New Mexico State falls to Fresno State in well-attended New Mexico Bowl

The way Jerry Kill told it, there were no surprises for New Mexico State on Saturday night.

“I said, ‘hey, we gotta stop the run and make him throw it,’” NMSU’s head coach said in a postgame press conference. “I’d still say the same thing — we knew he’s gonna throw it and it didn’t make a difference.”

Behind a career night from quarterback Mikey Keene, Fresno State (9-4) denied the Aggies a shot at tying their single-season wins record with a 37-10 loss in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl.

In front of an announced crowd of 30,822 — the third-largest in New Mexico Bowl history — the Aggies (10-5) struggled out the gate and Fresno State took due advantage, grabbing a 17-3 lead midway through the second quarter and never looking back to snap a three-game losing streak.

Only the 2006 (34,111) and 2010 (32,424) New Mexico Bowls had more fans in the stands than the bowl game Saturday.

Kill pinned the loss on him and him alone — even going so far as to apologize to the Aggies in the locker room after.

“We played 15 games and you gotta do the right things, trying to keep them fresh in practice — there’s a fine line there, and there’s always a plan,” he said. “And the plan evidently didn’t work.”

And if Keene didn’t make that clear, at the very least he emphasized the point. While NMSU largely held strong against the run, Keene completed his first 15 passes on his way to finishing 31-for-39 for a career-high 380 yards with four total touchdowns and one interception for New Mexico Bowl Offensive Most Outstanding Player honors.

In turn, Fresno State’s defense racked up four sacks on its way to holding the Aggies to a season-low 10 points and 122 rushing yards. Playing in his hometown venue, quarterback Diego Pavia was far from his usual dynamic self, throwing for 58 passing yards and one interception while rushing for 74 yards.

Linebacker Levelle Bailey was named Defensive Most Outstanding Player after racking up eight total tackles (four solo) and one sack. The Bulldogs’ win marked the first for acting head coach Tim Skipper, who took the lead after coach Jeff Tedford stepped away from the program earlier this month due to an undisclosed health issue.

“I just love winning,” Skipper said in a postgame press conference. “Whether I’m the head coach or the assistant coach, whatever, winning feels good all the time. Obviously, it’s sweet for me getting that done, but I feel better for these kids.

“We haven’t been smiling for awhile, just to be honest. And we finally were smiling out there.”

How it happened

After NMSU punted on its opening drive, Fresno State kicker Dylan Lynch got the Bulldogs on the board with a 32-yard field goal midway through the first. On the ensuing drive, Pavia dropped back and launched a pass over the middle in Star Thomas’ direction — only for it to be batted down and into the arms of safety Dean Clark.

Four plays later, it was Keene who dropped back and found wide receiver Josiah Freeman for a 26-yard touchdown and the 10-3 lead.

Both teams traded punts, the Aggies in particular struggling to get a handle on Fresno State’s pass rush. NMSU struggled to another three-and-out, punting on fourth and 9 before wide receiver Erik Brooks muffed the ensuing return and cornerback B.J. Sculark dove on it.

Aggies ball at the Fresno State 40-yard line.

Wide receiver Jonathan Brady nearly made it a three-point game, extending his arms to catch Pavia’s pass on third down in the end zone, before ultimately bobbling it for an incompletion. NMSU finally got on the board with Ethan Albertson’s 45-yard field goal five minutes into the second quarter.

But whatever momentum the Aggies had, Fresno State ripped it away quickly. Keene marched the Bulldogs down the field before hitting wide receiver Jaelen Gill over the middle for a 23-yard touchdown.

Fresno State 17, NMSU 3 midway through the second quarter.

“We keep running into good quarterbacks,” Kill said. “We stopped the run but we couldn’t deal with the passing game. And what (Keene) did, he played a good ball game.”

And as the Aggies continued to stumble, the Bulldogs looked as if they might take control for good. Keene continued to pick NMSU’s secondary apart, leading Fresno State deep into Aggie territory and setting his eyes on the end zone …

… only to throw a pick to safety Mekhi Miller. NMSU took over and came out firing before their drive died out with an incompletion on fourth and 10 at the Bulldogs’ 38-yard line.

With 27 seconds left in the first half, Fresno State attempted to get something going before Gill was tackled inbounds with no time left to set up a halftime score of 17-3.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with Lynch’s 25-yard field goal before NMSU put together its best answer of the day. Even as Fresno State’s pressure swarmed into the backfield, Pavia led the Aggies down the field for a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by his 14-yard rushing touchdown.

Fresno State 20, New Mexico State 10.

And yet, the Bulldogs only continued to roll. Keene and Sherrod powered Fresno State to a 75-yard drive of their own, with Tre Watson’s 16-yard reception setting up Keene’s four-yard touchdown plunge and a 27-10 lead.

Lynch’s 38-yard field goal bumped Fresno State’s lead to 20 with seven minutes left. The Aggies flailed to two separate four-and-outs while Keene hit wide receiver Jalen Moss for a nine-yard touchdown to set up a 37-10 final, the Bulldogs’ second New Mexico Bowl win in three years/

After coaching the program to within a win of its most in a season — set in 1960 — Kill turned the finger away from himself to highlight the achievements of the 2023 Aggies.

“They didn’t have anything left in ‘em,” he said. “They’ve accomplished things that haven’t been accomplished in over 60-some odd years here in this football program … what these kids have done is flat remarkable. In just only the second year, they’ve been outstanding.

“(Never) in my wildest dreams did I think a group could do this.”

New Mexico Bowl: Moments of action and reaction at University Stadium