57 years…

A lot of football has been played at New Mexico State over the last 57 years — a lot of that being bad football. Members and supporters of the program have waited a long, long time for a chance to celebrate a bowl appearance, making tonight’s 22-17 victory over South Alabama that much sweeter.

New Mexico State made sure this historic game would be a memorable one, taking it down to the wire and trailing South Alabama 17-16 with just over five minutes left in the game. Countless Aggie fans have seen NMSU teams fold in big moments like that, and I’m sure that crossed the minds of many of the 20,000+ that were in attendance.

Then the drive 57 years in the making happened.

One week after not playing due to injury, quarterback Tyler Rogers, who set a new career high in pass attempts with 61 tonight, stepped up and led a methodical, clutch, Aaron Rodgers-like drive where he hit seven different receivers and converted on three huge third downs. With less than a minute left and only down one possession, settling for a field goal is what a lot of game managers would do, but Head Coach Doug Martin trusted his players and put the game in Rogers’s hands just like he has all year. The result: a game winning touchdown hookup with Connor Cramer off of a broken route — a play that will be talked about for years to come.

“The best thing you can do as a coach in big games is trust your players, and I’ve got some really good players here,” Martin said, explaining why he had the confidence in his quarterback and the offense to go out and win the game. “Tyler — I have all the trust in the world in him and I have had all year. I’m really proud of what he did, he made a lot of big plays tonight.

Rogers finished the game 40-of-61 for 451 yards and two touchdowns, with Jaleel Scott being his leading receiver with 9 catches for 134 yards and Larry Rose tacking on 147 yards from scrimmage, and while there were several Aggies that contributed heavily to this win on the offensive side of the ball, the games biggest play ended up going to Connor Cramer, who was held without a catch the whole game prior.

“I was just hoping and praying that Tyler would throw me the ball — I wanted to get it there on senior night,” Cramer said when addressing what was going through his head during the most important play in NMSU football in the last 50 years. “I just couldn’t drop that one. I had to make the play and end this drought. It was a great victory.”

The offense didn’t carry the team by any means this game, either. A good game by all three phases was necessary for NMSU to end the nation’s longest bowl drought, and the defense and special teams unit were sure to show up, too.

NMSU’s defense forced three turnovers and picked up five sacks in an effort that gave up over 350 yards of offense but yielded only 17 points. South Alabama had a shot at the end of the game to pull off the comeback with a couple of hail mary shots, but the defense tightened up when it had to. Kicker Dylan Brown was also a key cog in the win tonight, making all three of his field goals just a week after he had two attempts blocked. All around games like this are what winning teams deliver in big moments.

In the weeks leading up to this game, there has been chatter about the potential bowl bid for New Mexico State, but Coach Martin stressed over and over that this win is more about earning respect, and with a dramatic win like that in a game where the pressure was as high as it can be for a college football team, that respect is sure to come.

It’s impossible to ignore the bowl opportunity though, and while nothing is set in stone, there is a very good chance that the Aggies will be traveling to Tucson to participate in the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 29. This would mark the end of the type of streak only Cubs or Browns fans know about and be one of the brightest lights shined onto New Mexico State football since 1960.