LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State's Chase Holbrook, in his first career start, completed 29 of 40 passes for 381 yards and a pair of touchdowns and the Aggies snapped the nation's longest losing streak as they defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 30-15, in the season opener for both teams Thursday at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

Justine Buries rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries as NMSU (1-0), which went 0-12 in 2005 under former Southeastern head coach Hal Mumme, piled up 515 yards total offense and controlled the football for just over 36 minutes. Southeastern (0-1), which will face Southern Miss on Sept. 9, dropped its first season opener since reviving the program in 2003.

NMSU opened the game on an 11-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 10-yard scamper from Buries to take an early 7-0 lead.

After the Lions failed to convert on fourth-and-one from their own 39 on the following drive, the Aggies wasted no time as Holbrook hit Chris Williams for a 37-yard TD strike to push the score to 14-0 with 7:32 remaining in the first quarter.

NMSU nearly blew the game open on the next possession, recovering a pooch kick on the kickoff. The Aggies took over on the Lions 23 and moved the ball to the 14, but on third-and-1 Holbrook fumbled near the goal line and Tony Richardson recovered in the end zone giving Southeastern new life.

The Lions took advantage driving 80 yards in five plays to get on the scoreboard. Seth Babin, making his first start running Southeastern's Air Raid offense, connected on a 19-yard pass to freshman Kendrick Walls and a 21-yard pass to Byron Ross that moved the ball to the NMSU 40. After a 15-yard penalty on the Aggies, one of 16 in the game by NMSU, moved the ball to the 25, Babin hit Merrick Lanaux on an acrobatic 25-yard TD strike to cut the lead to 14-6 with 4:40 remaining in the first quarter.

Southeastern got the ball back after Richardson sacked Holbrook on third-and-8 from the NMSU 22 as Babin methodically marched the Lions down the field to set his squad up at the 11-yard line. Jay Lucas, who led Southeastern with 96 yards rushing on 17 carries, broke a pair of tackles and bulled his way into the end zone to cut the lead to 14-12.

The Aggies responded on the longest drive of the night going 81 yards in 12 plays hitting Derek Dubois for a 15-yard score and a 20-12 lead with 10:37 left in the second quarter.

After a pair of penalties by NMSU, the Lions started their next drive from the Aggies' 35 but failed to convert as Babin was picked off at the 16 yard line.

But the Aggies would only get a 33-yard field goal by Matt Pratt on the drive to push the lead to 23-12 with 7:24 remaining in the half.

The Lions missed out on two opportunities down the stretch of the first half recovering two fumbles - one each by Holbrook and Buries - but could manage only three points despite starting both drives inside the 15.

George Leverette recovered a Buries fumble and rumbled 27 yards to the NMSU 10. But Southeastern failed to score after Kendrick Perry was stopped for a one-yard gain on first down and a pair of penalties pushed the ball back to the 29. The Lions got the ball to the NMSU 26, and on fourth-and-goal, Babin's pass for Lucas fell incomplete.

On the ensuing possession, Michael Johnson recovered a fumble by Holbrook and was stopped at the NMSU 28 before the Lions drove to the Aggie 4. With the clock running down before halftime, Lucas gained five yards on third-and-6 to the 4 and freshman Jeff Turner booted a 21-yard field goal to cut the lead to 23-15 at the half.

NMSU used a 15-play, 75-yard drive in the third quarter to take a 30-15 lead as Holbrook scored on a 1-yard keeper. Holbrook hit Williams for a 28-yard pass on third-and-19 to the SLU 40 and later found Nick Cleaver for a 29-yard strike on fourth-and-14 from the SLU 30.

Demoris Hardiman totaled 15 tackles to lead Southeastern with Richardson adding 11 and Keithshone Dantzler 10. Babin completed 17 of 28 passes for 130 yards while Ross had five receptions to lead the Lions.

Southeastern La..... 12 3 0 0 - 15 Record: (0-1)
New Mexico State.... 14 9 7 0 - 30 Record: (1-0)

Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
NMSU - Buries 10 run (Pratt kick), 10:07
NMSU - Williams 37 pass from Holbrook (Pratt kick), 7:32
SLU - Lanaux 25 pass from S. Babin (kick failed), 4:40
SLU - Lucas 11 run (pass failed), :04

2nd Quarter
NMSU - Dubois 15 pass from Holbrook (kick failed), 10:37
NMSU - FG Pratt 33, 7:24
SLU - FG Turner 21, :07

3rd Quarter
NMSU - Holbrook 1 run (Pratt kick), :39

A - 15,561
SLU NMSU
FIRST DOWNS................... 12 25
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 26-88 44-134
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 130 381
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 28-17-1 40-29-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 54-218 84-515
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 2-42 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 0-0 1-14
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 5-48 2-20
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 1-1
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-49.0 3-38.3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-1 4-4
Penalties-Yards............... 5-55 16-162
Possession Time............... 23:47 36:13
Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 12 8 of 17
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 4 2 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-4 4-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 3-14 2-11

RUSHING
SLU - Lucas 17-96; Perry 5-0; S. Babin 4-minus 8. NMSU - Buries 22-107; J. Williams7-20; Nwoko 5-18; TEAM 1-minus 4; Holbrook 9-minus 7.

PASSING
SLU - S. Babin 17-28-1-130. NMSU - Holbrook 29-40-0-381.

RECEIVING
SLU - Ross 5-35; Lucas 3-18; Lanaux 2-26; Kilpatrick 2-20; Perry 2-11; Walls 1-19; Muhammad 1-5; Dr. Adams 1-minus 4. NMSU - C. Williams 7-146; Dubois 7-93; Buckner 5-41; Harris 4-44; Williams 3-10; Cleaver 2-41; Allen 1-6.