Yonke’s prediction: Eck gets the better of Fleck in the Rate Bowl.

Bowl season ramps up in a big way Friday with a three-game slate, highlighted by a compelling Power Conference vs. Group of 5 clash in the Rate Bowl between the New Mexico Lobos and Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Jason Eck has emerged as a popular name on the coaching carousel for good reason, and he’ll look to notch his 10th win in his first season with the Lobos against a very beatable Big Ten opponent.

See why my New Mexico vs. Minnesota predictions and college football picks for the Rate Bowl on Friday, December 26 are backing the Lobos.

New Mexico vs Minnesota predictions for the Rate Bowl

Who will win the Rate Bowl?

New Mexico will pull off the upset.

The Lobos have the better metrics overall and seem to have made a home run hire with Jason Eck. Finding a 10th win would be a massive victory for this program, and the momentum is heading in the right direction for a team that won six games and probably should’ve featured in the Mountain West championship game if we lived in a just society.

New Mexico vs Minnesota best bet: New Mexico +2.5 (-110)

Much has been made about the fact that the Minnesota Golden Gophers are 6-0 in bowl games under PJ Fleck. That’s all well and good — and it is of importance whether or not a coach has a reason to motivate his team in the wild era of current bowl games — but it’s not the only handicapping factor.

What stands out most to me is that Minnesota wasn’t a very good football team in 2025.

They had a young quarterback, injured running backs, uninspiring wide receivers, a terrible offensive line, and a bad defense that allowed far too many crippling big plays. Even though they finished 7-5, the Gophers ranked outside the Top 90 in EPA per play on both sides of the ball and needed great fortune to go bowling. 

The Gophers were also dreadful away from Minneapolis, losing all five games by an average margin of 24.4 points. They weren’t even competitive. 

The New Mexico Lobos finished the season with six consecutive wins, building significant momentum in Year 1 of the Jason Eck era. He’s truly revitalized this program, and they’d love nothing better than to put an exclamation point on the season by toppling a very beatable Power Conference opponent.

Now that is motivation.

The Lobos have better metrics on both sides of the ball and are stout in the trenches (12th in stuff rate offensively, 19th defensively) — a necessary component when stepping up in competition. Give me the underdog.

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New Mexico vs Minnesota same-game parlay

Minnesota’s defense has been bad enough that New Mexico should have very realistic expectations of finding the end zone several times.

If the Lobos fail in that mission, it’d be a massive disappointment against a Gophers defense that ranks 116th in success rate and 106th in PFF’s overall defensive grade. 

On the other side of things, New Mexico is solid defensively, but not elite. The expectation is for Minnesota to feature star running back Darius Taylor in this matchup, and start Drake Lindsey will hope to build confidence heading into next season.

The Gophers cashed the Over in every game away from home this season, so here’s betting on another. 

New Mexico vs Minnesota SGP

• New Mexico +1.5
• Over 43.5 

New Mexico vs Minnesota game predictions

New Mexico vs Minnesota spread prediction

The Lobos will cover this spread, making it five times in their last six games that they’ve done so. Eck’s squad was an underdog in six games this season and covered the spread in four of those contests. Count them out at your own peril.

New Mexico vs Minnesota Over/Under prediction

This game will sneak over the total due to Minnesota’s overrated defense that frankly hasn’t done much of anything well this season. The Gophers have allowed at least 38 points in four of their five games away from Minneapolis, so you can’t trust them in the bowl game.

New Mexico vs Minnesota odds

• Spread: New Mexico +1.5 (-110) | Minnesota -1.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: New Mexico +110 | Minnesota -130
• Over/Under: Over 43.5 (-110) | Under 43.5 (-110)

New Mexico vs Minnesota trend to know

Minnesota is 0-5 ATS away from home. Find more college football betting trends for New Mexico vs Minnesota.

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