Local has the lines at Cal -30 and O/U at 58. Can New Mexico score two TD's if so then doesn't New Mexico State and the over make sense? They score two TD's and you should get at least a spilt.
New Mexico State Question
- Thread starter mjplus1
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Aggies take on 13th-ranked Cal on ESPN
A year ago, the California Bears were in the early stages of a Cinderella run toward a BCS bowl bid when they pounded the New Mexico State Aggies 41-14 in Berkeley, Calif., on Sept. 11, 2004.
The Bears? BCS run ended when, in the final polls of the season, the Texas Longhorns leapfrogged Cal and got a spot in the lucrative Rose Bowl instead of the 10-1 Bears.
Cal settled for a berth in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl and 45-31 loss to a Texas Tech Red Raider offense that exposed the Cal secondary to the tune of 520 passing yards. Long before Mike Leach was perfecting that high-powered passing attack in Lubbock, he was learning it from current New Mexico State head coach Hal Mumme.
?It?s similar to Texas Tech?s,? Cal coach Jeff Tedford said of the Aggies? Air Raid offense. ?They spread you out ? four wide receivers, two-by-two or three-by-one ? that type of thing. They can do some damage, as we saw what Texas Tech did. So we have a good challenge, we have to limit the big play. We can?t give away big plays against them. We have to make them earn everything that they get.?
Cal (3-0) will take on NMSU (0-3) tonight in a nationally-televised ESPN game at 8 p.m.
Looking to lead the yet-to-take flight Air Raid with his first start of the season is junior quarterback Joey Vincent who led a pair of second half scoring drives last week in Albuquerque in a loss to the rival New Mexico Lobos.
Aggie running back Justine Buries runs against the Colorado Buffaloes defense Sept. 10 in Boulder, Colo. Buries ran for 115 yards last week in Albuquerque in a loss to the UNM Lobos. (Sun-News photo by Jennifer West)
Vincent got the nod after being benched in preseason in favor of junior college transfer Royal Gill. Although Gill showed signs of brilliance ? 300-plus passing yards in the opener against Texas-El Paso and a beautiful 80-yard scoring strike last week to Paul Dombrowski ? the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Gill never looked comfortable with reings of Mumme?s offense.
Chalk much of that discomfort up to a swiss cheese offensive line that allowed Gill to be sacked 13 times in 10 quarters of play.
Enter Vincent, a smaller (6-foot, 219), quicker player who was recruited from Chandler, Ariz., as an option quarterback after rushing for more than 1,000 yards as a senior at Hamilton High School. Vincent has shown a propensity to avoid the sack better than Gill and has a stronger, albeit less accurate arm than Gill, according to teammates.
In his fourth year with the Aggies, Vincent seems to have revved up some excitement from those teammates in his first start.
?We?re very excited to see what Joey can do when he doesn?t have to look over his shoulder,? said senior receiver Paul Dombrowski.
Dombrowski, who used to split time at quarterback with former Aggie buck Pierce, can appreciate the importance of getting a full week of practice with the first team offense before heading into a game as a starter.
?If you look at the past few years, Buck or I would have our best games when the other was hurt and we were the guy for that week,? Dombrowski said.
Another player who can appreciate the position Vincent is in as a first time starter is a guy who will line up against the Aggies tonight. Cal quarterback Jeff Ayoob was in a similar position, losing a tight preseason quarterback battle to redshirt freshman Nate Longshore. When Longshore broke a leg in the team?s opener, the JuCo All American Ayoob stepped in to the game and fizzled with an 0-10 performance.
?I came in and ran the 2-minute offense and went 0-3 on each of the first two drives and it got in my head,? Ayoob said. ?I guess I just never really settled down.?
Ayoob (6-3, 220) said he felt much more comfortable in the next two weeks when he knew he was the man in practice. His numbers showed it, too. Ayoob went 17-27 for 271 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-17 win over Washington and was a modest, yet efficient 8-17 and 121 yards in last week?s come-from-behind win over Illinois.
Tedford told the Associated Press he is confident Ayoob will start to find a groove more quickly than he has in past games.
??That?s part of the learning curve,?? Tedford said. ??When you?re a young quarterback in the early pace of the game, there?s going to be a time when you have to settle in.??
Mumme has said since making the quarterback decision in the preseason that he had never had the luxury of having such a close battle at quarterback in his coaching career and often referred to Vincent as his 1B quarterback or his ?bullpen guy.? Mumme emphasized he wasn?t necessarily upset with Gill?s past performance when deciding to start Vincent, but isn?t used to having his usually high powered offense shutdown. He also needs to settle on a starter before next week?s Western Athletic Conference schedule begins.
?We?re not used to going scoreless in quarters,? Mumme said. ?Nothing against Royal but I just think that we kind of needed to shake up the batting order... Not to take anything away from this week?s game, but you play in a conference to try and win it. I thought this would be a good time to name Joey the starter to see how he looks before conference.?
As for Vincent, who one teammate compared his gunslinging, playmaking ability to that of Brett Favre, he?s doesn?t seem to mind his starting debut coming against such a high-powered foe.
?I?m not nervous,? Vincent said. ?The way I think about is why wouldn?t you want to play the best teams you can... Growing up in Arizona I watched a lot of Pac-10 football so this a very exciting opportunity for me.?
For Vincent?s opportunity to result in an improbable win (oddsmakers have Cal favored by 30), he?ll need help from an Aggie defense that has struggled stopping the run, which also happens to be Cal?s biggest weapon.
In three games this season, Cal has had three different players eclipse the 100-yard mark and never missed a beat when 2004 Freshman All-American Marshawn Lynch (147 yards in opener against Sacramento State) went down with a hand injury.
In his spot, backups Justin Forsett (187 yards vs. Illinois) and Marcus O?Keith (103 yards vs. Washington) have had little problem carrying the load behind one of the nation?s better offensive lines. Cal is averaging 264 yards rushing per game.
Last week, the Aggies had trouble getting off the field against a Lobo team that had a pair of 100-yard runners (quarterback Kole McKamey and tail back DonTrell Moore). The Aggies are allowing 216 yards rushing per game.
The Aggie running game finally saw life in the Lobo loss, however. Sophomore Justine Buries ran for 115 yards for a team that had averaged minus six yards per game in the first two losses of the season. Mumme credited that to the offensive line as much as to Buries.
?I?m happy with the way the offensive line has been coming along each of the last three weeks and I think everyone?s pretty upbeat around here,? Mumme said. ?Nobody wants to be 0-3 right now but it?s a difficult thing to take over a team that hasn?t had a lot of success in the past and play the schedule we?ve played already this year.?
Including Cal, the Aggies? opponents this season are a combined 10-0.
?Lets say this,? said Aggie defensive coordinator Woody Widenhofer, ?Each of the teams we played this year are going to be competing for their conference championships. Got it??
A year ago, the California Bears were in the early stages of a Cinderella run toward a BCS bowl bid when they pounded the New Mexico State Aggies 41-14 in Berkeley, Calif., on Sept. 11, 2004.
The Bears? BCS run ended when, in the final polls of the season, the Texas Longhorns leapfrogged Cal and got a spot in the lucrative Rose Bowl instead of the 10-1 Bears.
Cal settled for a berth in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl and 45-31 loss to a Texas Tech Red Raider offense that exposed the Cal secondary to the tune of 520 passing yards. Long before Mike Leach was perfecting that high-powered passing attack in Lubbock, he was learning it from current New Mexico State head coach Hal Mumme.
?It?s similar to Texas Tech?s,? Cal coach Jeff Tedford said of the Aggies? Air Raid offense. ?They spread you out ? four wide receivers, two-by-two or three-by-one ? that type of thing. They can do some damage, as we saw what Texas Tech did. So we have a good challenge, we have to limit the big play. We can?t give away big plays against them. We have to make them earn everything that they get.?
Cal (3-0) will take on NMSU (0-3) tonight in a nationally-televised ESPN game at 8 p.m.
Looking to lead the yet-to-take flight Air Raid with his first start of the season is junior quarterback Joey Vincent who led a pair of second half scoring drives last week in Albuquerque in a loss to the rival New Mexico Lobos.
Aggie running back Justine Buries runs against the Colorado Buffaloes defense Sept. 10 in Boulder, Colo. Buries ran for 115 yards last week in Albuquerque in a loss to the UNM Lobos. (Sun-News photo by Jennifer West)
Vincent got the nod after being benched in preseason in favor of junior college transfer Royal Gill. Although Gill showed signs of brilliance ? 300-plus passing yards in the opener against Texas-El Paso and a beautiful 80-yard scoring strike last week to Paul Dombrowski ? the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Gill never looked comfortable with reings of Mumme?s offense.
Chalk much of that discomfort up to a swiss cheese offensive line that allowed Gill to be sacked 13 times in 10 quarters of play.
Enter Vincent, a smaller (6-foot, 219), quicker player who was recruited from Chandler, Ariz., as an option quarterback after rushing for more than 1,000 yards as a senior at Hamilton High School. Vincent has shown a propensity to avoid the sack better than Gill and has a stronger, albeit less accurate arm than Gill, according to teammates.
In his fourth year with the Aggies, Vincent seems to have revved up some excitement from those teammates in his first start.
?We?re very excited to see what Joey can do when he doesn?t have to look over his shoulder,? said senior receiver Paul Dombrowski.
Dombrowski, who used to split time at quarterback with former Aggie buck Pierce, can appreciate the importance of getting a full week of practice with the first team offense before heading into a game as a starter.
?If you look at the past few years, Buck or I would have our best games when the other was hurt and we were the guy for that week,? Dombrowski said.
Another player who can appreciate the position Vincent is in as a first time starter is a guy who will line up against the Aggies tonight. Cal quarterback Jeff Ayoob was in a similar position, losing a tight preseason quarterback battle to redshirt freshman Nate Longshore. When Longshore broke a leg in the team?s opener, the JuCo All American Ayoob stepped in to the game and fizzled with an 0-10 performance.
?I came in and ran the 2-minute offense and went 0-3 on each of the first two drives and it got in my head,? Ayoob said. ?I guess I just never really settled down.?
Ayoob (6-3, 220) said he felt much more comfortable in the next two weeks when he knew he was the man in practice. His numbers showed it, too. Ayoob went 17-27 for 271 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-17 win over Washington and was a modest, yet efficient 8-17 and 121 yards in last week?s come-from-behind win over Illinois.
Tedford told the Associated Press he is confident Ayoob will start to find a groove more quickly than he has in past games.
??That?s part of the learning curve,?? Tedford said. ??When you?re a young quarterback in the early pace of the game, there?s going to be a time when you have to settle in.??
Mumme has said since making the quarterback decision in the preseason that he had never had the luxury of having such a close battle at quarterback in his coaching career and often referred to Vincent as his 1B quarterback or his ?bullpen guy.? Mumme emphasized he wasn?t necessarily upset with Gill?s past performance when deciding to start Vincent, but isn?t used to having his usually high powered offense shutdown. He also needs to settle on a starter before next week?s Western Athletic Conference schedule begins.
?We?re not used to going scoreless in quarters,? Mumme said. ?Nothing against Royal but I just think that we kind of needed to shake up the batting order... Not to take anything away from this week?s game, but you play in a conference to try and win it. I thought this would be a good time to name Joey the starter to see how he looks before conference.?
As for Vincent, who one teammate compared his gunslinging, playmaking ability to that of Brett Favre, he?s doesn?t seem to mind his starting debut coming against such a high-powered foe.
?I?m not nervous,? Vincent said. ?The way I think about is why wouldn?t you want to play the best teams you can... Growing up in Arizona I watched a lot of Pac-10 football so this a very exciting opportunity for me.?
For Vincent?s opportunity to result in an improbable win (oddsmakers have Cal favored by 30), he?ll need help from an Aggie defense that has struggled stopping the run, which also happens to be Cal?s biggest weapon.
In three games this season, Cal has had three different players eclipse the 100-yard mark and never missed a beat when 2004 Freshman All-American Marshawn Lynch (147 yards in opener against Sacramento State) went down with a hand injury.
In his spot, backups Justin Forsett (187 yards vs. Illinois) and Marcus O?Keith (103 yards vs. Washington) have had little problem carrying the load behind one of the nation?s better offensive lines. Cal is averaging 264 yards rushing per game.
Last week, the Aggies had trouble getting off the field against a Lobo team that had a pair of 100-yard runners (quarterback Kole McKamey and tail back DonTrell Moore). The Aggies are allowing 216 yards rushing per game.
The Aggie running game finally saw life in the Lobo loss, however. Sophomore Justine Buries ran for 115 yards for a team that had averaged minus six yards per game in the first two losses of the season. Mumme credited that to the offensive line as much as to Buries.
?I?m happy with the way the offensive line has been coming along each of the last three weeks and I think everyone?s pretty upbeat around here,? Mumme said. ?Nobody wants to be 0-3 right now but it?s a difficult thing to take over a team that hasn?t had a lot of success in the past and play the schedule we?ve played already this year.?
Including Cal, the Aggies? opponents this season are a combined 10-0.
?Lets say this,? said Aggie defensive coordinator Woody Widenhofer, ?Each of the teams we played this year are going to be competing for their conference championships. Got it??
COMMENTARY: Vincent is the spark Aggie offense needs
By Geoff Grammer/Sun-News Sports Editor
Sep 23, 2005, 12:01 am
Brace yourselves. Here comes a compliment to Hal Mumme from a guy most at NMSU dismiss as the anti-Aggie before reading what I write.
Coach Mumme?s decision to start Joey Vincent tonight against the Cal Bears is a great move. It should serve as a huge shot in the arm for the Aggies, even in a game against a highly talented and nationally-ranked Cal Bear squad.
Further, it is a change of pace decision that goes against much of what Mumme critics have said about his tumultuos Southeastern Conference tenure with the Kentucky Wildcats. Apparently Hal Mumme isn?t too proud, stuborn or set in his ways to make a change at quarterback. He won't, to the detriment of his team, stick with his guy to prove a point.
With the Wildcats, Mumme was criticized by several Kentucky columnists and one now infamous ex-assistant coach in a tell-all book Fourth Down and Life to Go for ?picking his guy? in Jared Lorenzen at quarterback over a proven commodity in Dusty Bonner ? the previous year?s starter who led the Wildcats to a Bowl game and many argued staved off Lorenzen in Spring practice. Kentucky went on to a 2-9 record with Lorenzen. Bonner went on, after transferring away from Mumme and Kentucky, to twice win the Harlan Hill Trophy as Division II?s bestplayer while leading the high-powered Valdosta State offense.
Last year, Kentucky made good on what became a nasty break up when they invited Bonner back to the school as an honorary captain for the Georgia game.
When Mumme chose Royal Gill to be the signal caller this year, it came after a battle that nobody could say was won hands down by either quarterback. There were divided loyalties and there were those, myself included, who thought the faster, quicker and strong armed Vincent ? in his fourth year with the Aggies ? would be a better fit for an offense with a suspect offensive line. Gill went on to get sacked 13 times in two and a half games under center and, while its hard to put all the blame on him, never looked as comfortable with the offense as Vincent did in less than one half last week in Albuquerque.
Mumme pulled the trigger less than two minutes into the second half of the UNM game and seemed to have his mind made up about Vincent starting tonight even before the 6-foot junior from Chandler, Ariz., led the Aggies on two second half scoring drives and made the offense click better than it had all season.
Vincent draws a tough matchup tonight with Cal, but its no better than the UTEP-Colorado?UNM draw Gill had to prove he was the man.
No excuses can be made for Vincent as none were made for Gill.
But Vincent gets one thing this week he didn?t have before: For the first time, he knows this is his Aggie team and he got all reps with the first team offense in practice.
?I think the team is confident,? senior receiver Paul Dombrowski said. ?We?re very excited to see what Joey can do when he doesn?t have to look over his shoulder.?
New starting running back Justine Buries described Vincent best at a press conference on Monday. Buries said the gritty, gunslinging Vincent finds a way to make plays and compared his style of play to one of the game?s best ever.
?I?d say he?s a little like Brett Favre,? Buries said. ?They both like to go out there and have fun.?
So here?s a pat on the back for Mumme for making the decision I think will give his team a chance to make a run at a bowl game, even after a horrible start to the season. It gives his team a chance to have a firm grasp on their starting quarterback position heading into next week?s Western Athletic Conference schedule.
In the end it might be Gill over Vincent, but with at least one start apiece under their belts ? two each in non-conference games would have been more ideal ? fans will now know who the best quarterback for the Aggies will be.
No second guessing, no wondering.
From the looks of the WAC so far, the third spot in the conference and a possible bowl game is still a possibility even for an Aggie squad that has yet to take flight. All this team needs is a spark.
Anyone who knows Vincent or has watched him play knows, he just might be the spark the Aggies need.
By Geoff Grammer/Sun-News Sports Editor
Sep 23, 2005, 12:01 am
Brace yourselves. Here comes a compliment to Hal Mumme from a guy most at NMSU dismiss as the anti-Aggie before reading what I write.
Coach Mumme?s decision to start Joey Vincent tonight against the Cal Bears is a great move. It should serve as a huge shot in the arm for the Aggies, even in a game against a highly talented and nationally-ranked Cal Bear squad.
Further, it is a change of pace decision that goes against much of what Mumme critics have said about his tumultuos Southeastern Conference tenure with the Kentucky Wildcats. Apparently Hal Mumme isn?t too proud, stuborn or set in his ways to make a change at quarterback. He won't, to the detriment of his team, stick with his guy to prove a point.
With the Wildcats, Mumme was criticized by several Kentucky columnists and one now infamous ex-assistant coach in a tell-all book Fourth Down and Life to Go for ?picking his guy? in Jared Lorenzen at quarterback over a proven commodity in Dusty Bonner ? the previous year?s starter who led the Wildcats to a Bowl game and many argued staved off Lorenzen in Spring practice. Kentucky went on to a 2-9 record with Lorenzen. Bonner went on, after transferring away from Mumme and Kentucky, to twice win the Harlan Hill Trophy as Division II?s bestplayer while leading the high-powered Valdosta State offense.
Last year, Kentucky made good on what became a nasty break up when they invited Bonner back to the school as an honorary captain for the Georgia game.
When Mumme chose Royal Gill to be the signal caller this year, it came after a battle that nobody could say was won hands down by either quarterback. There were divided loyalties and there were those, myself included, who thought the faster, quicker and strong armed Vincent ? in his fourth year with the Aggies ? would be a better fit for an offense with a suspect offensive line. Gill went on to get sacked 13 times in two and a half games under center and, while its hard to put all the blame on him, never looked as comfortable with the offense as Vincent did in less than one half last week in Albuquerque.
Mumme pulled the trigger less than two minutes into the second half of the UNM game and seemed to have his mind made up about Vincent starting tonight even before the 6-foot junior from Chandler, Ariz., led the Aggies on two second half scoring drives and made the offense click better than it had all season.
Vincent draws a tough matchup tonight with Cal, but its no better than the UTEP-Colorado?UNM draw Gill had to prove he was the man.
No excuses can be made for Vincent as none were made for Gill.
But Vincent gets one thing this week he didn?t have before: For the first time, he knows this is his Aggie team and he got all reps with the first team offense in practice.
?I think the team is confident,? senior receiver Paul Dombrowski said. ?We?re very excited to see what Joey can do when he doesn?t have to look over his shoulder.?
New starting running back Justine Buries described Vincent best at a press conference on Monday. Buries said the gritty, gunslinging Vincent finds a way to make plays and compared his style of play to one of the game?s best ever.
?I?d say he?s a little like Brett Favre,? Buries said. ?They both like to go out there and have fun.?
So here?s a pat on the back for Mumme for making the decision I think will give his team a chance to make a run at a bowl game, even after a horrible start to the season. It gives his team a chance to have a firm grasp on their starting quarterback position heading into next week?s Western Athletic Conference schedule.
In the end it might be Gill over Vincent, but with at least one start apiece under their belts ? two each in non-conference games would have been more ideal ? fans will now know who the best quarterback for the Aggies will be.
No second guessing, no wondering.
From the looks of the WAC so far, the third spot in the conference and a possible bowl game is still a possibility even for an Aggie squad that has yet to take flight. All this team needs is a spark.
Anyone who knows Vincent or has watched him play knows, he just might be the spark the Aggies need.
Cal tailback Marshawn Lynch will make the trip to New Mexico State and will be available to play in Friday night's game.
He will not start, however, coach Jeff Tedford said.
Lynch broke the little finger on his left hand in the Bears' 56-17 win at Washington on Sept. 10 and did not play in Saturday's 35-20 win over Illinois.
Justin Forsett, who started against the Illini and ran for 187 yards, will open the game again against the Aggies.
Lynch, who gained 147 yards in the season-opening 41-3 win over Sacramento State, had rushed for 46 yards at Washington when he was injured. Marcus O'Keith, who shared relief duty with Forsett, ran for 103 yards against the Huskies.
Lynch has been limited in practice this week.
Incentive clause: Tedford said he doesn't have a problem motivating Cal (3-0) to play New Mexico State (0-3).
"We have not come close yet to reaching our potential as a team in any phase of the game," Tedford said.
In fact, in the Bears' three wins -- all ultimately by a comfortable margin -- there have been inconsistencies on offense, defense and special teams.
"We have a lot to work on, and that is mainly what we talk about -- getting better week in and week out," he said. "It doesn't matter who we play."
True freshman: Back when Tedford announced this year's recruiting class, he made a point of saying incoming linebackers Anthony Felder and Zack Follett had the potential to begin contributing immediately as true freshmen. And that certainly has been the case.
"They pay attention to details and, not to mention, they have the athleticism and speed to recover from their mistakes from time to time," Tedford said.
Both have played in all three games and are already among the team leaders in tackling. Felder is fifth with 11 stops. Follett is sixth with 10, two of them for losses. He also has a forced fumble.
"They are both very attentive and responsible young men who are mature," Tedford said.
Felder is expected to start at one of the outside spots against New Mexico State, and Follett will be in the rotation, spelling starting middle linebacker Desmond Bishop.
Defending Ayoob: After a dismal debut against Sacramento State along with a slow start against Illinois, quarterback Joe Ayoob has taken his share of criticism.
He has a defender in Tedford.
"When players run wrong routes, when you are supposed to come out of a route and don't, when the back takes the wrong track and runs into him, all those things are pointed to Joe because he is the new guy and the focal point is on him," Tedford said. "But that is not necessarily the case."
He will not start, however, coach Jeff Tedford said.
Lynch broke the little finger on his left hand in the Bears' 56-17 win at Washington on Sept. 10 and did not play in Saturday's 35-20 win over Illinois.
Justin Forsett, who started against the Illini and ran for 187 yards, will open the game again against the Aggies.
Lynch, who gained 147 yards in the season-opening 41-3 win over Sacramento State, had rushed for 46 yards at Washington when he was injured. Marcus O'Keith, who shared relief duty with Forsett, ran for 103 yards against the Huskies.
Lynch has been limited in practice this week.
Incentive clause: Tedford said he doesn't have a problem motivating Cal (3-0) to play New Mexico State (0-3).
"We have not come close yet to reaching our potential as a team in any phase of the game," Tedford said.
In fact, in the Bears' three wins -- all ultimately by a comfortable margin -- there have been inconsistencies on offense, defense and special teams.
"We have a lot to work on, and that is mainly what we talk about -- getting better week in and week out," he said. "It doesn't matter who we play."
True freshman: Back when Tedford announced this year's recruiting class, he made a point of saying incoming linebackers Anthony Felder and Zack Follett had the potential to begin contributing immediately as true freshmen. And that certainly has been the case.
"They pay attention to details and, not to mention, they have the athleticism and speed to recover from their mistakes from time to time," Tedford said.
Both have played in all three games and are already among the team leaders in tackling. Felder is fifth with 11 stops. Follett is sixth with 10, two of them for losses. He also has a forced fumble.
"They are both very attentive and responsible young men who are mature," Tedford said.
Felder is expected to start at one of the outside spots against New Mexico State, and Follett will be in the rotation, spelling starting middle linebacker Desmond Bishop.
Defending Ayoob: After a dismal debut against Sacramento State along with a slow start against Illinois, quarterback Joe Ayoob has taken his share of criticism.
He has a defender in Tedford.
"When players run wrong routes, when you are supposed to come out of a route and don't, when the back takes the wrong track and runs into him, all those things are pointed to Joe because he is the new guy and the focal point is on him," Tedford said. "But that is not necessarily the case."
