2018 New Mexico Bowl

2018 New Mexico Bowl
13th New Mexico Bowl
Utah State Aggies North Texas Mean Green
(10–2) (9–3)
Mountain West C-USA
52 13
Head coach: 
Frank Maile (interim)		 Head coach: 
Seth Littrell
Coaches
23
1234 Total
Utah State 142477 52
North Texas 7060 13
DateDecember 15, 2018
Season2018
StadiumDreamstyle Stadium
LocationAlbuquerque, New Mexico
MVPJordan Love (QB, Utah State)[1] & DJ Williams (DB, Utah State)[2]
FavoriteUtah State by 9[3]
RefereeKyle Olson (Sun Belt)
Attendance25,387
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN & ESPN Radio
AnnouncersMark Neely, John Congemi and Quint Kessenich (ESPN)
Bill Roth, Barrett Jones and Taylor Davis (ESPN Radio)
New Mexico Bowl
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The 2018 New Mexico Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 15, 2018,[4] with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. local MST).[5] It was the 13th edition of the New Mexico Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Unfortunately for North Texas, their C-USA Player of the Year all time leading passer quarterback Mason Fine went out with an injury in the first half, with the score 14-7, making it difficult to compete with Utah State for the remainder of the game.

Teams

The game featured Utah State from the Mountain West Conference and North Texas from Conference USA (C-USA). This was the eighth all-time meeting against the Mean Green and the Aggies, with Utah State leading the series, 4–3; this meeting was the first in a bowl game.

Utah State

Main article: 2018 Utah State Aggies football team

Utah State accepted a bid to the New Mexico Bowl on December 2.[6] The Aggies entered the bowl with a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference). Due to the resignation of head coach Matt Wells, who accepted the same position with the Texas Tech Red Raiders on November 29, the Aggies were coached in the bowl game by interim head coach Frank Maile.[7] Utah State previously appeared in the 2014 New Mexico Bowl, defeating UTEP.

North Texas

Main article: 2018 North Texas Mean Green football team

North Texas accepted a bid to the New Mexico Bowl on December 2.[6] The Mean Green entered the bowl with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference). This was the first appearance by North Texas in a New Mexico Bowl.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP USU NT
1 14:20 3 75 0:40 USU Aaren Vaughns 72-yard touchdown reception from Jordan Love, Dominik Eberle kick good 7 0
1 2:52 10 78 4:44 NT DeAndre Torrey 2-yard touchdown run, Cole Hedlund kick good 7 7
1 1:59 5 41 0:44 USU Gerold Bright 26-yard touchdown run, Dominik Eberle kick good 14 7
2 12:08 10 78 2:41 USU Jordan Love 9-yard touchdown run, Dominik Eberle kick good 21 7
2 9:43 2 52 0:28 USU Aaren Vaughns 37-yard touchdown reception from Jordan Love, Dominik Eberle kick good 28 7
2 8:55 3 67 0:38 USU Jalen Greene 67-yard touchdown reception from Jordan Love, Dominik Eberle kick good 35 7
2 0:00 13 23 3:04 USU 42-yard field goal by Dominik Eberle 38 7
3 14:50 1 75 0:10 NT Jalen Guyton 75-yard touchdown reception from Kason Martin, Cole Hedlund kick blocked 38 13
3 5:01 4 42 0:50 USU Gerold Bright 3-yard touchdown run, Dominik Eberle kick good 45 13
4 8:30 15 90 7:10 USU Ron'quavion Tarver 13-yard touchdown reception from Jordan Love, Dominik Eberle kick good 52 13
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 52 13

Statistics

1 2 3 4 Total
Aggies 14 24 7 7 52
Mean Green 7 0 6 0 13
Statistics USU NT
First downs 25 19
Plays–yards 83–556 75–313
Rushes–yards 40–197 41–120
Passing yards 359 193
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 21–43–1 17–34–4
Time of possession 26:33 32:45
Team Category Player Statistics
Utah State Passing Jordan Love 21/43, 359 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Gerold Bright 16 car, 103 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Jalen Greene 6 rec, 151 yds, 1 TD
North Texas Passing Kason Martin 7/12, 110 yds, 1 TD
Rushing Anthony Wyche 7 car, 53 yds
Receiving Jalen Guyton 4 rec, 103 yds, 1 TD

References

  1. ^ USU Football [@USUFootball] (December 15, 2018). "Your 2018 @NMBowl Offensive Player of the Game... @jordan3love! #AggiesAllTheWay https://t.co/E6mN9cWqbQ" (Tweet). Retrieved January 4, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ USU Football [@USUFootball] (December 15, 2018). "The 2018 @NMBowl Defensive Player of the Game... @GodsWarrior615! #AggiesAllTheWay https://t.co/x91t0tS5xp" (Tweet). Retrieved January 4, 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  5. ^ "Gildan New Mexico Bowl Slated For Saturday, Dec. 15". newmexicobowl.com. New Mexico Bowl. May 2, 2018. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Utah State, North Texas Accept Invitations to 13th Annual New Mexico Bowl". December 2, 2018. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  7. ^ Vejar, Alex (December 14, 2018). "Utah State tries to put coaching distractions aside and focus on the New Mexico Bowl". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 15, 2018.