The Gophers will play New Mexico in the Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Dec. 26.
The first meeting between the two programs will kick off at 3:30 p.m. CT at Chase Field and will air on ESPN.
Bowl projections late last week for the Big Ten-Big XII conference matchup was penciled out to be Gophers (7-5) versus Iowa State (8-4), but the Cyclones opted out of the bowl on Sunday due to “lack of healthy players to safely practice and play.”
Iowa State, which is also going through a coaching change from Matt Campbell to Jimmy Rogers, was fined $500,000 by the Big XII for declining a bowl invitation. With Kansas State also opting out, the Rate Bowl picked a Mountain West Conference program.
Under up-and-coming, first-year head coach Jason Eck, New Mexico won six straight games to finish 9-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play. The Lobos lost the season opener to then 14th-ranked Michigan, 34-17, on Aug. 30, but knocked off UCLA 35-10 on Sept. 12.
Eck, who just signed a five-year extension to stay in Albuquerque, produced the program’s first win over a Big Ten school and ended two long losing streaks to Air Force (25 years on the road) and Colorado State (13 straight games). Their overall record was the program’s first wining season since Bob Davie was the coach in 2016.
The Lobos also lost to San Jose State and Boise State to barely miss out on the Mountain West championship game, which Boise State won, 38-21, over UNLV on Friday.
The Gophers had a memorable experience in Phoenix in 2021, beating West Virginia in the then-named Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field. More than 4,000 Gophers fans attended the game at Arizona Diamondbacks’ home venue.
The Gophers also played in the Insight Bowl three times at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., and lost all three games to Texas Tech (2006), Kansas (2008) and Iowa State (2009).
This year’s Gophers team reached bowl eligibility with its sixth win in a 23-20 overtime win over Michigan State on Nov. 1, and after losses to Oregon and Northwestern, they improved their position with a 17-7 win over Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan’s Axe in the regular-season finale on Nov. 29.
The Gophers are headed to their seventh bowl game in nine seasons under head coach P.J. Fleck. They failed to qualify in his first year, 2017, and opted out of a bowl game during the pandemic-altered season in 2020.
The Gophers’ eight-straight wins in bowl games is the longest streak in the nation; the U hasn’t lost since the 2015 Citrus Bowl.
Related Articles
Gophers likely bowl destination: Rate Bowl in Phoenix
Gophers dismiss defensive line coach Dennis Dottin-Carter
Gophers football: Five players plan to enter transfer portal
Gophers football: 3 true freshman who might be instant impact on offense
Gophers football: Signing day tracker for 2026 recruiting class
Leave a Reply