The Aggies enter LSC play this weekend against Western New Mexico in Silver City on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 12 p.m.-MST; live stats and video links are available at opsuaggies.com.
Goodwell, Okla.—The Aggies have eaten up over 2,500 miles in their first two trips of 2016, and look to rack up more mileage in this week's lengthy voyage to Silver City, N.M. for their first Lone Star Conference matchup of the season against Western New Mexico.
Another 1,100+ miles will be added to the log books at the end of this week's journey, but the Aggies will find it well-worth the trip if they can return with an LSC victory under their belts. Panhandle currently sits 1-1 on the season after taking a big win away from Pine Bluff last week; the Mustangs hold an 0-2 record and already own one loss in the LSC, falling 37-16 last weekend to Eastern N.M.
On paper the Aggies show an offensive advantage with over 700 yards of total offense compared to their opponents with 391 total yards on offense. The Aggies have excelled in the pass game connecting on 48 of 75 attempts with zero interceptions. WNMU has turned the ball over four times thus far, on three interceptions and one fumble and hold a 47-percent completion percentage (32-68). Both teams have been challenged on third-down, as the Aggies have converted on 9 of 31 third-down situations, and the Mustangs have found success on 9 of 29 attempts.
The Aggies continue to search for balance on offense and will look to improve the run game again this week; they went from 55 yards rushing in game one to 115 against Pine Bluff. Considering last year's per-game averages of 244 yards rushing and 241 passing, the Aggies hope to even the scales offensively as the season progresses. Two weeks in, Panhandle's offense proves pass-heavy, yet effective, averaging 270 yards passing per game and 85 yards per game rushing. The Aggies have scored five touchdowns with the pass this year and zero on the ground; Western's two touchdowns have both been off the pass.
In last week's physical contest at UAPB, the Aggies incurred multiple injuries across the board. This week's challenge will be incorporating young players with little game experience into the lineup, and relying on them to know their schemes and make plays; this will be especially vital on defense and the special teams unit. As with the run game on offense, Panhandle's defense has shown marked improvement between weeks one and two, most notably on quarterback pressure; the Aggies created six sacks against Pine Bluff after getting zero on Sam Houston. The Mustang defense has accounted for three sacks and two interceptions over their first two games.
WNMU will host their home-opener this week against Panhandle and will be hungry to claim their first victory in front of a home crowd. The Aggies have faced the Mustangs 37 times over the years but have not crossed paths since 2006. The Mustangs hold an edge in the series 19-16-2 with the Aggies' last win coming in 1999 (20-17).
Saturday's game time is set for 12 p.m. MST. Fans can check in on the action via live stats, live video and audio links available at opsuaggies.com on the Football schedule page. The Aggies are in for one more road trip next week, before hosting their home-opener on Oct. 1 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce.
