New Mexico State Quick Lane Bowl Invite Shows Magic of Jerry Kill

Jerry Kill knows how to fix college football programs. That is what he has always done and why he considered one of the game's best head coaches. If you don't believe me, look at what he has done in Las Cruces over the last 12 months.

When NMSU Director of Athletics introduced Coach Kill, he knew his Aggies football program had sunk to rock bottom under the leadership of Doug Martin. It would take a few years to right the ship and get NMSU back to respectability. Add in the move next season to Conference USA, and Moccia probably figured his new head coach could win a handful of games in 2022 and lay the foundation to a bright future.

Instead, a strange thing happened at the midway point of the college football season. The Aggies started winning football games. The fun began Saturday, October 15th when NM State won The Battle of I-25 over New Mexico 21-9. They followed that up with wins over UMass and Lamar before Missouri brought them back down to earth. Coach Kill's squad responded with their most impressive performance in years, a 49-14 road thrashing at eight-win Liberty.

The win over the Flames gave the Aggies their fourth win in their last five games and it improved their overall record to 5-6. They won their NCAA appeal for a postseason appearance, since their October 22nd scheduled game against San Jose State was canceled due to the death of SJSU player Camden McWright just days before their clash in Las Cruces. NMSU scheduled FCS Valparaiso last Saturday and they destroyed their inferior opposition 65-3.

Now, Jerry Kill has a 6-6 football team that will play in Detroit later this month in the Quick Lane Bowl against 6-6 Bowling Green. The NM State football program turnaround is taking place earlier than anyone expected. Don't tell that to Moccia, who knew exactly what he was getting when he hired a magician to be his next head coach.