Aggie Football Coach Previews New Mexico

On USU's Defense

"We need to be good enough on defense to take something away from what the opposing offense needs to do. In a lot of cases we are playing teams that like to run the football, that hang their hat on running the football, and this week is no exception. We have got to make some stops. We have got to get off the field. We have got to allow our offense to get into some kind of continuity, and I think that that is going to be very, very important."

"We continue to struggle to a certain extent running the football. We have gotten better and we continue to get better and must strive to become a better running football team to help us control, a little bit more, the time of possession. It is awfully frustrating when your offense is on the field, 15 minutes, 18 minutes less than your opponent is. I think the combination of those two things (defense getting off the field and controlling the ball offensively) hopefully will bring the time of possession a little bit more in line, which is important for us in finishing up correctly in these next three contests."

"I think New Mexico State is a very, very good football team. They haven't changed a whole lot in what they attempt to do on the offensive side of the ball. I think they are still a down hill, power-oriented running team that plays with great athletes at the quarterback spot. Some of their finesse running stuff is very, very dangerous. They like to run the option. Their quarterback is another ball carrier, not only in the option phase of their game, but in the power phase of their game, and they happen to have two very good ones. The (Buck) Pierce kid was hurt early and was replaced by a youngster named (Paul) Dombrowski that has allowed them to not miss a beat. They would rather run the ball than throw the ball, but the thing that kind of jumps out at you and catches your eye is their effectiveness and their efficiency when they do throw the football."

"Obviously we have got our hands full. This is as good a team as we have played in a long, long time. They have had a great deal of success this year, so we are very excited about it. They are a team that is leading the Sun Belt Conference and we have a chance to play them at home in our final home game of the year. It is our final opportunity for our seniors to play at home so obviously we are looking at this as a huge, huge ballgame. We need to take another step forward in becoming a better football team this week."

"Defensively they have changed a little bit over the years from the last time we played them. There are a lot of similarities with some of the teams that we have played. They are primarily a zone team that will blitz some, but they are going to hang their hat on playing a great zone defense and they have been very good defensively - equally as good defensively this year as they have been on the offensive side of the ball."

"We are facing a great challenge and one in which I know our kids are looking forward to and will be excited to lineup and play on Saturday."