It’s Official; Gophers play New Mexico in Rate Bowl

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DarthGopher said:
I think the point that keeps getting overlooked is people treat the bowls like a meritocracy. They are at their core large marketing and advertising campaigns. There is some correlation to records and past performance (merit), but trying to split hairs over this bowl vs. that bowl is pointless. They want butts in seats and feet on the sidewalks. Other than passing through the airport a few times, I've never spent time in Phoenix, and I'm looking forward to it. Charlotte was cold.
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Yes it was. The Billds packed a whole suitcase with warm gameday stuff and it was still very nippy. The stadium had a pretty strong breeze that added to the windchill factor. Still a fun time but Orlando and Tampa certainly were better.
 

DarthGopher said:
I think the point that keeps getting overlooked is people treat the bowls like a meritocracy. They are at their core large marketing and advertising campaigns. There is some correlation to records and past performance (merit), but trying to split hairs over this bowl vs. that bowl is pointless. They want butts in seats and feet on the sidewalks. Other than passing through the airport a few times, I've never spent time in Phoenix, and I'm looking forward to it. Charlotte was cold.
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Thankful that the mezzanine was heated. Still a fun game.
 

DarthGopher said:
I think the point that keeps getting overlooked is people treat the bowls like a meritocracy. They are at their core large marketing and advertising campaigns. There is some correlation to records and past performance (merit), but trying to split hairs over this bowl vs. that bowl is pointless. They want butts in seats and feet on the sidewalks. Other than passing through the airport a few times, I've never spent time in Phoenix, and I'm looking forward to it. Charlotte was cold.
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That hurricane wind that kicked in just before the gates opened was BRUTAL.
 

FanSinceTheFifties said:
I give up. You're right. The organizers would have no reason to assume a bigger turnout for Nebraska. They would just guess.
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I cant understand why this is so difficult for you to understand.
Yes...the Las Vegas Bowl people likely think Nebraska will travel better than the Gophers. They're almost certainly correct, BTW.
It's also true They don't care about the reasons why. They're not interested in possible reasons. In fact, they don't give a shit.
 



FanSinceTheFifties said:
I must not be understanding something. Didn't Nebraska get invited while many GHers felt the Gophers were more deserving? Could the reason be that sponsors expect more Nebraska fans than the Gophers would bring? What might influence that expectation is the understanding that Nebraska is a college sport market with an undivided fan base whole the Gophers play in a pro market that splits fan's loyalty and thus attention.
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I think what influences the decision to send Nebby to a better bowl is that their fans in fact travel better than ours, it's not merely an expectation. The bowl organizers don't need to hypothesize why Gopher fans don't travel. They don't care if it's pro sports, or Delta gouging Twin City travelers, or Nordic insularity that keeps Gopher fans home. That's the point. The Gophers don't travel and the team isn't attractive for television. The reason why doesn't concern bowl organizers.
 

swede2 said:
I think what influences the decision to send Nebby to a better bowl is that their fans in fact travel better than ours, it's not merely an expectation. The bowl organizers don't need to hypothesize why Gopher fans don't travel. They don't care if it's pro sports, or Delta gouging Twin City travelers, or Nordic insularity that keeps Gopher fans home. That's the point. The Gophers don't travel and the team isn't attractive for television. The reason why doesn't concern bowl organizers.
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You should see the prices for NYE in Vegas. People here complaining about being gouged for Phoenix, the Nebraska fans are looking at 2-3X the prices we are going to Vegas over NYE. But I bet they still travel well.
 

Some details heading into the bowl:

Minnesota has an all time record of 15-3 Vs. the Mountain West.
• Vs. Colorado State: 4-0
• Vs. San Jose State: 3-1
• Vs. Nevada-LV: 2-0
• Vs. Fresno State: 2-0
• Vs. Air Force: 1-0
• Vs. Nevada: 1-0
• Vs. Wyoming: 1-0
• Vs. San Diego St: 1-1
• Vs. Hawaii: 0-1

The three losses all occurred during the 1990s. In 1992, Minnesota opened its season with a 39-30 loss against San Jose State and finished 2-9. The 1993 game against San Diego State was week 4, where the Aztecs won 48-17 and Minnesota finished 4-7. In 1997, the Gophers opened their season in Hawaii and lost 17-3 before finishing the year at 3-9.

The biggest wins against the Mountain West include:
• Wyoming, 46-0 in 1946
• Colorado State, 56-24 in 2005
• Nevada-LV, 51-23 in 2013
• San Diego State, 40-17 in 1994
• San Jose State, 43-24 in 2013.
• Nevada, 27-0 in 2024

This will be the first time Minnesota plays New Mexico. They also haven’t played Boise State or Utah State. Minnesota has a losing record of 2-3 against former Mountain West members, TCU (1-2) and Utah (1-1).

Against New Mexico’s other major university, New Mexico State, Minnesota has a 3-1 record, winning the last game 38-0. All time, the Gophers have an 81-10-1 record Vs. current Group of 5 teams.

New Mexico has played six Big Ten schools to date, and has a 1-6 all time record. Their lone win came this year when they defeated UCLA, 35-10. Their losses are as follows:
  • Vs. Nebraska, 1985, Lost 38-7
  • Vs. UCLA, 2002, Lost 27-13 (Las Vegas Bowl)
  • Vs. Oregon, 2010, Lost 72-0
  • Vs. Rutgers, 2016, Lost 37-28
  • Vs. Wisconsin, 2018, Lost 45-14
  • Vs. Michigan, 2025, Lost 34-17
This year marks their first winning record since 2016, when they went 9-4 and won the New Mexico Bowl over UTSA. This is their third winning record since 2010, having gone 7-6 in 2015 with a New Mexico Bowl loss to Arizona. New Mexico has played in 13 bowl games and has a 4-8-1 record in them.

This is New Mexico’s second time playing in this bowl game. They played in the 1997 edition, when it was the Insight.com Bowl, and fell to Arizona, 20-14. A win would give them their first 10 win season since 1982.

New Mexico's coach, Jason Eck, attended a Big Ten school, playing at Wisconsin from 1995-1998. He was also a Graduate Assistant there from 1999-2001. During his whole time at Wisconsin, the Badgers went 6-1 against Minnesota.

His coaching career included stops in Minnesota. He held position coach roles at Winona State from 2007-2008 and Minnesota State-Mankato from 2013-2014.
 
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IceBoxGopher said:
Some details heading into the bowl:

Minnesota has an all time record of 15-3 Vs. the Mountain West.
• Vs. Colorado State: 4-0
• Vs. San Jose State: 3-1
• Vs. Nevada-LV: 2-0
• Vs. Fresno State: 2-0
• Vs. Air Force: 1-0
• Vs. Nevada: 1-0
• Vs. Wyoming: 1-0
• Vs. San Diego St: 1-1
• Vs. Hawaii: 0-1

The three losses all occurred during the 1990s. In 1992, Minnesota opened its season with a 39-30 loss against San Jose State and finished 2-9. The 1993 game against San Diego State was week 4, where the Aztecs won 48-17 and Minnesota finished 4-7. In 1997, the Gophers opened their season in Hawaii and lost 17-3 before finishing the year at 3-9.

The biggest wins against the Mountain West include:
• Wyoming, 46-0 in 1946
• Colorado State, 56-24 in 2005
• Nevada-LV, 51-23 in 2013
• San Diego State, 40-17 in 1994
• San Jose State, 43-24 in 2013.
• Nevada, 27-0 in 2024

This will be the first time Minnesota plays New Mexico. They also haven’t played Boise State or Utah State. Minnesota has a losing record of 2-3 against former Mountain West members, TCU (1-2) and Utah (1-1).

Against New Mexico’s other major university, New Mexico State, Minnesota has a 3-1 record, winning the last game 38-0. All time, the Gophers have an 81-10-1 record Vs. current Group of 5 teams.

New Mexico has played six Big Ten schools to date, and has a 1-6 all time record. Their lone win came this year when they defeated UCLA, 35-10. Their losses are as follows:
  • Vs. Nebraska, 1985, Lost 38-7
  • Vs. UCLA, 2002, Lost 27-13 (Las Vegas Bowl)
  • Vs. Oregon, 2010, Lost 72-0
  • Vs. Rutgers, 2016, Lost 37-28
  • Vs. Wisconsin, 2018, Lost 45-14
  • Vs. Michigan, 2025, Lost 34-17
This year marks their first winning record since 2016, when they went 9-4 and won the New Mexico Bowl over UTSA. This is their third winning record since 2010, having gone 7-6 in 2015 with a New Mexico Bowl loss to Arizona. New Mexico has played in 13 bowl games and has a 4-8-1 record in them.

This is New Mexico’s second time playing in this bowl game. They played in the 1997 edition, when it was the Insight.com Bowl, and fell to Arizona, 20-14. A win would give them their first 10 win season since 1982.

New Mexico's coach, Jason Eck, attended a Big Ten school, playing at Wisconsin from 1995-1998. He was also a Graduate Assistant there from 1999-2001. During his whole time at Wisconsin, the Badgers went 6-1 against Minnesota.

His coaching career included stops in Minnesota. He held position coach roles at Winona state from 2007-2008 and Minnesota State-Mankato from 2013-2014.
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Not Minnesota, but Eck also coached just 20 miles across the border in Brookings as OC for South Dakota State. He is and was known for creative play calling. I would expect that he'll really open up his bag of tricks in the bowl game. He also gives a good interview - he's got a sense of humor and isn't afraid to deploy it.
 


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swede2 said:
Not Minnesota, but Eck also coached just 20 miles across the border in Brookings as OC for South Dakota State. He is and was known for creative play calling. I would expect that he'll really open up his bag of tricks in the bowl game. He also gives a good interview - he's got a sense of humor and isn't afraid to deploy it.
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He's also a badger sooo let's pound his crappy team that lost to 3-9 San Jose State and maintain our bowl streak
 

Arizona is a better landing spot for the Gophers. The Las Vegas bowl will be packed with Utah fans as it's within reasonable driving distance. Nebraska will get destroyed in the game. I'm not necessarily thrilled playing New Nexico but whatever. I'm sure it will be a really big deal to the Lobo faithful.
 
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WilliamsArenaGuy said:
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swede2 said:
I think what influences the decision to send Nebby to a better bowl is that their fans in fact travel better than ours, it's not merely an expectation. The bowl organizers don't need to hypothesize why Gopher fans don't travel. They don't care if it's pro sports, or Delta gouging Twin City travelers, or Nordic insularity that keeps Gopher fans home. That's the point. The Gophers don't travel and the team isn't attractive for television. The reason why doesn't concern bowl organizers.
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Agree that Nebraska will travel better but I also think people here are underestimating how well the Gophers travel.
 

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