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University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, December 26
Chase Field | Phoenix, AZ
3:30 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
New Mexico
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn
Rate Bowl Preview: Minnesota vs. New Mexico
12/22/2025 2:21:00 PM | Football
THE ESSENTIALS
Date/Time:Â Dec. 26, 2025 / 3:30Â p.m.
Site:Â Phoenix, Ariz.
Stadium:Â Chase Field
Surface:Â Natural Grass
Capacity:Â 38,301 for football
Series Overall:Â First Meeting
Streak vs. Mountain West:Â Minnesota leads 15-3
Streak vs. Mountain West:Â Minnesota won 12
Last Meeting vs. Mountain West:Â Minnesota won 27-0 vs. Nevada in Minneapolis (9/14/24)
Television:Â ESPN // Mike Monaco (PXP), Kirk Morrison (Analyst), Dawn Davenport (Reporter)
Gopher Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 | SiriusXM: Channel 84; SXM App // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Minnesota (7-5, 5-4 B1G) will make its 26th all-time bowl appearance on Friday, Dec., 26, in the 2025 Rate Bowl when it faces New Mexico (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West) for the first time ever. The game is set to take place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz., at 3:30 p.m. CT with ESPN televising and KFAN providing radio coverage.
2. The Golden Gophers are 13-12 in their history in bowl games and have won eight straight bowl contests, including all six appearances under head coach P.J. Fleck (2025 Duke's Mayo, 2023 Quick Lane, 2022 Pinstripe, 2021 Guaranteed Rate, 2020 Outback, 2018 Quick Lane). The eight-game bowl winning streak is the longest active streak in the country and tied for the fourth longest in FBS history (see chart bottom right). With six bowl wins, Fleck already has the most in Gophers history, while the other 34 coaches in program history have combined for seven bowl wins. Fleck's seven bowl game appearances will match Glen Mason for the most in team annals. This year will mark the fifth time Minnesota has played in the Rate Bowl, previously appearing in 2006, 2008 and 2009 when it was called the Insight Bowl, as well as the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl. The five appearances tie Kansas State for the most in the bowl's history and marks the bowl game Minnesota has played in the most times. The Golden Gophers are 1-3 all-time in the bowl. More bowl info and history can be found on Pages 3, and 65-80 of the notes.Â
3. The Golden Gophers finished the regular season with a record of 7-5, marking the fifth time in the last six seasons that they've finished the regular season with that record or better. Minnesota was also 7-5 last season after posting 8-4 marks in 2021 and 2022 and a 10-2 record in 2019. The team is looking to tally its fifth eight-win season under P.J. Fleck, which would join him with Henry L. Williams (6) as the only Gopher coaches to reach that number. The Gophers also finished with a 5-4 record in Big Ten play. Like its overall mark, the team has posted a winning record in the conference in five of the past six seasons.
4. In the regular season finale against Wisconsin, John Nestor had one of the best individual defensive performances the sport has seen in some time. He recorded a career-high nine tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss in a 17-7 win that helped Minnesota win Paul Bunyan's Axe for the fourth time in the last five years. He also had two interceptions (76 return yards) and recovered one fumble. According to Stathead, no FBS player since at least 2005 has had a game like Nestor's with at least nine tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Both of Nestor's interceptions came in the third quarter, making him the first Gopher with multiple picks in a quarter since Tyler Nubin versus Rutgers in 2022. Nestor also had two interceptions earlier this year against Northwestern State, joining him with Antoine Winfield Jr. (2019) as the only Gopher since at least 2000 to have multiple games in a season with two interceptions. For his efforts against the Badgers, Nestor was named both the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and the Bednarik Award Player of the Week.
5. The 2025 campaign is the ninth for P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. He is the fifth-longest tenured coach in program history and the second-longest active tenured coach in the Big Ten. Fleck's record stands at 65-44, putting him fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth at Minnesota in Big Ten wins (39) and fifth in games coached (109). Fleck's overall win percentage of .596 is third best among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 13th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 95-66 (.590).
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Date/Time:Â Dec. 26, 2025 / 3:30Â p.m.
Site:Â Phoenix, Ariz.
Stadium:Â Chase Field
Surface:Â Natural Grass
Capacity:Â 38,301 for football
Series Overall:Â First Meeting
Streak vs. Mountain West:Â Minnesota leads 15-3
Streak vs. Mountain West:Â Minnesota won 12
Last Meeting vs. Mountain West:Â Minnesota won 27-0 vs. Nevada in Minneapolis (9/14/24)
Television:Â ESPN // Mike Monaco (PXP), Kirk Morrison (Analyst), Dawn Davenport (Reporter)
Gopher Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 | SiriusXM: Channel 84; SXM App // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Minnesota (7-5, 5-4 B1G) will make its 26th all-time bowl appearance on Friday, Dec., 26, in the 2025 Rate Bowl when it faces New Mexico (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West) for the first time ever. The game is set to take place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz., at 3:30 p.m. CT with ESPN televising and KFAN providing radio coverage.
2. The Golden Gophers are 13-12 in their history in bowl games and have won eight straight bowl contests, including all six appearances under head coach P.J. Fleck (2025 Duke's Mayo, 2023 Quick Lane, 2022 Pinstripe, 2021 Guaranteed Rate, 2020 Outback, 2018 Quick Lane). The eight-game bowl winning streak is the longest active streak in the country and tied for the fourth longest in FBS history (see chart bottom right). With six bowl wins, Fleck already has the most in Gophers history, while the other 34 coaches in program history have combined for seven bowl wins. Fleck's seven bowl game appearances will match Glen Mason for the most in team annals. This year will mark the fifth time Minnesota has played in the Rate Bowl, previously appearing in 2006, 2008 and 2009 when it was called the Insight Bowl, as well as the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl. The five appearances tie Kansas State for the most in the bowl's history and marks the bowl game Minnesota has played in the most times. The Golden Gophers are 1-3 all-time in the bowl. More bowl info and history can be found on Pages 3, and 65-80 of the notes.Â
3. The Golden Gophers finished the regular season with a record of 7-5, marking the fifth time in the last six seasons that they've finished the regular season with that record or better. Minnesota was also 7-5 last season after posting 8-4 marks in 2021 and 2022 and a 10-2 record in 2019. The team is looking to tally its fifth eight-win season under P.J. Fleck, which would join him with Henry L. Williams (6) as the only Gopher coaches to reach that number. The Gophers also finished with a 5-4 record in Big Ten play. Like its overall mark, the team has posted a winning record in the conference in five of the past six seasons.
4. In the regular season finale against Wisconsin, John Nestor had one of the best individual defensive performances the sport has seen in some time. He recorded a career-high nine tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss in a 17-7 win that helped Minnesota win Paul Bunyan's Axe for the fourth time in the last five years. He also had two interceptions (76 return yards) and recovered one fumble. According to Stathead, no FBS player since at least 2005 has had a game like Nestor's with at least nine tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Both of Nestor's interceptions came in the third quarter, making him the first Gopher with multiple picks in a quarter since Tyler Nubin versus Rutgers in 2022. Nestor also had two interceptions earlier this year against Northwestern State, joining him with Antoine Winfield Jr. (2019) as the only Gopher since at least 2000 to have multiple games in a season with two interceptions. For his efforts against the Badgers, Nestor was named both the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and the Bednarik Award Player of the Week.
5. The 2025 campaign is the ninth for P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. He is the fifth-longest tenured coach in program history and the second-longest active tenured coach in the Big Ten. Fleck's record stands at 65-44, putting him fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth at Minnesota in Big Ten wins (39) and fifth in games coached (109). Fleck's overall win percentage of .596 is third best among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 13th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 95-66 (.590).
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Best of the Gopher Defense
Monday, December 22
Best of the Gopher Offense
Monday, December 22
Gophers Travel to Arizona
Monday, December 22
Timelapse: Minnesota-Wisconsin Game
Monday, December 22