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New Mexico State

CUSA · 1-2 · power -0.6 · #187
Our numberSHSU -0.3 no book has priced this game

Sam Houston

CUSA · 0-2 · power -5.4 · #248
Our side
MoneylineNMSU to win ours 43%
Projected score 25–26 NMSU – SHSU
2026-10-21 · 8:00 PM Elliott T. Bowers Stadium · Huntsville, TX CUSA game Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series New Mexico State lead 2–1 · 3 meetings since 2023
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Sam Houston Bearkats 55 ranks
New Mexico State Aggies #262 rush offense Sam Houston Bearkats #207 run defense
Pass game edge New Mexico State Aggies 49 ranks
New Mexico State Aggies #191 pass offense Sam Houston Bearkats #240 pass defense
Run game edge New Mexico State Aggies 112 ranks
Sam Houston Bearkats #152 rush offense New Mexico State Aggies #40 run defense
Pass game edge New Mexico State Aggies 118 ranks
Sam Houston Bearkats #259 pass offense New Mexico State Aggies #141 pass defense
New Mexico State Aggies Balanced · 47% run Avg pace Sam Houston Bearkats Balanced · 50% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 39 rush ypg
Tony Sanchez · 27-57 · defense-minded Phil Longo · 2-10

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
New Mexico State Aggies
DB Nick Session 21 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT #19 DB
DL Gabe Peterson 13 tkl · 1.5 sacks · 2.0 TFL #63 DL
WR TK King 14 rec · 239 yds · 2 TD #48 WR
RB James Jones 243 rush yds · 2 TD · 4 rec #43 RB
Sam Houston Bearkats
DL Brody Henderson 11 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #94 DL
WR Chris Reed 7 rec · 145 yds · 2 TD #94 WR
WR Grady O'Neill 12 rec · 148 yds · 1 TD #103 WR
DB Ishmel Atkins 7 tkl · 4 PD #254 DB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
New Mexico State AggiesCUSA -0.6 -0.7 +0.1 #187
Sam Houston BearkatsCUSA -5.4 -4.3 -1.1 #248

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
New Mexico State offense vs Sam Houston defense+0.4 pts
Sam Houston offense vs New Mexico State defense-4.4 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 668 mi
Altitude · context only1,082 m lower than the visitor's home elevation
Rest · context onlyAway team on 7 more days rest

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.