New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, New Mexico): Utah State (10-2) vs. North Texas (9-3)
The New Mexico Bowl kicks off at 2 PM this Saturday on ESPN. Utah State last won the New Mexico Bowl in 2014, defeating UTEP 21-6. This year pits two teams that had very successful seasons. Both teams have put together impressive offensive totals paired with solid defenses. For North Texas, the game represents a chance for their first ten win season in school history. Utah State looks to end a two-game bowl skid.
How They Got Here: Utah State
The Aggies had a surprisingly great campaign. Their only losses came to then No. 11 Michigan State, 38-31, and to No. 23 Boise State, 33-24. That 33-24 loss came the last weekend of the season with a spot in the Mountain West championship on the line. Utah State dominated both sides of the ball this season, and only two of their ten wins were by less than 10 points.
The Aggies get it done on the ground and through the air, led by sophomore Jordan Love. Love threw for 3,208 yards and 28 touchdowns with just 5 interceptions, completing 65.8% of passes. On the ground, it’s junior Darwin Thompson who ran for 951 yards and 14 touchdowns while also catching 22 passes for 336 yards. On defense, Utah State prides itself on a great run defense. The Aggies will be without head coach Matt Wells, who took the vacated head coaching job at Texas Tech.
How They Got Here: North Texas
The Mean Green had a perfect 4-0 non-conference record but stumbled a bit in Conference USA games. Two of those non-conference wins came against SMU (46-23) and Arkansas (44-17). However, three conference losses had them finish second in the C-USA West division and miss out on a chance at a conference title. Head coach Seth Littrell drew interest from Kansas State to replace Bill Snyder but opted to stay in North Texas for at least another year.
Junior QB Mason Fine had another big year at North Texas, going for 3,734 yards and 27 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions. His favorite target, Rico Bussey Jr, caught 68 passes for 1,017 yards, the 28th most receiving yards in the nation. He was also 7th in the country in receiving touchdowns with 12. That connection will be key for North Texas on Saturday afternoon.
Player to Watch: Darwin Thompson (USU)
Thompson has done virtually everything for Utah State this season. The junior running back totaled 1,287 yards for the Aggies and 16 total touchdowns. Thompson also ran for over 140 yards in two games this season. Against a tough North Texas rush defense, Thompson will need to get it done especially on the ground to establish an air attack for the Aggies.
Prediction
It is always a gamble to pick a team to win a bowl game without the head coach that got them there. But Utah State is the better team talent-wise. The combination of Jordan Love and Darwin Thompson provides insurance for the Aggies. It’ll be a close and high scoring affair to kick off the opening day of bowl games. I’ll take Utah State, 45-42.