There was no chance this game could be a normal one.

In a season for the New Mexico State football team that is unlike any other in the team history, the finale had to be weird — and exciting — and special, and boy was it all of those things and more.

NMSU needed overtime, but the Aggies from Las Cruces had one last bit of magic left in them, knocking off Utah State 26-20 with a walk-off Larry Rose III touchdown run to seal their first bowl victory in 57 years.

“It couldn’t have been more fitting that Larry Rose was the guy to score that touchdown,” Head Coach Doug Martin said of Rose’s game-winning play. “He’s the guy that’s carried us for four years and he was one of the first recruits that believed in us. This is just an example of what you can do when you have a group of people who believe in each other.”

And believe they did.

New Mexico State has been near the bottom of the totem poll in college football for much of the last 50 years, and have even had to make drastic improvements from last year’s team that finished 3-9, but Martin and his team knew they had a chance to do something that generations of Aggies haven’t seen: make, and win, a bowl game.

This battle didn’t fit the script of most of NMSU’s games this year — only 191 yards passing, struggles on third down (4 for 22 for the game) and other uncharacteristic things that the Aggies weren’t use to. Heck, there were back-to-back kickoffs returned for touchdowns by each team in the first quarter. But when it was time to make a play, the Aggies did.

Tyler Rogers led another clutch drive midway through the fourth quarter after the NMSU offense was horrendous for much of the second half, this time tying the game at 20-20 and eventually sending it to overtime with his lone touchdown pass of the game to  Jaleel Scott, who showed why he’s NFL bound tonight.

The defense was nothing short of spectacular for a majority of the game, forcing 9 punts and holding Utah State to a 1-for-18 on third down offensive showing. Four missed field goals by USU kicker Dominik Eberle were a big help too, but it was the defense that kept Utah State from getting in range, with three of those misses coming from over 40 yards away.

Junior linebacker Leon McQuaker was named the defensive MVP of the game, recording 13 tackles and two tackles for losses throughout the game, but the real star of the night was the running back Rose III, who ran for 142 yards on 16 carries and added 48 yards receiving to boot. There’s no question why the senior, who Coach Martin went so far as to say they built the program around, brought home offensive MVP honors.

The 12th man for NMSU deserves plenty of love as well, with a majority of the Arizona Bowl record 39,132 fans in attendance wearing the crimson and white. Strong crowds have eluded New Mexico State for years, but the Aggie fans there tonight provided the type of energy that one can only get at home and elevated the already talented NMSU football team to another level, especially at the end of the game.

“We’ve come so far — we worked so hard… It’s been 57 years, I’m just so happy we can do it for the city, for the people,” McQuaker said. “Words cant describe how I’m feeling right now. It’s a blessing.”

The mantra for New Mexico State down the stretch of this emotional, grind of a season has been “make history,” and tonight, that history was finally made. What a season it has been.