Behind Enemy Lines: New Mexico State football beat writer Jason Groves discusses CMU game
Central Michigan Life's Evan Petzold spoke with New Mexico State beat writer Jason Groves from The Las Cruces Sun-News to preview Central Michigan's 3 p.m. Oct. 12 game against the Aggies at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
New Mexico State is 0-6 this season, losing to Washington State (58-7), Alabama (62-10), San Diego State (31-10), New Mexico State (55-52), Fresno State (30-17) and Liberty (20-13).
In 2018, the Aggies finished 3-9 overall. The team has been an NCAA Division I FBS independent since leaving the Sun Belt Conference following the 2017 season.
Groves discussed New Mexico State's strength of schedule, improvement from the defense, quarterback Josh Adkins and much more on both sides of the ball in this exclusive Q&A.
Central Michigan Life: What is there to know about New Mexico State entering this week's game?
Jason Groves: I never expected them to beat a team like Alabama or Washington State. Those scores played out how I thought. I was surprised how slow their defense started this season. They let up 55 points to New Mexico in a loss, and New Mexico isn't good. There were a lot of big plays through the air in that game. They made one personnel change by moving Jared Phipps off the bench at cornerback to replace Ray Buford Jr. for the last two games, and they haven't really given up big plays. Liberty has an NFL prospect (Antonio Gandy-Golden) at receiver, and they held that kid to four catches for 40 yards. They're also starting to get out to the quarterback. I think they had five sacks in the last two games.
They talked about Central Michigan's offensive line a lot, so I think they're expecting more of a run-based team this week. That has given them problems in the past. Against the last few opponents, they've fixed their weakness in the pass defense, but we will see if they can stop a running team.
Is there a positive trend with New Mexico State?
The positive trend has been their defense. The most surprising thing is just how bad the quarterback play has been. He has 11 interceptions, and the team has 17 turnovers – the most in the FBS. That kills any positive momentum on offense. Last week against Liberty, they had two turnovers inside the 5-yard line going to score. That should've been a win.
Going into the season, I thought this game would be a win, but Jim McElwain has obviously done a great job out there, so I really don't know what to expect. I do expect a closer game, but it all comes down to if NMSU can hold onto the football. They're averaging over two turnovers per game this year.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Aggies?
There are little details. The main part of the struggles on offense is that they've had four different offensive tackles with injuries. Despite that, they have a really good running back in Jason Huntley, who is probably their best player. They've started to run the football better these last few weeks, and I think that's helped the offensive line since they have three new starters on that group. I know Central Michigan gets to the quarterback, so I'm kind of concerned about that because NMSU allows sacks – especially on third down. They do struggle on third down on offense.
How has quarterback Josh Adkins been this season?
He's a redshirt sophomore. Last year, they had poor quarterback play through the first three-and-a-half games, so he came in. He won his first two starts and showed a lot of upsides. There were expectations for him this year, but he hasn't been good. He's not as accurate with the football. One of the interceptions was behind the running back. He misses throws that you wouldn't expect, but he's a hard worker and will run enough to keep them ahead of the sticks. That's not what he wants to do. They want to throw the ball between 30 and 40 times per game if possible. He takes what is underneath. They have a good receiver from Baylor in Tony Nicholson, who is the best at that position. They just haven't been able to connect with him enough down the field to keep defenses honest. The defense usually just takes away the short stuff and make them throw it down the field.
New Mexico State coach Doug Martin has one winning season since taking over in 2013. Is he on the hot seat?
My opinion on the job at a school like New Mexico State is that you can build toward that kind of a season every three or four years. He's gotten to that point now. Everyone knew the (tough) schedule and turnover from the last few years, so it's a relatively young team in key areas. I think they are looking for next season since the schedule is easier as an independent next year.
At most places, you'd say he's on the hot seat. But here, he has two years left of a guaranteed contract. Unless someone were to give NMSU $1 million, plus however much it would take to hire new staff, it won't happen. You'd think he would be feeling pressure, but the reality is that they can't fire him.
If New Mexico State is going to pull off an upset, what has to happen?
Like I said earlier, they have to slow Central Michigan down running the football. They haven't been able to get to the quarterback. In third-down passing situations, maybe Central Michigan doesn't prefer to do that. I think they feel good about those matchups even though Central Michigan has a tight end (Tony Poljan) and receiver (Kalil Pimpleton) that are pretty good. Other than turnovers, if they need to continue to run the ball with Jason Huntley, who has been close to 100 yards in the last three games on average. They've been focusing more on that to take the pressure off Josh, but he has to take care of the football. They turn the ball over once or fewer, it'll be a closer game.
Score prediction?
I can't give you a score, but I think can't see NMSU doing the things needed to do. They haven't been consistent enough. I think Central Michigan will win, but it'll be a one-possession game.
