The Gophers accepted their invitation to the Rate Bowl in Phoenix for their 26th all-time bowl game.
The last time the Gophers played in Phoenix was 2021, when they defeated West Virginia University. This time, they will see an opponent they have never played before, New Mexico University.
The Gophers-Lobos matchup will be the only Big Ten-Mountain West matchup this bowl game season.
The New Mexico Lobos ended their season 9-3 and, like the Gophers, had a perfect record at home. The Lobos head coach, Jason Eck, was named Mountain West Coach of the Year. His son, Jaxton Eck, plays for him and was named the Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
The bowl game selection came as a surprise for Eck. He said he heard it was a possibility Sunday morning, and then a few short hours later, found out they were invited. New Mexico just barely missed out on playing in the Mountain West championship game, and Eck said the opportunity to play in a bowl game is a nice way to make up for that.
Iowa State University and Kansas State University both pulled out of bowl games, their departure likely the reason New Mexico gets to play.
It will be the Lobos’ first appearance in a bowl game since 2016. If they win, they will be a 10-win team. This has only been achieved once in Lobos’ history and is something that coach Eck said he is actively chasing.
The Lobos are led by junior quarterback Jack Layne. This year was Layne’s first at New Mexico. He threw for 2,398 yards and 13 touchdowns. Gophers redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsay threw 163 fewer yards but three more touchdowns.
The most glaring difference between the two QBs is how often they are sacked. Layne was sacked a total of 28 times this season, while Lindsay kept his numbers down to 18.
Redshirt junior Anthony Smith is coming off his best year on the D-line yet, averaging 10.5 sacks. The Gophers and Smith will definitely try to exploit that weakness in New Mexico’s offensive line.
Head coach P.J. Fleck aims to protect his six-game bowl-winning streak. The Gophers currently have an eight-game bowl-win streak, dating back to 2015. The streak is the longest active streak in the nation and the longest ever in the Big Ten.
Fleck said the bowl game is a way to celebrate the graduating players, what the team accomplished in 2025 and the start of the 2026 season.
The executive director of the game, Erik Moses, and Fleck both said playing in Arizona is something Minnesotans always enjoy because of the high percentage of snowbirds, creating a strong connection between the two states. Though New Mexico may only be six hours from Chase Field, 4,000 Gophers fans turned up the last time the Gophers played the Rate Bowl.
The game will have a 3:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, on Dec. 26
