Ranking New Mexico State's 2023 road games from easiest to hardest

LAS CRUCES - For the first time in recent memory, the New Mexico State football team has just one road guarantee (or money) game. Due to starting Conference USA play, the Aggies' road schedule is more friendly than years past and will give NM State an opportunity to return to bowl eligibility in back-to-back years. The Aggies snapped a 21-game road losing streak last season with a win at Massachusetts and went on to beat Liberty on the road as well as Bowling Green at a neutral site game in the Quick Lane Bowl. That's not to say it will be easy, as there are some solid football teams the Aggies have to play and head coach Jerry Kill will have some question marks to address on his team in his second year. Here is a quick look at the NM State's seven road games, ranked easiest to hardest, for the Aggies in 2023: At Hawaii, Sept. 23 at TBA There were two games against FBS schools last year where the Aggies appeared to have superior talent from top to bottom — UMass and Hawaii. The Aggies beat Hawaii 45-26 and led 42-10 in the third quarter. NM State rushed for 357 yards and true freshman quarterback Gavin Frakes only attempted 14 passes. NM State's offense will be the team's strength entering the season and Hawaii finished No. 123 in FBS scoring defense (35 points per game) and No. 117 in total defense (438 yards per game). Hawaii is in its second year under coach Timmy Chang, whose offense lost its leading rusher and receiver from a team that scored 19 points per game. Junior QB Brandon Schager had 261 yards and a TD against the Aggies last year and finished the season with 2,348 yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Hawaii trip is always a tough one for the Aggies, but I think the Aggies still have the talent and experience edge on Hawaii. More: Five things learned from New Mexico State spring football At New Mexico, Sept. 16 at TBA For the third straight year, the Lobos will have a new quarterback who transferred from another school. UAB quarterback Dylan Hopkins came to UNM with Lobos first-year offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent, so Hopkins will have familiarity with the Lobos offense that averaged 13 points per game last year and was last in FBS in total offense with 228 yards per game. UAB was 7-6 last year with Hopkins passing for 1,913 yards and 10 TDs and rushing for 8 career TDs. The strength of the Lobos should once again be their defense, although Rocky Long is no longer the defensive coordinator after the Lobos were No. 60 in total defense. Head coach Danny Gonzales is a defensive-minded coach so I expect the Lobos will remain solid on that side of the ball, although the Lobos have just one returning regular starter from last year. NMSU beat UNM 21-9 last year with Gavin Frakes starting at the QB position. The Aggies were a completely different offense by the end of last season and I expect the offense to get off to a much better start this season and win their second straight rivalry game against the Lobos. At Louisiana Tech, Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. on CBS Sports Network The Aggies renew a conference rivalry with former WAC opponent Louisiana Tech. Like NM State, Louisiana Tech has a second-year coach with Sonny Cumbie heading into his second year after a 3-9 season last year (2-6 CUSA). Louisiana Tech was No. 33 in FBS passing offense last year at 267 yards per game. Louisiana Tech added Boise State transfer QB Hank Bachmeier, who had 29 starts at Boise State. He started all 12 games for Boise in 2021, passing for 3,079 yards and 20 touchdowns, but he left the team following last year's road loss at UTEP. While the Aggies have an earlier game against Liberty — and this game is relatively late in the year — the Aggies do have some question marks in terms of experience in the secondary as they enter the season. Either way, Louisiana Tech is going to try to throw the football. Defensively, Louisiana Tech is on the other end of the spectrum. La. Tech was No. 128 in FBS scoring defense (38 points per game), No. 130 in rush defense (243 yards per game) and No. 126 in total defense (469 yards per game). The La. Tech game is during the Conference USA midweek scheduling in October on a Tuesday night, which, along with the Bulldogs' passing game, could present its own challenges after playing at UTEP the previous Wednesday night. At UTEP, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 UTEP has a number of key players returning and the Miners beat NM State 20-13 last year in El Paso. UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison took a step back last season (3,217 yards, 18 touchdowns, 13 interceptions in 2021), passing for 2,044 yards with 11 TDs and 8 interceptions, plus UTEP lost some players from a good front-7 on defense but still has a dominant edge player in senior Praise Amaewhile. UTEP has four returning starters up front on the offensive line and running back Deion Hankins returns. Head coach Dana Dimel usually adds some good junior college players, but I think the key to this team is Hardison returning to his form as a passer from two years ago. He has the offensive line and a good running back to do so and UTEP hopes that leading receiver Tyrin Smith (71 receptions, 1,039 yards, 7 TD) will return to the Miners after initially transferring to Texas A&M only to return to the transfer portal. At Liberty, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. on ESPN+ We already know that the Aggies are capable of beating Liberty on the road because NM State crushed Liberty 49-14 in a late-season game last year. But that's not to say it will be easy or expected in the league opener for both Conference USA newcomers. Liberty has a new coach in Jamey Chadwell, who replaces Hugh Freeze. The news of Freeze's move to Auburn broke before the NM State game as Liberty faltered down the stretch of the season, but still finished 8-5 and should be picked to finish near the top of the league in 2023. Chadwell's Coastal Carolina team was 9-4 last year and reached the Sun Belt championship game against Troy. Coastal Carolina averaged 29 points per game and was No. 62 in rushing offense with 159 yards per game. If Chadwell continues his rushing attack, he has several options at running back, including last year's leading rusher Dae Dae Hunter (854 yards, 8 TDs), returner Shedro Louis (529 yards, 8 TDs) Arkansas transfer Jaimes Jointer and Wake Forest transfer Quinton Cooley. Liberty didn't seem to have a quarterback when they played the Aggies last year and they enter the season looking for their guy at the position this season with Johnathan Bennett and Kaidon Salter getting the most reps last season. Liberty allowed 23 points per game last year. Liberty was No. 36 in total defense last season (346 yards per game) with 45 sacks, which was third in FBS. Liberty has some questions to answer, like the Aggies, early in the season, but the Flames have turned into a good program that has proven capable of attracting talent. This will be NM State's first road game, their third game of the season, and they should be 2-0, while this will only be Liberty's second game of the season. Perhaps the Aggies catch Liberty before they figure things out? At Western Kentucky, Nov. 11 at TBA Western Kentucky should be favored to win the league as the best-remaining school from Conference USA after going 6-2 in league play last year. WKU led CUSA last year in total offense (497 yards per game) and passing offense (352 yards per game) and was second in scoring offense with 36 points per game with QB Austin Reed and wide receiver Malachi Corley (101 receptions, 1,293 yards, 11 touchdowns) both leading the conference. Reed had a monster season with 4,744 yards (second in FBS), 40 touchdowns (third in FBS) and 11 interceptions in his first season at WKU. Western Kentucky's defense was also near the top of CUSA, allowing 384 yards per game. WKU returns just four starters on defense, but their offense should be able to win games while the defense adjusts prior to this late-season game. At Auburn, Nov. 18 at TBA Kill joked last year that the Aggies were a Big Ten team since they played two teams in that conference early in the year. Auburn is NM State's lone Power 5 opponent this season and the matchup comes late in the year. Freeze is a good offensive coach who takes over an Auburn team that was 10th in the SEC last year in scoring (25 points per game) and total offense (378 yards per game). From the Aggies' perspective, they should at least be flirting with bowl eligibility by this point in the season with a winnable home game the following week against Jacksonville State to end the regular season. It's going to be important to get out of this game healthy and collect the $1.85 million check.