New Mexico State drops heartbreaker to Liberty

Sep. 8—LAS CRUCES — On a day marked by upsets and wild results across college football, New Mexico State entered the fourth quarter against Liberty with as good a shot as any to join the party.

By the end, the Flames had emphatically slammed the door.

Defensive end C.J. Bazile Jr. came up with a key defensive score and running back Quinton Cooley finished the job with two late touchdowns to seal Liberty's 30-24 comeback win over NMSU in a game that wrapped up Sunday morning at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

In a rematch of last season's Conference USA Championship, the Aggies (1-1) stood on the brink of dealing the Flames (2-0) their first-ever CUSA loss thanks to a near-sterling defensive performance. NMSU's defense held quarterback Kaidon Salter (16 of 29 passing, 256 yards) and Cooley (112 rushing yards) in check for most of the night as Liberty's offense sputtered across the red zone and late downs alike.

The only twist? It was the Flames' defense that came up with perhaps the biggest play of the night. Trailing 17-9 in the fourth quarter, Bazile scooped quarterback Parker Awad's fumble and ran it 22 yards into the end zone to bring Liberty right back into it with 9:45 remaining.

A slew of penalties helped NMSU drive 65 yards to extend its lead to 24-15 with Awad's two-yard rushing score, the Aggies' only points of the second half. But even with a little breathing room, the same defense that stifled the Flames became "unfocused," defensive end Buddha Peleti said, as Cooley broke free for 27- and 44-yard rushing touchdowns — the latter putting Liberty on top for good with a little over a minute left.

"We can't expect our defense to completely hold Liberty down for the entire duration of the game," head coach Tony Sanchez said in a postgame press conference. "And you saw it again, we were just kind of out of gas. And, you know, they got us."

Peleti, defensive tackle Naki Fahina, defensive end Kale Edwards and linebackers Sone Aupiu and Tyler Martinez each led NMSU with five total tackles. The Aggies notably held Liberty to just one third down conversion on 11 attempts, but couldn't stop the Flames during crunch time.

"I think we just got to work on being consistent and not being complacent in those critical moments," Peleti added. "It's a somewhat new team, so I feel like us coming together, this honestly helps. Because this team hasn't seen that before and I'm glad we (saw) it at the beginning of the season we can work on it here (going forward)."

After completing five passes for 37 yards and an interception in a win over FCS Southeast Missouri State last week, Awad's second start for NMSU was a mixed bag. The 6-foot-0, 195-pound sophomore quarterback connected on 9 of 22 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns amid a strong first half, but completed only three passes in the second half and largely struggled to push the ball downfield.

"I just feel like, on the offensive side — especially me — consistency was a big issue tonight," Awad said in a postgame press conference. "If we're able to fix that, I feel like (we're) gonna be a good team."

Running backs Seth McGowan (76 rushing yards) and Monte Watkins (15 rusing yards) each took short passes from Awad to the house for touchdowns. NMSU averaged 2.7 yards per carry, converted 3 of 15 third downs and were outgained by Liberty 473-275 in a game where Sanchez said the offense needed to be better on first downs.

"We're still trying to grow this quarterback up, and anytime we got into these long third down situations, they played (two deep safeties in man coverage)," he added. "I thought (Liberty) did a good job rushing us off the edge — we gotta do a better job on the outside with our tackles, you know, creating a pass protection deal there.

"And that's really what it was: First down offense. And we were poor there."

NMSU's start proved to be more encouraging than its finish. In front of an announced crowd of 16,562 fans, the Aggies took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter after kicker Abraham Montano opened with a 29-yard field goal and Watkins ripped up the sideline for a 64-yard touchdown.

Kicker Colin Karhu (3-for-4) got the Flames on the board with a 39-yard field goal before Awad connected with McGowan for a 5-yard receiving touchdown to put the Aggies up 17-3. As NMSU's defense continued to keep Salter off-balance in the red zone, Liberty turned back to Karhu two more times to set up a 17-9 halftime lead for the Aggies.

In other words: An invite to the party. Sanchez wasn't surprised they got one.

"We're never going to celebrate a loss," Sanchez said. "There's nothing to celebrate. It's really disappointing.

"But I think tonight, we showed ourselves that like, 'alright, we are a good football team.' We just gotta settle down. We gotta execute better in critical situations."