The 2023 New Mexico Bowl will take place on Saturday evening when the New Mexico State Aggies face the Fresno State Bulldogs in Albuquerque, New Mexico at University Stadium with the game scheduled to start at 5:45 PM ET and will air on ESPN.

 

The New Mexico State Aggies finished in 2^nd place in the regular season in Conference USA and were on an eight-game winning streak entering the Conference USA Championship game against the Liberty Flames, however, they lost to the Liberty Flames by a score of 35-49 in the championship game. The success for the Aggies this season can be attributed to their defense as they allowed an average of 21.79 points per game while also having an above-average scoring team as they averaged 28.71 points per game. 

 

Diego Pavia was one of the stars in Conference USA this season as he led the Aggies in passing and rushing having completed 209 of 340 attempts for 2,915 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for 853 yards and six touchdowns. The Aggies have already set their team record for most wins in a season and will look to improve to 11-4 this season when they place the Fresno State Bulldogs in the New Mexico Bowl.

 

Fresno State finished in 6^th place in the Mountain West with a record of 8-4 and ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak which included an 18-33 loss in the season finale against the San Diego State Aztecs. The Bulldogs were outscored by an average of 15.67 points per game in their last three games, however, they had one of the best offenses in college football this season as they enter this game having averaged 29.92 points per game and Mikey Keene and the passing offense played a pivotal role in the success that the Bulldogs had offensively this season as he completed 251 of 380 attempts for 2,586 yards with 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Bulldogs will look to end their three-game losing streak when they play the New Mexico State Aggies in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday evening.

 

BookMaker has the New Mexico State Aztecs listed as 3.5-point favorites against the Fresno State Bulldogs in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday evening. Fresno State has won seven of the eight games all-time and two of the last three meetings with the most recent matchup having occurred in 2019 which resulted in a 30-17 win on the road for the Fresno State Bulldogs. The Aggies are 6-2 all-time and have covered the spread in three straight games in the series. The New Mexico State Aggies are 10-3-1 ATS overall and 5-1 ATS as a favorite this season while the Fresno State Bulldogs are 4-6 ATS overall and 1-1 ATS as an underdog on the year.

 

New Mexico State enters this game with a better record at 10-4 while Fresno State is 8-4. The Aggies have been the better team at covering the spread in the series as they are 6-2 ATS all-time and 3-0 ATS in the last three meetings while also having been the better team at covering the spread this season as they are 10-3-1 ATS overall and 5-1 ATS as a favorite while the Bulldogs are 4-6 ATS overall and 1-1 ATS as an underdog.

 

The Aggies are just the better team and have the better coach whereas Fresno State will be without their head coach.  This line is much closer than we expect this one. Give us New Mexico State.