Held without a touchdown the last three games, there seems to be plenty of reasons  for the nation’s worst offense to try to shake things up. So what’s New Mexico State going to do?

Exactly the opposite.

Head coach DeWayne Walker feels the Aggies (3-6, 1-3 Western Athletic Conference) must revert to the basics that provided a modicum of success before their current three-game losing streak.

“We’ve got to go back and do the things that our guys know,” Walker said. “We can’t really be the offense of the week.”

Well, the Aggies definitely can’t be the offense of last week, which managed only two first downs in the 45-0 loss at nationally ranked Ohio State.

Or the week before, when they managed only a field goal in a 34-3 home loss to Fresno State.

Or the week before that, when cornerback Davon House’s fumble return was their lone score in a 45-7 defeat at Louisiana Tech.

Those are the three toughest teams the Aggies have faced, to be sure. But stiffer competition aside, Walker says the offense has regressed, even “panicked” in the last three weeks.

“That’s why the bye week comes at a good time,” Walker said. “We can go back and look at what we did well early in the season.”

So it sounds like the offense of next week at Hawaii will be a constricted playbook: a heavy dose of Seth Smith left, Seth Smith right, and Seth Smith up the middle. He had better get rest on this open date.

The Aggies have tweaked their attack in one significant way, and that’s to scrap the platoon at quarterback in favor of Jeff Fleming. The catch phrase was to “go with the hot hand,” but it’s been a long time since either Fleming or Trevor Walls had one, like trying to remember in mid-February what mid-June felt like.

Fleming’s passing numbers haven’t been good (58-of-112, 514 yards, two TDs, seven interceptions). But neither have redshirt freshman Trevor Walls’ (45-of-89, 339 yards, two TDs, five interceptions). And the staff seems resistant to the idea of taking the red shirt off freshman Tanner Rust. At least Fleming “gives us a better chance because of his mobility,” said Walker, which could be a clue that the Aggies will keep the rollouts, run-pass options and perhaps even some bootlegs in the game plans for the final four weeks.

When the Aggies were at their best, they were moving the chains with Smith between the tackles and Marquell Colston providing an extra burst when spelling the starter. Colston is on indefinite suspension, however, since his arrest on charges he beat up his live-in girlfriend. His absence in the last three games has coincided with the offense’s shutdown.

“It’s frustrating,” said center Mike Grady. “Going out there trying to find something that works and trying to gain some momentum and just going three-and-out and having to get off the field is frustrating. Everybody needs to be on the same page and everything needs to be just right.”

And when the offense is shut down, the defense doesn’t have a chance, even if it is as game as the Aggies were early against Ohio State. The next challenge is a Hawaii offense averaging 352 yards passing, third most in the country.

“The good thing about it is we kept fighting,” said free safety Stephon Hatchett, “and we’re going to build from this for our next four games.”

RECRUITING: The one way the Aggies can improve is with better talent. Walker spoke to that during his weekly news conference. According to rivals.com, the Aggies have commitments from El Paso Irvin two-way lineman Davonte Wallace and Robert Williamson, a defensive end from Pierce Community College in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Walker spent the previous three seasons as UCLA defensive coordinator, and most of his assistants are from the West, so it’s likely that the next class of recruits will have numerous West Coast kids. Walker said the Aggies are recruiting not only California, but Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and El Paso.

“The big boys are going to take theirs off the top,” Walker said. “We’re trying to use a different philosophy. We know coaches around the country, so we’re trying to look at some of these BCS schools’ seconds and thirds, as well as having everybody hone in on their areas to try to identify needs that we need to attack once the season ends.”

… One silver lining from the Ohio State loss is that the knee injury suffered by defensive tackle Chris Romero included no structural damage, and he might miss no more than one game.