The New Mexico State Aggies and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs meet on Tuesday night for the first time since 2012. These conference foes have been trending in different directions, as the Aggies come in riding a three-game losing streak, while the Bulldogs enter having lost four of their last five. NMSU dominated UTEP last week to improve to 5-3 and 3-1 in conference play, while Louisiana Tech’s loss to MTSU dropped their overall record to 3-5 and 2-2 versus Conference USA opponents.
Will the Aggies, who have Auburn next, stay hot or will the Bulldogs prevail on their home turf?
Final midweek.
📰 | https://t.co/JPUFEhnVlb#AggieUp x #HHLP pic.twitter.com/vMphklvlVY
— New Mexico State Football (@NMStateFootball) October 23, 2023
Team | Spread | Total | ML |
New Mexico State | +2.5 (-110) | Over 52.5 (-105) | +114 |
Louisiana Tech | -2.5 (-110) | Under 52.5 (-115) | -137 |
Odds Courtesy of FanDuel, subject to change*
Match Details
- Fixture: New Mexico State @ Lousiana Tech
- Date and Time: October 24, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Joe Aillet Stadium, Ruston, LA
- Weather Forecast: Partially Cloudy, 79 degrees
- Field Surface: FieldTurf Mono
Key Stats
New Mexico State
The visitors are pretty mediocre on both sides of the ball, but their defense has been excellent over the past two weeks. They held UTEP to just seven points last week, and Sam Houston St. managed just 13 versus the Aggies the week before.
Offensively, NMSU’s junior QB Diego Pavia has been solid, coming in with 16 TD passes and five interceptions on the year, to go along with 1,801 yards. He threw for just 185 last week, but he ran for 96, and running back Monte Watkins rushed for 109. Receivers Jonathan Brady and Trent Hudson have both eclipsed 300 yards and they should again be focal points of the Aggies’ offense.
Louisiana Tech
The Bulldogs’ offense hasn’t been the issue these last several weeks, as they’ve averaged a decent 25.0 points per game over their past three games. On the year, Louisiana Tech only allows 182.1 passing yards per contest on a 53.7% completion rate (seventh-best in college football), but their pass defense has been exploited over their previous two games.
Lousiana Tech has used two QBs this year, but it was senior Hank Bachmeier who threw for 178 yards and finished their last game, so he’s presumably Tuesday’s starter, replacing Jack Turner, who has been up and down this season.
We’ll see if the Bulldogs’ pass defense can step it up at home as they look to snap this two-game skid.
Game Prediction
The Aggies have been hot, but they have a quick turnaround this week as they head east to Louisiana. The Bulldogs have dropped two straight, but they were underdogs in both matchups. The opening line favored the Bulldogs by four, and we’re definitely taking them at two and a half points at home, as their defense should bounce back.