It was Florida coach Jim McElwain who made a point of saying during Monday’s press conference that New Mexico State is used to the big stage and isn’t likely to be intimidated when it comes to The Swamp for Saturday night’s season opener against the Gators.

The Aggies, as McElwain noted, played before more than 101,000 screaming fans at LSU last year.

“When you look at it, as a program, the fact they have the experience coming back is something that I think is probably pretty important,” the Gators coach said.

“They won’t be intimidated [by the large crowd and raucous atmosphere], they played LSU last year, and that’s something that is big for them. They’ve seen it, and we’re looking forward to getting our opportunity to get out there and see what we’re all about as well.”

Only McElwain neglected to mention that LSU hammered their overmatched Sun Belt Conference opponents, totaling 563 yards of total offense en route to a 63-7 shellacking that wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.

A year more experienced now, New Mexico State hopes to improve on last year’s disaster that saw it drop its final 10 games of the season after a 2-0 start.

The Aggies return several players, including sophomore tailback Larry Rose III, junior quarterback Tyler Rogers and four starters along the offensive line. Rose ran for 1,102 yards and nine touchdowns as a true freshman, including a career-best 229 against Louisiana-Monroe. Rogers completed nearly 62 percent of his pass attempts, but threw more interceptions (23) than touchdown passes (19) last fall.

“They’ve got some parts coming back on offense and a belief in their system,” McElwain said his upcoming guests. “They’re gonna play up-tempo, do some things to try to create some explosive plays on a fast tempo that will be really good for us.”

The Aggies’ primary struggles, however, came on defense, where they ranked last in rushing defense among the nation’s 128 FBS teams in 2014, surrendering an average of nearly 309 yards per game on the ground, according to cfbstats.com.

New Mexico State ranked 121st nationally in scoring defense in 2014, yielding an average of 39.1 points per game after managing just five sacks over the course of the entire season and allowing opposing quarterbacks to feast to the tune of a nearly 63 percent completion percentage.

But the Aggies figure to be just the barometer Florida needs right now as its offense gets up to speed. Look for a healthy dose of tailback Kelvin Taylor, Sony Michel and Keith Marshall to keep the chains moving for the Gators and alleviate the pressure off quarterbacks Will Grier and Treon Harris.

Consistently getting ahead in down and distance with the running game will not only help both young quarterbacks and increase their confidence as the game wears on, but will help expedite the development of an inexperienced Florida offensive line.

“We’re real excited,” McElwain said. “I’ve got to tell you personally that the coaching staffs, our players, are really looking forward establishing who we are and what we’re all about, especially here in The Swamp.”

NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES CLOSER LOOK

Top returning player, offense: Larry Rose III, Soph., RB – Started eight games and rushed for 1,102 yards and nine touchdowns as a true freshman last year. Became the first Aggies player to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau since 2011.

Top returning player, defense: Rodney Butler, Jr., LB – Led the Aggies in tackles last year with 119 stops, including 58 unassisted tackles. Butler recorded a career-best 17 tackles at UTEP.

Top returning player, special teams: Alex Louthan, Jr., K – Played in seven games, averaging 54.8 yards per kickoff. Also punted five times for an average of 36.2 yards.