| Game Name: | New Mexico Bowl |
| Subheader: | 13th New Mexico Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 15 |
| Year Game Played: | 2018 |
| Football Season: | 2018 |
| Stadium: | Dreamstyle Stadium |
| City: | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Visitor Name Short: | Utah State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Aggies |
| Visitor Record: | 10–2 |
| Visitor Conference: | Mountain West |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 23 |
| Visitor Coach: | Frank Maile (interim) |
| Visitor 1Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 24 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home Name Short: | North Texas |
| Home Nickname: | Mean Green |
| Home Record: | 9–3 |
| Home Conference: | C-USA |
| Home Coach: | Seth Littrell |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 6 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Mvp: | Jordan Love (QB, Utah State)[1] & DJ Williams (DB, Utah State)[2] |
| Odds: | Utah State by 9[3] |
| Referee: | Kyle Olson (Sun Belt) |
| Attendance: | 25,387 |
| Us Network: | ESPN & ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | Mark Neely, John Congemi and Quint Kessenich (ESPN) Bill Roth, Barrett Jones and Taylor Davis (ESPN Radio) |
The 2018 New Mexico Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 15, 2018,[4] with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. local MST).[5] It was the 13th edition of the New Mexico Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Unfortunately for North Texas, their C-USA Player of the Year all time leading passer quarterback Mason Fine went out with an injury in the first half, with the score 14-7, making it difficult to compete with Utah State for the remainder of the game.
The game featured Utah State from the Mountain West Conference and North Texas from Conference USA (C-USA). This was the eighth all-time meeting against the Mean Green and the Aggies, with Utah State leading the series, 4–3; this meeting was the first in a bowl game.
See main article: 2018 Utah State Aggies football team. Utah State accepted a bid to the New Mexico Bowl on December 2.[6] The Aggies entered the bowl with a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference). Due to the resignation of head coach Matt Wells, who accepted the same position with the Texas Tech Red Raiders on November 29, the Aggies were coached in the bowl game by interim head coach Frank Maile.[7] Utah State previously appeared in the 2014 New Mexico Bowl, defeating UTEP.
See main article: 2018 North Texas Mean Green football team. North Texas accepted a bid to the New Mexico Bowl on December 2.[6] The Mean Green entered the bowl with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference). This was the first appearance by North Texas in a New Mexico Bowl.
| Statistics | USU | NT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 19 | |
| Plays–yards | 83–556 | 75–313 | |
| Rushes–yards | 40–197 | 41–120 | |
| Passing yards | 359 | 193 | |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 21–43–1 | 17–34–4 | |
| Time of possession | 26:33 | 32:45 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah State | Passing | 21/43, 359 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Gerold Bright | 16 car, 103 yds, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Jalen Greene | 6 rec, 151 yds, 1 TD | |
| North Texas | Passing | Kason Martin | 7/12, 110 yds, 1 TD |
| Rushing | Anthony Wyche | 7 car, 53 yds | |
| Receiving | 4 rec, 103 yds, 1 TD |