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Rate Bowl pits Minnesota against New Mexico

New Mexico (9-3) vs. Minnesota (7-5), Dec. 26 at 4:30 p.m. EST.

BetMGM College Football Odds Line: Minnesota by 2.5. Against the spread: Minnesota 4-7, New Mexico 7-5.

How to watch: ESPN

Key stats

Minnesota Offense

Overall: 296.6 yards per game (128th in FBS)

Passing: 193.5 yards per game (104th)

Rushing: 103.1 yards per game (129th)

Scoring: 23.3 points per game (98th)

Minnesota Defense

Overall: 342.3 yards per game (41st in FBS)

Passing: 220.8 yards per game (66th)

Rushing: 121.5 yards per game (31st)

Scoring: 23.4 points per game (57th)

New Mexico Offense

Overall: 369.6 yards per game (85th in FBS)

Passing: 214.5 yards per game (86th)

Rushing: 155.1 yards per game (74th)

Scoring: 27.9 points per game (68th)

New Mexico Defense

Overall: 350 yards per game (50th in FBS)

Passing: 236.6 yards per game (100th)

Rushing: 113.4 yards per game (25th)

Scoring: 22.5 points per game (48th)

New Mexico is 110th in the FBS with a -6 turnover margin, compared to Minnesota’s 24th-ranked +7 margin.

Minnesota is 2nd in the FBS averaging 26.3 penalty yards per game.

New Mexico ranks 113th in FBS in red zone offense, scoring on 77.3% of trips.

Team leaders

Minnesota

Passing: Drake Lindsey, 2,235 yards, 16 TDs, 6 INTs, 63.2 completion percentage

Rushing: Darius Taylor, 554 yards on 119 carries, 3 TDs

Receiving: Lemeke Brockington, 484 yards on 46 catches, 4 TDs

New Mexico

Passing: Jack Layne, 2,398 yards, 13 TDs, 9 INTs, 65.9 completion percentage

Rushing: Damon Bankston, 578 yards on 104 carries, 5 TDs

Receiving: Keagan Johnson, 730 yards on 57 catches, 3 TDs

Last game

Minnesota beat Wisconsin 17-7 on Saturday, Nov. 29. Lindsey passed for 90 yards on 18-of-24 attempts (75.0%) with one touchdown and no interceptions. Taylor carried the ball 19 times for 100 yards and scored one touchdown, adding four receptions for 11 yards. Jameson Geers recorded 27 yards on four catches with one touchdown.

New Mexico won 23-17 over San Diego State on Friday, Nov. 28. Layne led New Mexico with 127 yards on 14-of-25 passing (56.0%) for one touchdown and no interceptions. James Laubstein had 70 rushing yards on 10 carries and one touchdown. Johnson put up 37 yards on three catches.

The Cactus Bowl is back, returning to Arizona State’s campus in December

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Cactus Bowl is back and it's returning to Arizona State's campus. Fiesta Sports Foundation, which operates the Fiesta and Cactus bowls, announced the return on Wednesday, ending a nine-year run at Chase Field, home of baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. The game will be played Dec. 26 at Arizona State's Mountain America Stadium. The bowl moved to Chase Field while Arizona State's stadium underwent renovations and had numerous title sponsors, most recently being known as the Rate Bowl from 2024-25.
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