The New Mexico Bowl represents a full-circle moment for San Diego State center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli.

The senior has spent the past five seasons at SDSU. He redshirted as a freshman in 2021, mostly watching as the Aztecs won a school-record 12 games capped with a win over UTSA in the Frisco Bowl. Ulugalu-Maseuli started as a redshirt freshman in 2022 on a team that lost to Middle Tennessee State in the Hawaii Bowl.

Saturday’s bowl game against No. 23 North Texas is a fitting finish to his career.

“I didn’t realize how fast it was going until it’s, like, senior night (against San Jose State), our last game at Snapdragon Stadium,” said Ulugalu-Maseuli, who was born in La Mesa and grew up in Spring Valley. “I’m not looking too far into the past, just waiting for this next game and finish off the season right. …

“It feels like the team that I came in knowing. It feels right. It feels like the SDSU I knew growing up. So it’s nice to have that feeling again.”

SDSU turned things around with nine victories this season. A win over the Mean Green would give the Aztecs the distinction of being only the 10th team in the program’s 57-year Division I history with double-digit wins.

Ulugalu-Maseuli, selected a team captain before the season, has been right in the middle of it.

A four-year starter who has played both guard positions as well as center, Ulugalu-Maseuli earned first-team all-Mountain West honors this season. He was the glue on a much-improved offensive line.

SDSU went 4-8 and 3-9 the previous two years. The only bowling Ulugalu-Maseuli did was at a bowling alley. He is, in fact, a two-sport standout. Bowling has became more than just a pastime. It’s a passion.

Ulugalu-Maseuli and former teammate Rambo Mageo became regulars three years ago at the 12-lane on-campus alley. It’s a great deal for students, who get two free games and pay only $1 for any games thereafter.

The center enjoyed an even better deal on Christmas Eve after the Aztecs landed Wednesday afternoon in Albuquerque, N.M., ahead of the bowl game. The players and coaches were treated to dinner and activities — including arcade games, laser tag and bowling — at Main Event Entertainment.

“When football’s not too crazy, I might bowl five or six games in one day,” said Ulugalu-Maseuli, whose competitiveness on the football field follows him into the bowling alley.

Soon enough, it wasn’t enough to throw the house balls provided behind each lane. Ulugalu-Maseuli got a couple of custom-made bowling balls — one ball for strikes and another for picking up spares — and had his own shoes, a bowling bag on wheels and a special towel to rub the lane oil off his ball.

At 6-foot-4 and 335 pounds, Ulugalu-Maseuli is a massive presence when he steps to the line. Bowling requires more than just power, though. Precision is necessary to pick up spares. Knowledge is needed to adjust your game to lanes that could be oily, dry or somewhere in between.

Ulugalu-Maseuli said he averages 215, which is elite. Only 10-15% of league bowlers average 200 or more. Members of the general public are fortunate to break 150.

Even more impressive: Ulugalu-Maseuli has bowled a pair of perfect games, rolling 12 straight strikes to reach 300. How much pressure did he feel stepping to the line for that final throw?

“I mean, you can’t feel more pressure than in the fourth quarter with 20 seconds left (for a game-winning drive),” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “Pressure doesn’t affect me too much. You work best when you’re under pressure. At least I do. It’s something that I had to deal with and something that, you know, it just comes.”

As a true freshman in 2021, Ulugalu-Maseuli was on the scout team. He had to look across the line at guys like Keshawn Banks, Jonah Tavai and Cameron Thomas, players who were all-conference talents as well as pro prospects.

“They made me the player I am today,” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “You never realize how valuable (the) scout team is until they’re gone, and you’re up next, and you’re going up against players who aren’t the same as they were.”

Life in the trenches has taken its toll on Ulugalu-Maseuli, who has had three knee surgeries during his college career. His coaches and teammates helped him push through the pain to stay on the field. His 40 career starts for the Aztecs are more than any other player on the team.

“The love that the coaches always showed me, the players, everybody was always reaching out to me,” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “And it’s just, like, I knew I wasn’t in it alone. But I also knew I had to push hard to get back in time for the next season. That’s all it was. I just love ball.”

Ulugalu-Maseuli, like all of his teammates, hopes to have an opportunity at the next level. Regardless, the memories and relationships acquired the past five years will last a lifetime.

“I have a whole bunch of guys that are like my brothers now,” he said. “There are guys that have left that I still talk to every day. Jonah Tavai is one of those guys. I’m on the phone with him every day, every week, and it’s just like, you know, the bonds and relationships that I’ve built here. Even outside of football, there’s relationships that are set in place. It’s just nice having the brotherhood that SDSU builds, and that’s what I love most about it.”

New Mexico Bowl: San Diego State (9-3) vs. No. 23 North Texas (11-2)

When: 2:45 p.m. Saturday

Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque

TV: ESPN

Radio: 760-AM