New Mexico Lobos vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 12/26/25

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will try to make it 9 straight bowl-game victories this Friday night when they take on the New Mexico Lobos in the Rate Bowl. PJ Fleck has a perfect 6-0 record in bowl games as the head coach of the Gophers, and the Gophers haven’t lost a bowl game since 2015. This year’s team finished with a record of 7-5 and won 2 of their last 4 games to end the season. Their best win of the season was a 24-6 win against 25th-ranked Nebraska. Drake Lindsey led the team in passing with 2235 yards and 16 touchdowns. However, the normally-strong Gophers running game wasn’t as strong in 2025. Running back Darius Taylor led the team in rushing with 554 yards and 3 touchdowns.

New Mexico finished its season with a record of 9-3, including 6 straight wins. Its best win was a 23-17 2OT victory over 9-3 San Diego State to close out the season. Quarterback Jack Layne led the team in passing this season with 2398 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Lobos defense is led by junior linebacker Jaxton Eck, who finished the season with 126 tackles. That number has him ranked 9th in the FBS. 

I believe both teams will bring their best to Chase Field in Arizona for this game. Fleck has made it well known that he advocates for bowl games and preaches the importance of them to his players. New Mexico has not competed in a bowl game since 2016, and with a chance to finish its season with 10 wins after a decade of struggles, look for the Lobos to play their best. My main concern in this game is the Gophers playing away from home, as they are 0-5 this season when playing away from their home stadium. Lindsey has been solid for Minnesota, but his numbers drop significantly on the road. His completion percentage drops from 65% to 60%, his average yards per attempt drops from 6.7 to 5.5, and his passer rating drops from 135.1 to 114.1. Without their usual consistency in the running game, the Gophers have struggled at times on offense this season. New Mexico is a good tackling team and should be able to contain the Gophers’ running backs and make Minnesota one-dimensional. Minnesota finished below their expectations this season, and I believe their season ends with one more disappointment.

New Mexico vs Minnesota prediction: New Mexico Lobos +2.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable to pk.

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