Five things about New Mexico State Aggies before matchup vs FSU

The wait is over. On Saturday, the Florida State Seminoles take on the New Mexico State Aggies in Doak Campbell Stadium.

In terms of FSU, they're looking to bounce back from a 5-7 season and return to a bowl game for the first time in three years. New Mexico State didn't have a good year either, with a 4-8 record. So, both teams will be looking to jump-start the 2026 campaign with a victory. Especially Florida State who is a 31.5-point favorite.

Despite being expected to win, FSU has to come out with a sense of urgency against a team like New Mexico State, which would like nothing more than to pour more gasoline on the fire when it comes to the Seminoles moving on from head coach Mike Norvell.

With that said, here are five things to know about the Aggies heading into this game.

Their rushing attack wasn't good last season

New Mexico State was one of the worst rushing teams in college football a season ago. They only averaged 77.3 yards per game and finished with 927 yards for the year. If that doesn't improve, they'll have a tough time pulling off the upset.

New starting quarterback has experience

Trey Hedden won the starting job for New Mexico State after spending two years at Furman. He played in 22 games with 20 starts during his time there and racked up 4,734 yards and 30 touchdowns to 22 interceptions. He completed 68.5% of his passes in 2025 for 2,967 yards and 17 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.

Their defense was bad in 2025, but they were excellent in one area

New Mexico State's defense allowed 402 yards and 34 points per game last season. This included giving up 165 yards on the ground every week. However, they did force 24 turnovers, which was tied for 14th most in the FBS.

WR TK King is a threat

He missed the first four games last season, but King still ended up having a pretty productive campaign. He finished second on New Mexico State with receptions (41), receiving yards (588), and receiving touchdowns (3). He's a player to watch in the opener.

New Mexico State doesn't do well in Week 0 games

The Aggies have played in four Week 0 games since 2018. However, the results have been horrible. They've lost all four games with defeats to Wyoming (2018), UTEP (2021), Nevada (2022), and UMass (2023). Florida State is looking to continue that trend.

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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Five things about New Mexico State Aggies before matchup vs FSU