New Mexico State nets $1.85 million payout for Auburn win

The Auburn Tigers welcomed the New Mexico State Aggies to The Plains on Saturday. There, as a heavy favorite, Auburn lost by a score of 31-10. It was a surprisingly bad performance by a Tigers team that had been improving leading into the game.

To add insult to injury, Auburn paid New Mexico State $1.85 million for the honor of losing the game.

For Auburn, it seemed like a pretty safe bet to pay New Mexico State for an easy win ahead of the Iron Bowl. After all, the Aggies are the type of program that is willing to take buy games and is traditionally one of the easiest opponents to play. In fact, coming into the game, New Mexico State was 0-27 all-time against SEC opponents. The Aggies were also 0-3 all-time against the Tigers, having last played in 2012.

Historically, the Aggies are one of the worst FBS teams. Their .408 winning percentage is 126th in FBS history. Their 455 wins are 112th all-time.

At 9-3 and headed to the C-USA Championship Game after winning a bowl last season, it’s a credit to the job Jerry Kill has done in his two seasons there.

For Auburn, however, it’s an incredibly frustrating loss to a team that the Tigers shouldn’t have lost to. Worse, Auburn lost by 21 points. New Mexico State outgained Auburn 414 to 213. The Aggies rushed for 213 yards on the ground alone. Only converting 20 percent of third downs and having 21 minutes and 10 seconds of possession also hurt the Tigers.

For Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, it was the second time in a row he’s played and lost to New Mexico State. Last season, at Liberty, the Flames lost to the Aggies 49-14.

Now, Auburn is turning its attention to Alabama.

New Mexico State QB Diego Pavia slams Auburn defender to ground, leads to fight

It was the first quarter and New Mexico State was already up 7-0. Tensions were running high. Then, Aggies quarterback Diego Pavia threw an interception and made a body slam tackle to end the play. In response, Auburn came over and a small fight broke out.

You can watch the incident, here:

State champion wrestler Diego Pavia.

If a 5'9 QB does this to you, do you have to retire? pic.twitter.com/GW8aMiKVP4

— Colin Deaver (@ColinDeaverTV) November 18, 2023

Pavia isn’t close to six feet tall. So, given his size, it was a great wrestling move. It’s not surprising Auburn didn’t like and it’s also not surprising that New Mexico State came to its quarterback’s defense. Flags flew right away.

Nehemiah Pritchett was the Auburn defender who picked off Pavia. After taking the hit he was slow to get up but seemed okay after that.