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Uncertainty continues to swirl around the 2020 college football season, it swirls particularly strongly around our FBS independent Aggies. That won’t stop me from going out on a limb to make some bold predictions on both sides of the ball. Are these too far out there or just within reason? What do you predict from this already crazy, unpredictable season?
1. O’Maury Samuels has over 1,000 all-purpose yards on a ten game seasonFrom what I’ve heard Samuels has done while on the Aggie scout team, so much so that I think we see little to no drop-off at running back with O’Maury. Last year the backfield was a two-headed monster while this year I expect some depth but I imagine Samuels won’t be sharing as many carries as Huntley did a season ago. Red-shirt freshman Juwan Price and Sophomore Naveon Mitchell are a promising duo but Price still has to prove himself and Mitchell seems to be more like a Royce Caldwell type who will spend more time in the slot than in the backfield. The biggest question mark is does Doug Martin get him enough touches to get there? Samuels already sounds like a Martin favorite so my guess is yes. Get your popcorn, Aggie Nation, Samuels will be fun to watch.
2. Weston Eget ends the season as the starter at QBI know Martin and Holbrook are high on JuCo transfer Jonah Johnson; his size and arm strength do seem impressive. But what about highly touted redshirt freshman, Weston Eget? I think 2020 will be a mirror image of the 2018 season where the JuCo transfer (Johnson and Romero) start the season but the young talent eventually takes over (Eget and Adkins). Check out footage from both of them below and decide for yourself.
3. Devin Richardson and Rashie Hodge Jr. land in the top 10 nationally in tacklesAdam Young says it time and time again but the linebacker position has been stacked in recent years at NM State. Haters will say that the thin front lines sets up the backers to rack up gaudy tackles stats, and while there may be some truth to that, there’s no denying the NFL talent that’s come out of that position in Hanks and the game-changing ability like Javahn Fergurson and Rodney Butler who both made game-deciding plays during their impressive careers. I think this year there will be no drop off at LB with freshman phenom, and physical specimen, Devin Richardson along with bruising senior Rashie Hodge Jr. returning. These two will be busy especially with the loss of Lopez but I think they’re up for the challenge; expect them both in the top 10 in tackles nationally even with a limited schedule.
4. The Aggies sweep the rivalsThe Loobs* are the tougher of the rival games this year and we have them at home, giving the Aggies the edge to make the Rio Grande sweep. While UNM brings in more talent than in years past, I think the adjustment from a new coaching staff early in the season leaves a lane for the Ags to tame the Lobos at home. I still think both will be a grind out sort of game and am in no way claiming they will be easy, I just think the continuity in the program that NM State has over the other two pays off, even as we search for a new QB. Check out last year's games below to refresh the memory.
NM State vs. UNM
NM State vs. UTEP
5. The Aggies end the season with four winsThis wouldn’t be as bold of a prediction with the Texas Southern game on the schedule but with news of that W now out of the question, can the Aggies string together four remaining wins? I think so. Two of those come from the rivalry games covered above, and the other two I think come from @UMass and at home against Akron. Both teams rank below our Aggies in the Massey composite rankings and both come later in the season when we hopefully have hammered out the QB situation. Again, no win is easy when you’re an Aggie but I expect NM State to be favored against Akron and pull off the tossup at UMass. Earlier this month we covered the Aggies full schedule ranking games by winnability. Check out those rankings here and see if you can map out a path to four+ wins for NM State.