On Friday, Dec. 26, the University of New Mexico Lobo football team entered Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, looking to earn their fifth bowl game victory in program history against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Rate Bowl. However, that victory did not come, as the Golden Gophers sent the Lobos back to Albuquerque empty-handed, as UNM fell short in a 20-17 overtime loss.
The Lobo defense was the driving force keeping UNM in the game, holding Minnesota’s offense to 252 total yards and recovering a fumble off a botched snap, while also sacking Minnesota Quarterback Drake Lindsey three times.
The Lobo defense also held the Golden Gophers to only 14 points in regulation. When a defense has a performance like that, most of the time it leads to a win, but the Lobo offense didn’t perform up to its usual standard — one of the contributing factors in why UNM fell short.
Jack Layne and the offense struggled throughout the entire game, as Layne only threw for 88 yards, getting picked off in the process. The ground game for the Lobos wasn’t much better, as no one on the offense was able to rush for over 60 yards; the Lobos were only able to tally up 116 total yards on the ground, which is the same amount of yards Minnesota's running back Darius Taylor gained alone. While credit is given to Minnesota’s defense, the offense's job is to score, and they were unable to find the endzone once.
After a Minnesota touchdown, the Lobos were trailing the Golden Gophers 14-6 in the fourth quarter when Lobo running back Damon Bankston took matters into his own hands, taking the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to the house and scoring the only Lobo touchdown in the game. The Lobos would convert the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 points apiece, and the score would stay that way until the end of regulation.
The Lobos had possession first in overtime, and on a third-and-four, the play call was a quarterback draw with James Laubstein that got blown up immediately. The Lobos would have to settle for three, and Minnesota would end the game on their next possession as Lindsey found wide receiver Jalen Smith for the game-winning touchdown.
Lobo Head Coach Jason Eck spoke on the loss after the game.
“Proud of our team for the season, I thought we fought our tail off today, just came up a little bit short,” Eck said.
Despite the season not ending the way the team or fans wanted, this season was nonetheless a successful one for UNM, having gone 9-4, and is a step in the right direction for the future of this program, giving many football fans hope here in New Mexico.
Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
