New Mexico to play Minnesota in Rate Bowl

Dec. 7—Pack your bags, Lobo fans.

New Mexico will play Minnesota in the Rate Bowl on Dec. 26, the bowl announced Sunday.

Hosted at Chase Field in Phoenix, the first-ever meeting between the Lobos (9-3 overall, 6-2 in Mountain West play) and Gophers (7-5 overall, 5-4 in Big Ten play) is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

After narrowly missing out on a Mountain West Championship berth, UNM is filling a vacated bowl slot after two Big 12 teams declined bids Sunday. The Lobos were previously expected to stay home and play in the New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium; instead, North Texas and San Diego State will meet in that game on Dec. 27.

Rate Bowl executive director Erik Moses said Minnesota was the bowl's "top choice" to represent the Big Ten in what normally is a Big Ten-Big 12 matchup. But after Iowa State and Kansas State decided to skip the postseason, Moses and the bowl chose UNM based on the school's proximity, an "impressive" season and a previous relationship with UNM athletic director Fernando Lovo.

"We had to pivot pretty quickly (after Iowa State and Kansas State declined bids)," he added in a news conference Sunday. "But we think the pivot was a really good one with New Mexico, and we couldn't be more excited."

UNM head coach Jason Eck said he was thrilled to learn about the Lobos' bowl destination and opponent on Sunday afternoon, adding that playing a "really quality" opponent was his "No. 1criteria" for any bowl. He coached against the Gophers and head coach P.J. Fleck as the offensive coordinator at South Dakota State in 2019; Minnesota won 28-21.

A Wisconsin alum, Eck also compiled an undefeated record against the Gophers as a player in the "Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe," one of college football's oldest and most storied rivalries.

"I haven't even watched the film yet but I know when I flip it on, I'm going to see a big, physical offensive line," he said of Minnesota on Sunday. " ... I know that they're going to be fundamental on defense. (Fleck) has always been a coach who wasn't really gimmicky — they were simple, but just executed and did things well."

Eck added he did not know about the possibility of playing in the Rate Bowl until Sunday morning, and that the matchup wasn't finalized until UNM's team banquet in the afternoon. Playing in the New Mexico Bowl was attractive, he said, but the bowl ran into issues trying to convince teams to play the Lobos on their home turf.

"People didn't want to come play us in our home stadium," he said. "Some of the teams — like, North Texas is going to play here now against San Diego State, but they weren't excited about the prospect of playing us in our home stadium. Very thankful for how it worked out.

" ... Thank you to those players at Iowa State. I hope they have a great Christmas at home — (thanks) for opting out and giving us an opportunity to get in this game."

Fleck, Minnesota's ninth-year coach, was largely complimentary of Eck and UNM, noting that he was able to see the Lobos this season via crossover film and late-night games.

"I love when people can turn around something really quickly — it kind of draws my attention," he said Sunday. " ... You know that when you're going to face a team that's coached by (Eck), they're going to be tough, they're going to be hard-nosed. That's not only a credit to him, but his background and how he's continued to lead that team that he's led to get to this point."

UNM compiled a 1-1 record against Big Ten opponents this fall, falling 34-17 at Michigan before beating UCLA 35-10 two weeks later. The Rate Bowl represents the Lobos' first bowl game against a legacy Big Ten team and is their first postseason appearance since 2016.