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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For the second straight year, The New Mexico Lobos will be home for the holidays. The Lobos have accepted a bid for the 11th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl, to be played in UNM’s home stadium of University Stadium. New Mexico’s opponent in the Saturday, December 17 contest will be the UTSA Roadrunners from Conference USA, who are playing in their first bowl game.
The Lobos finished the season 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the Mountain West, earning a share of its first Mountain Division championship since winning the Mountain Division in the WAC in 1997. UTSA finished 6-6 overall and 5-3 in CUSA’s West Division, coming in second place. The teams actually have a common opponent from 2016 in Colorado State.
This will be the third meeting all-time between the two programs, with UTSA winning 21-13 in 2013 at University Stadium and the Lobos winning 21-9 in 2014 in the Alamodome.
Fans wanting to purchase tickets out of UNM’s allotment can do so through the New Mexico Bowl Central link at the top of the page. The Lobos will be the visiting team for the game and UNM will occupy the East bench and East stands, which is different from UNM’s regular season games. For those UNM has the West bench and West stands.
New Mexico head coach Bob Davie was asked about the possibility of playing in the GIldan New Mexico Bowl, and he was certainly all for it. “I think the chance to play at home, if you ask me where I’d like to play, I’d say the Gildan New Mexico Bowl,” said Davie.
The Lobos will enter the game with perhaps the top offensive team in school history, as New Mexico leads the nation in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, rushing yards per carry and rushes of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 yards. The Lobos could also set a school record for total offense as they need under 100 yards of offense in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
“When you look at what the various bowl games offer in terms of the student-athlete experience, the Gildan New Mexico Bowl does a fantastic job,” said Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs. “The chance for our fans to be able to watch this team play and open up the 2016 Bowl season at home here in Albuquerque is a tremendous opportunity for our program. After going 8-4, earning a share of the division title, and boasting the nation’s top rushing offense, I’m glad our fans will have one last chance to watch our team in person.”
New Mexico will be making its 13th bowl appearance in school history and its second in a row. All told its UNM’s seventh since 2002. It will also be making its fourth appearance in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, having appeared previously in 2006, 2007 and 2015. The 2006 appearance in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl was a 20-12 loss to San Jose State. In 2007, UNM again made it to the New Mexico Bowl, shutting out the Nevada Wolf Pack by a 23-0 count. That ended a 46-year drought without a bowl win for the Lobos. Last season the Lobos lost 45-37 to Arizona, a team that was in the Fiesta Bowl the year prior. Overall UNM is 3-8-1 in bowl games.
For UTSA, this is its first bowl appearance, as the school’s football program began in 2011.