LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM) — New Mexico State (1-4, 0-2 CUSA) will take on Jacksonville State (2-3, 1-0 CUSA) in a Conference USA game at AmFirst Stadium on Wednesday. This will be New Mexico State's first weekday Conference USA game of the 2024 season. Conference USA began having midweek football games last season as part of the conference's new media rights deal. NEW MEXICO STATE New Mexico State is coming off its bye week and ready to get back into action. The last time NMSU played a football game was on Sept. 28. The Aggies suffered a 50-40 loss to rival New Mexico at Aggie Memorial Stadium. With the loss to UNM, New Mexico State dropped its fourth straight game and currently sit with a 1-4 record. "We are in a tough situation. I mean, nobody wanted to be 1-4 going into this this situation right here. You got you got to fight your way out of these things. That's what I told the guys the other day, when you're looking down a tunnel and you see a little light, you see it closing or you see it opening," NMSU football head coach Tony Sanchez said. "I'm saying that's a choice. I've had the same energy every single day. I think the guys would tell you that. We're not going to stop coaching them hard. We're not going to get all sensitive around here and ask about feelings and things like that. We're just going to dig in and we're going to fight." NMSU head coach Tony Sanchez said Santino Marucci will start at quarterback against Jax State. Marucci, a Wake Forest transfer, will make his third start at QB for the Aggies on Wednesday. In his last start against UNM, Marucci completed 13-of-29 passes for 189, collected a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown. Sanchez is hoping to get back one of its key players on offense. Sanchez said offensive lineman Shiyazh Pete will be a game-time decision for Jax State. Sanchez said Pete has been practicing all week but has not been cleared for game action. Pete has been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in fall camp and has yet to make his season debut. Injury update: New Mexico State’s All-CUSA tackle Shiyazh Pete will be a game-time decision for Jacksonville State. He has been practicing in full pads recently, but has yet to be cleared for action. Aggies hoping for the best for one of their leaders.— Nick Coppola (@Nick_Coppola__) October 7, 2024 NMSU is expected to be without offensive coordinator Tyler Wright for the second straight game. Wright has not been with the team since Sept. 27. New Mexico State is reviewing Wright’s posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) from more than a decade ago that are being called distributing, insensitive, and derogatory. There was also no comment on OC Tyler Wright, with Sanchez stating it is a university matter. Appears that any decision on him will come from higher-ups. As of 2:33 MT on Monday, every derogatory social media post he’s being investigated for remain on his X account. https://t.co/H0Xc2XOpK0— Nick Coppola (@Nick_Coppola__) October 7, 2024 Sanchez said on Monday that offensive line coach and run game coordinator Andrew Mitchell will call plays for the Aggies' offense. This will be the second game in a row Mitchell handles offensive coordinator duties. Mitchell led an NMSU offense that scored 40 points in the Aggies' loss to New Mexico on Sept. 28. New Mexico State will look to snap its four-game losing streak on Wednesday night JACKSONVILLE STATE Jax State is in form recently as the Gamecocks have collected back-to-back wins. Jax State beat Southern Miss (44-7, Sept. 21) and Kennesaw State (63-24, Oct. 4) in its last two contests. Jax State is the highest scoring offense in Conference USA at this point of the season. Five games into the 2024 season, Jax State is averaging 36.4 points per game. Jax State is also averaging 431.2 total yards of offense per game. Tyler Huff is the Gamecocks' signal caller. Huff, a dual-threat quarterback, has recorded 1,073 passing yards and 445 rushing yards in five games played. Huff has collected 10 total touchdowns (five passing, five rushing). Huff leads the team in passing yards and rushing yards. Senior running back Tre Stewart has rushed for 354 yards on 65 carries and has scored eight rushing touchdowns in five games played this season. Wide receivers Michael Pettway and Cam Vaughn each have more than 200 receiving yards. Jax State's secondary is loaded with playmakers. Antonio Carter II leads the team with 49.0 total tackles. Zechariah Poyser leads the team with three interceptions and Jabari Mack has hauled in two interceptions. Jax State ranks 90th nationally in red zone defense, allowing a red zone score on 17-19 trips by its opponents. The Gamecocks’ key will be to keep its high-octane rushing offense going against an Aggies team that allowed 233.2 yards per game on the ground. NM STATE (1-4, 0-2 CUSA) AT JAX STATE (2-3, 1-0 CUSA)Date: Wednesday, Oct. 9Time: 5:30 p.m. MTLocation: Jacksonville, Ala. (AmFirst Stadium)Broadcast: ESPN2All-Time Series: NM State leads 1-0