New Mexico Lobos vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/26/2025

Game Time: 4:30 pm ET, Friday, December 26, 2025

Venue:  Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UNM +2.5, Minnesota -2.5; Over/Under:  44.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UNM +2.5, Minnesota -2.5; Over/Under:  44.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UNM +2.5, Minnesota -2.5; Over/Under:  44.5 points

New Mexico Lobos:  9-3 (6-2) (3rd place, MWC)

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  7-5 (5-4) (8th place, Big Ten)

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New Mexico Lobos:  won their last game at home against the San Diego State Aztecs 23-17 in overtime.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  won their last game at home against the Wisconsin Badgers 17-7.

New Mexico is entering this game with a 9-3 record overall and they have a 6-2 record in their conference games too. They are 6-0 in their home games, 3-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, and they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against San Diego State 23-17 in overtime. Jack Layne was the starting QB and he completed 14/25 passes for 127 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. James Laubstein led the team in rushing yards with 70 and 1 TD. Keagan Johnson led the receivers with 37 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Jaxton Eck led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 6 assisted tackles while Austin Brawley, Darren Agu, Brett Karhu, and Keyshawn James-Newby each led the defense in sacks with 1. Austin Brawley came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Minnesota is entering this game with a 7-5 record overall and they have a 5-4 record in their conference games too. They are 7-0 in their home games, 0-5 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Wisconsin 17-7. Drake Lindsey was the starting QB and he completed 18/24 passes for 90 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Darius Taylor led the team in rushing yards with 100 and 1 TD. Jameson Geers led the receivers with 27 receiving yards on 4 receptions and 1 TD. Devon Williams led the defense in that game with 10 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Lucas Finnessy led the defense in sacks with 1. John Nestor came away with the only 2 interceptions for them in that one.

The current betting odds have New Mexico listed as a 2.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. New Mexico has looked really good in their games this season with their 9-3 record overall and their 6-2 conference record which had them right near the top of the MWC. They haven't played in any neutral site games this season so this will be their first one, playing in the Rate Bowl. Meanwhile, Minnesota has looked good in their games this season with their 7-5 record overall and their 5-4 conference record which had them right in the middle of the Big Ten. This is also going to be their first neutral site game of the year. Minnesota ended the regular season with a 17-7 win over Wisconsin and they had a really good defense this year as they usually do, but they were still a very up and down team all year. They didn't have a great offense this season and that will be an issue with how good this New Mexico team has looked. New Mexico is off a 23-17 win over San Diego State in their regular season finale and they had a chance to go to the MWC Championship, but they lost on tiebreakers. They have had a great offense this year though and they have pulled off some impressive wins, beating UCLA on the road earlier this year. They already have a win against a Big Ten opponent and the team is going to be motivated since Jason Eck was a hot name in the coaching carousel, but he decided to sign an extension with the team instead. New Mexico has had a great year under Eck and they are live to win this game. The best way to place a bet here is on New Mexico to cover the spread in this game. 

New Mexico Minnesota Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, December 26, 2025 (4:30 pm ET start time) is New Mexico 20 Minnesota 17.

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New Mexico Lobos: 2-5 1H ATS off an upset win as an underdog. 1-3 1H ATS off an upset win over a conference rival as an underdog. 23-13 OVER in all lined games. 6-1 OVER off an upset win as an underdog. 5-1 OVER after a bye week.

Minnesota Golden Gophers: 7-3 ATS in non-conference games. 3-0 ATS in games played on a neutral field. 5-1 ATS when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest. 11-6 OVER when playing against a team with a winning record. 

New Mexico Lobos:  D. Speech (S) Questionable - Undisclosed. X. Slayton (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Pearce (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Pettus (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Williams (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. N. Wheeler (S) Questionable - Undisclosed. M. Buckley (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Johnson (S) Questionable - Undisclosed. G. Lopez (DL) Out - Undisclosed. K. Diop (WR) Out - Undisclosed. D. Bowers (RB) Out - Undisclosed. K. Reddix (CB) Out - Undisclosed. E. Harris (OG) Out - Undisclosed. J. Sheridan (CB) Out - Undisclosed.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  T. Randle (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Tafai (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. M. Kingsbury (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. S. Macy (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. S. Henson (K) Questionable - Undisclosed. S. Seidl (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. G. Monroe (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Driver (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Shipp (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Gerlach (LB) Out - Undisclosed. A. Turner (RB) Out - Undisclosed. D. Wilson (LB) Out - Undisclosed. M. Omonode (DL) Out - Undisclosed.

“My family and I, we really like it here. You know, we’re winning. I think we can be very good next year. I like the people I’m working with. Moving’s a pain in the ass. You know, there were a lot of factors that went in. It wasn’t that tough of a decision.” - Jason Eck on staying at New Mexico.

“We always talk about bringing the floor up, and that's not like bringing the bottom players up. It's just about raising the floor of your program. It's about taking a lot of the young players and developing them, especially the first week as we normally do. Every practice is different, but hat first week is all about the young players developing those young players. Maybe guys that didn't get a ton of reps during the season. The future of the program, and raise that floor up.” - P.J. Fleck on his team playing in the Rate Bowl.

WR Johnson, Keagan

WR Miller, Shawn

WR Smith, Zhaiel

TE Thomas, Dorian

QB Layne, Jack

RB McKinney, D.J.

WR Smith, Jalen

WR Tracy, Javon

WR Brockington, Le'Meke

TE Geers, Jameson

QB Lindsey, Drake

RB Taylor, Darius

Passing: Jack Layne (2,398)

Rushing: Damon Bankston (578)

Receiving: Keagan Johnson (730)

Touchdowns: Damon Bankston (8)

Passing: Drake Lindsey (2,235)

Rushing: Darius Taylor (554)

Receiving: Le'Meke Brockington (484)

Touchdowns: Javon Tracy (6)

Coaches:

New Mexico Lobos: Jason Eck (1st season)

Minnesota Golden Gophers: P.J. Fleck (9th season)