NM State football
WHO: NM State (3-5, 2-2 CUSA) vs. Liberty (7-1, 4-0 CUSA)
WHERE: Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces.
WHEN: 6 p.m.
HOW TO WATCH: ESPNU with Joe Tordy (play-by-play) and Forrest Conoly (analyst) on the call.
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BETTING LINE: Liberty is a 16.5-point favorite, per DraftKings. The over/under is set at 46.5.
Eight games into the season, New Mexico State is expected to make another change at quarterback.
Ahead of the Aggies’ game against Conference USA frontrunner Liberty, head coach Tony Sanchez said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if NM State started a different quarterback against the Flames.
The Aggies have started senior Adam Damante over their last four games. The 6-2, 195-pound former Arizona transfer completed 7 of 20 passes for 23 yards and one interception in a 24-0 loss to Jacksonville State last week.
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“The frustrating thing is, you wish you were kinda settled (at quarterback) at this point,” Sanchez said Monday. “And we’re not — we just did not play a very good game (against Jax State) in the passing game … I wouldn’t be surprised to see another guy sitting back there, starting at quarterback.”
Sanchez said junior Trey Hedden and sophomore Kalani McLeod received “the lion’s share” of practice reps with the first-team offense this week. The former opened the season as NM State’s starting quarterback before he was replaced during a 42-18 loss to New Mexico on Sept. 26.
Sanchez added that Hedden handled being replaced by Damante, “as good as any player I’ve ever been around.”
“I talked to him the other day and he said, ‘coach, I know why you did what you did,'” he said of the Furman transfer. “‘You have to — you gotta make decisions and I wasn’t playing very well.’ And you know what, he’s been great at practice, he’s been great on the sidelines.
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” … It’s kinda refreshing to see in this day and age. He’s not a selfish guy at all.”
What you need to know
HE SAID IT: “In Conference USA, there’s not a single game out there that’s not a winnable game,” Sanchez said. “I mean, heck, this last game (against Jax State) was … We just gotta be more productive in the passing game to help out with that running game and defense.”
KEEP AN EYE ON (for NM State): With 112 yards against Jax State, running back James Jones now has five games with 100-plus rushing yards this season. The 6-1, 205-pound senior also leads CUSA with 889 yards on the season.
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KEEP AN EYE ON (for Liberty): Running back Kam Davis has been one of the top backs in CUSA this season, rushing for 603 yards and seven touchdowns.
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
