tfeinberg@lcsun-news.com
@TeddyFeinberg on Twitter
As far as college football games go, New Mexico State's season-opening loss at Texas on Saturday was very much a bizarre one.A contest where the Aggies were shockingly competitive in the first half - leading 7-0 late in the second quarter and trailing just 14-7 at intermission; only to see the Longhorns hit the field with a barrage of big scoring plays to begin the second half - within a seven-minute stretch to start the third quarter, Texas would score three offensive touchdowns from 24-, 55- and 74-yards out.
Texas wasn't done from there either, scoring three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one coming on a 25-yard pass and another on a 38-yard run.
The irony of the game: despite the Aggies feeling good about their first-half performance - and rightly so - the No. 15-ranked Longhorns still covered the 42-point spread (winning by 49 in the process).
But here's the point to remember: weird things happen Week 1 of a college football season.
Some examples were a number of FCS victories over the first weekend of the 2013 campaign; Saturday's Aggie game is one to mark down as well; and does anyone remember last year's NMSU opener - a 49-19 win over Sacramento State, one that wasn't a true indication of what was to come during a 1-11 season.
On Saturday in Austin, The Aggies played about as well as anyone could have expected in the first half.
The new offensive scheme looked light years ahead of last year's outfit, with quarterback Andrew McDonald showing
he could in fact run the system effectively, the pistol offense in place which led to the quarterback-option run game, and the tight ends getting involved in the passing attack (Andy Dean came out of nowhere with six catches for 22 yards).Defensively, the Aggies held their own along the line of scrimmage and made some great plays, forcing three turnovers. Essentially, much of Texas' offense came on two long pass plays to close out the second quarter - quarterback David Ash hitting John Harris from 54-yards out and then Ash finding speedster Daje Johnson over the middle for a 66-yard catch and run.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, however, it was a sign of things to come, as the Longhorns blew things open from there.
Of course, Texas' size, speed and depth clearly played a factor as the game moved along. The Aggies could have gotten fatigued, and with fatigue can come breakdowns such as some of the ones we saw defensively.
And lets not forget, Texas really didn't know a whole lot about the Aggies coming into the contest. Again, it's Week 1 of the college football season, and NMSU was breaking in new schemes on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
McDonald did not play last year (even if he should have) and at no point did the Aggies roll out that style of offense in 2012. Ditto for the defense, which has an entirely different look. It took a first half to adjust, and Texas' thoroughbreds clearly took control from there.
The question is, what Aggie team will we see going forward? The one from the first half, that played with the No. 15 team in the country, or the one from the final two quarters, which looked susceptible to the big play?
Next Saturday Minnesota comes to town, and the following weekend will see UTEP visit Las Cruces. Perhaps the Aggies can compete against a BCS team, or beat a regional rival.
But there won't be any more surprises either. Over the next two weeks we'll find out a lot more about the Aggies, than we did in Week 1.
Sports Editor Teddy Feinberg can be reached at 575-541-5455
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