College football’s bowl slate for the 2025-26 season continues with Minnesota and New Mexico meeting in the Rate Bowl on Dec. 26. The Lobos were one of college football’s biggest surprises in the regular season, while the Golden Gophers are making their eighth bowl trip in the last nine years.
With their third coach in three years, along with a significant roster turnover, New Mexico was picked to finish near the bottom of the Mountain West in ‘25. But the Lobos exceeded all expectations behind first-year coach Jason Eck. After a successful tenure at Idaho, Eck quickly rebuilt the roster and transformed the program into a Mountain West title contender. At 9-3, New Mexico just missed an appearance in the conference title game due to computer rankings in a four-way tie with Boise State, UNLV, and San Diego State.
Minnesota capped its fourth winning season over the last five years under coach PJ Fleck with a 17-7 victory over rival Wisconsin on Nov. 29. All five of the Golden Gophers’ defeats in ‘25 came to programs that qualified for a bowl, including two (Oregon and Ohio State) against playoff teams. Minnesota is 6-0 in postseason games under Fleck, so the Golden Gophers have plenty of motivation to keep that streak going when Friday’s game kicks off…