New Mexico State holds off Idaho 17-10
Lomax rips ball free and recovers
New Mexico State's Shamad Lomax goes for the strip instead of the tackle and rips the ball free to give the Aggies the ball back.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Larry Rose III carried 22 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns and New Mexico State rang up a school-record 11 sacks in its 17-10 victory over Idaho.
Rose scored twice in the first quarter on runs of 25 and 3 yards to give the Aggies (5-6, 3-4 Sun Belt Conference) a 14-0 lead. The win keeps New Mexico State in the hunt for a sixth victory and what would be its first bowl game in 57 years (since the 1960 Sun Bowl) with South Alabama coming to town next Saturday to close out the regular season.
Cedric Wilcots II had 3 1/2 sacks and Terrill Hanks added 2 1/2 as eight different defenders contributed to the record total. Wilcots knocked Idaho starting quarterback Mason Petrino out of the game with his first sack of the day early in the first quarter.
Colton Richardson took over for the Vandals (3-8, 2-5) and he directed a three-play scoring drive in the second quarter, capped by a 25-yard TD toss to David Ungerer. Idaho trailed 14-7 at halftime.
Cade Coffey's 34-yard third-quarter field goal pulled Idaho within 14-10. The Aggies capped the scoring with Dylan Brown's 24-yard field goal with 12:29 to play.
Richardson finished 18-of-33 passing for 167 yards. The Vandals had just 215 total yards, while the Aggies racked up 403.
Game Information
2023 Big Sky Conference Standings
| Team | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Montana | 7-1 | 13-2 |
| Idaho | 6-2 | 9-4 |
| Montana State | 6-2 | 8-4 |
| Northern Arizona | 5-3 | 5-6 |
| UC Davis | 5-3 | 7-4 |
| Sacramento State | 4-4 | 8-5 |
| Weber State | 4-4 | 6-5 |
| Portland State | 4-4 | 5-6 |
| Idaho State | 3-5 | 3-8 |
| Eastern Washington | 3-5 | 4-7 |
| Cal Poly | 1-7 | 3-8 |
| Northern Colorado | 0-8 | 0-11 |
2023 Conference USA Standings
| Team | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 8-0 | 13-1 |
| New Mexico State | 7-1 | 10-5 |
| Jacksonville State | 6-2 | 9-4 |
| Western Kentucky | 5-3 | 8-5 |
| Middle Tennessee | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Louisiana Tech | 2-6 | 3-9 |
| Sam Houston | 2-6 | 3-9 |
| UTEP | 2-6 | 3-9 |
| Florida International | 1-7 | 4-8 |
NCAAF News