New Mexico State 11/13/10

I still have not totally recovered from the Fresno State game! We had those Bulldog wannabees right where we wanted and just could not execute at the right times. I just have to let it go! That does not mean it still does not hurt. When you get beat by a pussycat it takes time to heal. Darn, I hate to lose! Move on “College Football Dad” there is another game to get ready for. On the road we go to New Mexico State. This road monkey we’re carrying across the country is getting very heavy! Can we leave this monkey in Las Cruses, NM? I am sure the Aggies can supply a new home for it! I hate to lose more than anybody, but the girls at New Mexico State are taking their WAC losing streak to new heights. I ran across this article about a flier that stated the New Mexico State girls were on strike until the football team won. I will let your imagination run wild on what they were giving up until they won. HaHa! I find it quite interesting that three colleges have Pistol Pete as their mascot; Oklahoma St., Wyoming and New Mexico State. In 2005 New Mexico State's Pistol Pete had his pistol taken away and now he just carries a lasso. He now goes by Pete. How stupid is that? Now instead of shooting his water gun he is going to calf rope you! Watch out kids, Pete is on the loose! HaHa! Matt said he has had a great week of practice as well as the whole team. The intensity has been high! He said they have practiced a lot of placement kicks to different areas of the field. He told me not to be surprised if they did a few different things on kickoffs. I told him that nothing would really surprise me because Coach Dooley took care of that last year. Matt said that everyone was upbeat and they were ready to get on the road and take care of business. Matt was looking forward to visiting with Robert Clay #28 for New Mexico State after the game. They played against each other in high school. They got to know each other when they played on the HEB All-star team their senior year. They have stayed in touch and followed each other’s progress in college. Matt did call after they got checked in to the hotel in El Paso. He sat between Phillip Livas and Lyle Fitte on the plane and said they were a hoot. He said that he saw the Mexico/US border on their way to the hotel. They had a team dinner and a movie to go to before lights out! My game day is here and I have to finish some travel biz stuff, but that does not mean that I do not have ESPN Game Day on in the background. I live for Football Saturday! It feels weird not being outside with a grill and a tent looking at Joe Aillet Stadium. Early afternoon Janet (wife) and I met her Mom & Dad (Meggie & Papaw) and her Aunt & Uncle (David & Barbara) for a pre game meal at Gloria's in The Village at Fairview. The adult beverages were good and cold. My game watching party would be with ESPN3. This will be my first game this year to watch on ESPN3. My extra pairs of drawers are on and I decided to change up my adult beverage choice and go with beer. Full Sails Amber to be exact. I needed to do something different to help get this road monkey off of our backs. The kick is away and here we go! Three quick plays and we punt. What is that? Did that just happen? The Aggies get the ball and after 9 plays settle for a 26 yard FG. This was not the start I was looking for. Maybe the beer thing is a bad idea! We get the ball back and run some Ray Holley and there it is, a TD pass to Andrew Guillot. Matt connects with the PAT and I feel better. The Aggies go three and out and they have to punt. Six plays later Lennon Creer puts it in the end zone and Matt connects on another PAT. Let's keep this going! We get the ball back with a Chad Boyd interception and the Bulldogs are on the move. The first quarter comes to an end with the Bulldogs up 14 - 3. We start the 2nd quarter off with an incomplete pass and it is 4th down. Matt come out and nails a 47 yard FG. Wow! He made great contact with the ball! There was no doubt when he hit it! Awesome Matt! New Mexico State gets the ball and drives down field with 10 plays and scores a TD. Not good! We both exchange punts on the next two possessions. Tech gets the ball back at the 7:31 mark and we run 9 plays with Ross Jenkins scoring on a 7 yard run! Matt connects on the PAT and the 2nd half comes to an end with the bulldogs up 24 - 10. I can breathe a little now. The 3rd quarter did not go as I expected it to. We did have an awesome interception by Javontay Crowe, but we throw a pick 6 and Matt missed a 44 yard FG. He made good contact with it and by Matt's reaction he thought it had to have been close. The refs said no good! I hate my computer right now. I normally pace during these games and that is what I am going to start doing. I am done with the beer and it is time to move to the box. The 3rd quarter comes to an end with Tech up 24 -17. We start the 4th quarter off with an 11 play drive and Matt boots a 21 yard FG. That gives a little breathing room, but we need more. The Aggies come back with a 12 play drive and connect with a 31 yard FG. This is way too close and I think I am going to stand on the patio and watch my computer from outside. We take the kick off and 3 plays later it is Phillip Livas to the house for a 62 yard TD. Matt kicks the PAT and this patio thing just might be working! Matt kicks off and it is a sky left and we recover the fumble. I guess this was one of those position kicks he told me about earlier in the week. Six plays later and Phillip Livas scores again! Woo Hoo! Matt kicks the PAT and I am no longer in need of oxygen. Matt kicks off again and it is a squib right and it goes out of the end zone. I cannot say that I have ever seen a squib go out of the end zone. It looks like to me they are playing keep away from Taveon Rogers. Tech holds the Aggies and the 4th quarter comes to an end with Tech winning 41 - 20! I am doing the patio dance! The road monkeys are dead! We finally win on the road! On a short note, ESPN3 sucks! I hope I have enough box wine to celebrate with. This is awesome! The whole team played great. We had our moments, but in the end we showed how much heart and determination these young men had! I wanted to take a moment and say a prayer for Chad Boyd and his family. Chad was injured during the game and he was taken to a local hospital. Chad and the Boyd family my thoughts and prayers are with you! I am mentally exhausted. I really do not like watching games on the computer. This was an incredible win and I am very proud of the team and the coaching staff. I am so happy for Andrew Guillot scoring his first touchdown! I know there will be many more. I want to give a shout out to Ryan Allen. He had 5 punts for a 43 yard average and 4 of them inside the 20! I also want to give a shout out to Robert Clay #28 on New Mexico State. I watched him play in high school and he got his first start tonight. Great game Robert and 108 yards on our defense is pretty stout. I have a very special shout out to my niece Mikayla! She plays for the Liberty Hill Panthers 7th grade basketball “A Team” and they won their first tournament of the year. Way to go Mikayla! We are very proud of you! I am going to save my final shout out for Dan "The Equipment Man" Matthiesen and the entire equipment staff. They re-painted all of the helmets and those babies were shinning! They did look good! The equipment staff and the training staff do so much behind the scenes to get this team ready for battle. I thank you for all that you do. I did talk to Matt after the game and he was pretty excited with the win. He said he kicked the crap out of the 47 yard FG and the sweet spot was nailed. He said that the 44 yard FG was close and he hates kicking on fields that have high school height goal posts. He said if he gets good height on the ball it is hard for the refs to tell if it is close to the post. I asked him about his last two kicks and he said that CD and CT told him to put it in open space and keep it away from Rogers. He was shocked as well that the squib right went out of the end zone. Matt also said the special teams coach from New Mexico State came up to him after the game and told him that he had made huge gains in the weight room from last year and he really kicked the ball well. Matt thought it was neat that a coach from the other team would make those comments. He did get to visit with Robert Clay for a few minutes before heading to the locker room. Matt said on one of the kick returns that he was heading down field on, that after the play was over that Robert was jumping up and down saying "There is Matt Nelson, There is Matt Nelson" Matt thought it was hilarious! It was a great team win and he could not wait to get back to Ruston. Winning on the road is tough, but now that the monkey is staying in Las Cruses, we have no more excuses this year! Just take one game at a time! We play San Jose St. on the 27th. They are 1 -9 with their only win over Southern Utah. They play Hawaii this weekend. They have a mascot who wears feathers on its head and carries a spear. That is enough on San Jose St. for now! Just a quick side note on Chad Boyd. He was released from the hospital and was able to fly home with the team. We are very thankful for this news! The Thanksgiving holidays are next on my list of things to do. I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday! I hope your turkey stays moist and your pies warm your bellies! Please be safe in your travels and make sure you save room for seconds! I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. I would be honored if you would share my stories with other college football fans! It is such a blast to follow Matt Nelson through his eyes and the Bulldog team! I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. I don’t intend to hurt anyone, but I am very passionate about La Tech Football! Everything I say comes from my heart! I am just a College Football Fan! Don’t forget to listen to my friends at Tech Nation Radio every week. The photo’s are courtesy of Gantt Graham and La Tech Athletics. May your Football Season be filled with many Football Victories, Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel Your Way! If you know anyone who needs help with their travel plans just let me know. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!