A ‘celebration’ as Minnesota meets New Mexico in Rate Bowl

Some teams bypass the bowl season or downplay the significance of a final game that lacks College Football Playoff implications.

Minnesota is not one of those teams.

The Golden Gophers (7-5) will look to maintain their recent bowl dominance when they kick off against New Mexico (9-3) at the Rate Bowl on Friday afternoon in Phoenix. The teams will play at Chase Field, home of baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks.

Minnesota has posted a perfect 6-0 mark in bowl games under head coach P.J. Fleck.

"It's one of my favorite times of year just with bowl prep and the holiday season," Fleck said. "It's a celebration of the '25 season in which you can celebrate those seniors and everything they've given to this program. And really start building toward 2026.

"Every bowl game we've ever been associated with, that's the approach we've taken."

Fleck said it is no coincidence that his players have bought in with the same mentality.

"I think our players take the bowl game very, very seriously. They love football," Fleck continued. "They want to play football. We take a lot of pride in developing that type of mindset here. ...

"I just respect the game wholeheartedly, and you want to coach players who really respect the game. I think our guys definitely have shown that they've done a very good job of that over the course of our nine years being here. I think bowl games are what makes college football different from anything else, whether it's the College Football Playoff or whether it's other bowl games. I think that's what makes college football college football.

"I'm a huge advocate of bowl games. Not everybody's going to get into the CFP, but it's a great opportunity for people to celebrate their season and get a lot of practices (ahead of) 2026."

New Mexico will appear in its first bowl game since 2016. It is the first time since 2004 that the Lobos will travel out of state for a bowl game.

First-year head coach Jason Eck urged Lobos fans to make the trip from Albuquerque to Phoenix to support the football program. New Mexico enters the contest on a six-game winning streak, including a 23-17 win over San Diego State in double overtime on Nov. 28.

Now comes an opportunity for the Lobos to notch a 10-win season and knock off their second Big Ten opponent of the season. They stormed to a 35-10 road win over UCLA on Sept. 12.

"That's a huge opportunity," Eck said when asked about posting double-digit wins. "Our seniors already have a great legacy, but it would be nice to put that cherry on top of the season."

However, Eck said, it won't be easy against Minnesota.

"I've already challenged our (defensive) linemen. We're going to have to play really well up front to stop their run game, to get some pressure on the quarterback," Eck said. "And, on the other side, to block their D-line. I think their D-line will be one of the better ones we've seen all year."