NMSU avoids scare against Pine Bluff

Photo: The Golden Lion defense gives NMSU more problems than anticipated.

By Teddy Feinberg/Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES — The New Mexico State Aggies avoided a major scare on Saturday night.

Still questions remain about the team heading into the second half of the season.

NMSU (3-2) squeaked by Arkansas-Pine Bluff 20-17 behind a Paul Young 37-yard field goal with .7-seconds remaining in regulation. Pine Bluff (1-4), a Division 1-AA program, came in as serious underdogs but gave the Aggies all they could handle and then some. It was the Golden Lions first Division 1 game for a program that has existed for over 100 years.

"They came in here and we let them stay in the game with us and they took it," Mumme said. "They made plays."

There are concerns following Saturday's game that go beyond the final score however. Quarterback Chase Holbrook took a vicious shot midway through the fourth quarter that forced him to come out for an extended period of time. Holbrook eventually did return to lead the team downfield on the game winning drive, but was noticeably shook up throughout the closing minutes of the contest.

Mumme said that Holbrook injured his ribs and that his status is uncertain at this point.

"They're looking at him," Mumme said of Holbrook and the medical staff. "It's his ribs."

Another red flag was just how badly NMSU struggled against the Golden Lions. NMSU's vaunted offense outgained UAPB by just 70 yards (297-367), and the Aggies secondary gave up 234-yards passing. Pine Bluff's feature runner Martell Mallet ran for 87 yards on 18 carries and gave NMSU fits throughout.

"We made some mistakes," Floyd said. "Some people got blocked, some people were out of position at times and sometimes we were in the right positions and missed some tackles."

After taking a 10-0 lead early on and eventually a 17-7 advantage, NMSU let the Golden Lions back in the game.

After kicking a field goal at the halftime horn to cut the lead down to seven, Pine Bluff came out in the second half and drove immediately downfield. Two third-down plays highlighted the scoring march. The first one came on third-and-22 from midfield, when quarterback Johnathan Moore dumped it off to Mallett near the line of scrimmage. Mallett gutted the middle of the Aggie defense, breaking tackles and barreling his way down to the NMSU 27 for the first down.

Three plays later, facing a third-and-10, Moore felt pressure and lobbed a ball down towards the goalline. Jason Jones came down with it, outleaping cornerback Chris Woods at the 1 before falling to the ground. Mallett took it in on a pitch-right two plays later. The extra point tied things at 17.

"It just seemed like we were flat even during warmups," safety Derrick Richardson said. "They definitely were better than we thought they were."

The score remained deadlocked at 17 until late in the fourth quarter with Pine Bluff threatening. With the ball at the NMSU 28 on third-and-5, Moore went for the endzone. The ball was tipped by Alex Bernard and picked by Richardson, who fell to the ground for the touchback with 2:30 remaining in regulation.

Two plays later, backup quarterback J.J. McDermott threw a fade down the right sideline for Chris Williams, who was bumped by cornerback Jermaine Clemmons while going up for the ball. The officials threw the flag, calling a pass interference penalty on the play, a 15-yard infraction.

"It was definitely a good call," Williams said. "I went up and he ran right into me."

Holbrook re-entered the game and helped move the ball down the Pine Bluff 20. Holbrook hit wide receiver Wes Neiman on third-and-6 from the Pine Bluff 47 for an 18 yard pickup with just under a minute remaining.

The Aggies got the ball down to the 20 when Young lined up for his 37-yarder.

"I'd thought he'd make it," Mumme said. "I'm pretty optimistic all the time."

15,329 fans came out for Saturday night's game, highlighted by the

Tough Enough to Wear Pink fundraiser. Mumme's wife June led the charge as part of a breast cancer awareness movement. Thousands of fans came out dressed in pink in support of the cause. Over $225,000 was generated coming into the evening, with donations still expected to come.