Jerry Kill’s New Mexico State, in his second year as head coach, has emerged as one of the college football league’s most unexpected teams this year.
One of the biggest upsets of the fall was pulled off by the Aggies on Saturday.
At Jordan-Hare Stadium, Kill, the offensive coordinator for Rutgers under former head coach Chris Ash in 2017, guided New Mexico State to an incredible 31-10 victory over Auburn.
Paying $1.7 million to play the game, the Aggies never fell behind. They scored 21 points in the second half to outscore their hosts, the Tigers, who are in their first season under head coach Hugh Freeze, by three points at the half.
Kill remarked, “You don’t get many opportunities like this.” “We really dominated the football game most of the time, and we’re playing a Southeastern Conference football team.”
“How about that? We won the game for $1.7 million,” a beaming Kill remarked. It was “one of the greatest wins I’ve ever been part of,” he continued.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, New Mexico State successfully converted a fake punt from within its own territory. Afterwards, it made it 24-7 with a 2-yard touchdown on another fourth-down risk.
With its victory, New Mexico State (9-3, 6-1) will play Liberty (11-0, 7-0) in the Conference USA championship game in two weeks. The Aggies’ successful season comes after Kill had an outstanding rookie campaign, leading the team to a 7-6 record and a Quick Lane Bowl victory after they had only won three games combined in the previous two seasons.
Kill honoured a pledge he made to his team prior to the game against Bowling Green by getting his first tattoo in celebration of the Quick Lane Bowl victory. Kill fulfilled his promise following the Aggies’ 24-19 victory over Bowling Green at Ford Field in Detroit. “NMSU, 2022 BOWL CHAMPIONS” is printed on either end of two crossing guns on his right shoulder.
Epileptic, Kill stepped down from coaching after his one and only season in Piscataway for health reasons. Two years later, he went back to coaching as the head coach at Virginia Tech’s assistant, followed two seasons of the same role at TCU, and then, in advance of the 2022 campaign, was named head coach at New Mexico State.
