in the conference for both scoring offense and scoring defense. A win would put NMSU at 3-4 entering a much needed bye, giving the Aggies an extra week to recover from injury as they prepare for the home stretch of a season where their first bowl appearance since 1960 is still very much in play.