Minnesota-New Mexico Rate Bowl score predictions from the Gophers On SI staff

The Gophers will look to extend their bowl game win streak to nine in a row on Friday.

Sep 6, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck looks on before the game against the Northwestern State Demons at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers will officially cap off their 2025 season on Friday afternoon in the Rate Bowl against New Mexico at 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. P.J. Fleck is a perfect 6-0 in bowl games at Minnesota. Can he make it 7-0 against the Lobos?

Tony Liebert: Minnesota 21, New Mexico 17

This game will come down to the turnover battle. New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne has nine interceptions this season, and eight of them have come in their three regular-season losses. I trust Minnesota's playmakers and desire to take bowl games seriously to be just enough to give them an eighth win of the season against a trick New Mexico squad led by head coach Jason Eck.

Joe Nelson: Minnesota 34, New Mexico 14

New Mexico won nine games, but how many were against quality competition? They crushed UCLA before the Bruins got hot midway through the season, but most of their wins were by six points or less. Minnesota is a level up from the Nevadas and Colorado States of the world, and if we know anything about the Gophers, it's that they're very good when they have three-plus weeks to prepare for bowl games. Take the Gophers in a landslide.

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Will Ragatz: Minnesota 31, New Mexico 20

No one fires up the troops for a middling bowl game like P.J. Fleck. The Gophers are 6-0 in bowls since he got to Minnesota, and I fully expect them to stay perfect this week. This is a program that's built to win 6-8 games in the regular season and then win a bowl game in Arizona or Detroit or the Bronx. Drake Lindsey will build some hype for 2026 with a strong performance against the Lobos.

Jonathan Harrison: New Mexico 23, Minnesota 17

P.J. Fleck's much-talked-about bowl-winning streak comes to an end here. The Gophers never really put things together this season and ended the season in an ugly bit of form, winning just two of their last five games. This Minnesota team has also not found a way to win away from Huntington Bank Stadium once this season, and last I checked, this game is not in Minneapolis. New Mexico comes in hot, winning its last six games, and is likely to make it seven in a row going into the offseason.

Here are last game's predictions. Season records for our pickers:

• Joe: 8-4
• Will: 11-1
• Jonathan: 6-6
• Tony: 10-2