New Mexico vs Texas A&M: Take the Under in Teams’ Week 1 Debut
Teams will hope for a stronger 2023 after both the New Mexico Lobos and Texas A&M Aggies had a disappointing 2022 season. The Lobos finished last season 2-10 with an 0-8 Mountain West record while the Aggies weren’t much better, going 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the SEC. Both teams are running with a new offensive coordinator this season, and college football odds have named Texas A&M as a strong favorite, giving the Aggies a 38-point spread at home.
New Mexico Rebuilding Offense
The Lobos’ offense was one of the main reasons for their losses last season, and after going through some offseason changes, it may struggle again.
New Mexico was last in the Mountain West and one of the worst in the country averaging 228.1 total yards and 13.1 points a game last season. Though the Lobos brought in new offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent to improve those numbers, they are also dealing with roster turnover.
The Lobos lost their starting quarterback, leading receiver and leading rusher, replacing them with a number of transfers, including quarterback Dylan Hopkins, who came from UAB with Vincent and threw for 1,913 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions last season.
New Mexico has a lot to improve on from last season, but with the Lobos still putting everything together and learning a new offense and team chemistry, it will take some time.
Texas A&M Entering New Era
The Aggies are also going through a rebuild of sorts after their offense finished in the bottom three in the SEC, however they return a good portion of their roster.
Texas A&M averaged 360.7 total yards and 22.8 points a game for third and second-worst in the conference respectively last season, and in turn, brought in offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino to help turn it around.
Although the Aggies lost leading rusher De’von Achane to the NFL, quarterback Connor Weigman will take over as starter after ending last season as the starter, finishing the year with 896 yards and eight touchdowns.
TD Pass No. 4 of the night for 1️⃣5️⃣
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 30, 2022
Despite A&M returning 10 of its 11 offensive starters from a season ago, including Weigman, the offense still struggled last season, and learning a new offensive system may still take some time.
New Mexico vs Texas A&M Game Information
- Game: New Mexico vs Texas A&M
- Location: Kyle Field, College Station, TX
- Day/Time: Saturday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m. ET
- New Mexico vs Texas A&M Live Stream: ESPN
New Mexico vs Texas A&M Best Bet
College football lines has the matchup between the Lobos and Aggies set at 49 points, but with a pair of offenses in new systems, it is likely to still hit the under.
New Mexico was one of the worst offenses in college football last season, and despite a number of transfers and new OC looking to change that, it will still take more than one game to improve that number. Texas A&M, meanwhile, returns nearly all its starters, but Weigman also didn’t start until late in the year, and it may take him and the rest of the offense a bit to find their footing in the new system.
With the Miami Hurricanes next up on the schedule for the Aggies, head coach Jimbo Fisher may want to conserve some of the playbook against New Mexico, which should help keep the two under the total from the sportsbook
- Pick: Under 49 points (-110)
