Behind Enemy Lines: New Mexico State expert chimes in on the matchup

We went behind enemy lines to get the New Mexico side of Saturday's matchup.

The Auburn Tigers play their final non-conference game of the season against New Mexico State on Saturday before welcoming Alabama for the Iron Bowl.

The Aggies will enter Jordan Hare Stadium with an impressive 8-3 record and a roster that has Auburn's attention.

We reached out to Rachel Phillips of KVIA to ask her a few questions about the New Mexico side of this matchup.

Below are our questions and her answers.

What's been the strength for New Mexico State this season?

"To put it plain and simple - Diego Pavia. He doesn’t necessarily fit a typical quarterback and all the measurables people look for, but he’s got all of the unmeasurables and when he’s ON the Aggies are hard to stop because he can turn nothing into something at the drop of the hat. In recent weeks when the Aggies have been a little slow offensively, the strength has really been the defense. Against MTSU Jerry Kill chose to put them in to win the game and they got a stop on fourth down in the red zone and then last week when they were up by 10 against WKU in the fourth, a pick-six sealed the game."

What does New Mexico State need to do to pull off the upset this weekend?

"There’s no question NMSU has been rolling recently but Auburn is a different kettle of fish, so they’re going to need to play almost perfect football - win the turnover margin, be as disruptive to Auburn’s run game as possible, and not make any mistakes on special teams. Pavia right now is day-to-day after suffering an injury against WKU. If he can’t play on Saturday, the Aggies chances certainly take a shot."

Who is a player for NMSU that Auburn fans need to know entering Saturday?

"Your player to watch is Eli Stowers. He’s NMSU’s equivalent of a Swiss Army knife. He transferred from Texas A&M ahead of this season and was recruited at quarterback. We’ve seen him play some snaps under centre and score on two QB keeps in the red zone but then he will also be thrown in at tight end and wide receiver. On Saturday against WKU he scored his first receiving TD. He is an absolute freak of an athlete and you always expect he’ll come down with the ball in any situation, but more than that he’s selfless and wants to do whatever he can to help the team win."

What's your score prediction for the game?

"With the $1.85 million NMSU is receiving to play Auburn, they’re already winning. As for the score Auburn 35 - NMSU 14"

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