New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State Cruise To Win Over New Mexico State

The Fresno State Bulldogs marched to their third-consecutive bowl victory on Saturday. This time, it was under the direction of interim head coach Tim Skipper. 

In the 2023 New Mexico Bowl, Fresno State dispatched the New Mexico State Aggies 37-10 in Albuquerque. Quarterback Mikey Keene was named the player of the game with 31 completions on 39 attempts for 380 passing yards. Keene also threw three touchdowns with one interception.

Here's what else stood out from Fresno State's ninth win of the season.

One for Jeff Tedford

Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford opted to not coach in the bowl game to tend to his health. In his stead, Tim Skipper had his team playing one of their better games in weeks. Fresno State hadn't won a game since November 5. That last win was also the last time they had put up more than 18 points before Saturday.

Bulldog Offense Operates At Will

Evidenced by Keene's numbers, the Fresno State offense had little issue moving the ball on Saturday. Keene had five different receivers average more than ten yards per catch. Adding to the success in the pass game as well as the run game was junior running back Malik Sherrod. Sherrod finished Saturday with 20 carries for 90 rushing yards as well as eight catches for 81 yards.

As a team, Fresno State totaled 491 offensive yards, more than doubling New Mexico State's production. The Bulldogs had 22 first downs compared to 13 by NMSU. 

No Downfield Options For New Mexico State

If New Mexico State planned on keeping this interesting, they were going to need to make some plays downfield. It just didn't happen for the Aggie offense. 

New Mexico State's longest play from scrimmage all day was 16 yards. Diego Pavia completed 11 passes on 25 attempts, but finished with only 58 yards passing. 

They were more successful in the running game, but with Fresno State's offensive success, that run game wasn't going to be enough to make up the ground. Despite an overall successful 10-win season, New Mexico State did not look like the stronger team in their home state.