New Mexico Bowl Odds - SMU vs. BYU
The BYU Cougars will play their final game as an independent before joining the Big 12 in July as they take on the SMU Mustangs in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, December 17. The most recent win for the Cougars was at Stanford in their regular season finale. It is BYU's second New Mexico Bowl appearance, its 17th bowl game in the last 18 seasons, and its sixth under head coach Kilani Sitake. In the fifth New Mexico Bowl, BYU defeated UTEP 52–24 in 2010. The Mustangs are newbies to the New Mexico Bowl and will be playing in Albuquerque for the first time since 1997, when they suffered a 22-15 defeat to the Lobos. SMU and the Lobos were both then Western Athletic Conference teams. SMU, which boasts the 11th-best scoring offense in the country, has won four of its previous five games. SMU has been chosen for a bowl game for the past four years, however the Mustangs haven't won a bowl game since 2012. Three previous meetings between the Mustangs and Cougars resulted in victories for BYU in all three games.
2022 New Mexico Bowl at a Glance
Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022
Time (ET) / TV: 7:30 PM / ABC
Venue: University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Matchup: SMU Mustangs vs. BYU Cougars
College Football Betting Lines
BYU Cougars +2.5
SMU Mustangs -2.5
Total: 69
New Mexico Bowl Preview
The big question for the New Mexico Bowl is whether or not BYU quarterback Jaren Hall will play. He injured his ankle in the second half of the game against Stanford and missed the fourth quarter. “Jaren is banged up,” head coach Kilani Sitake said to the media, “He is not out for the game. … Hopefully we can get Jaren through this and get him on the field.” Hall has said he expects to play on Saturday, but that decision has not yet been made by the coaching staff. The main backup to Hall this season was Jacob Conover but he entered the transfer portal and is no longer with the team. Cade Fennegan, Nick Billoups, and Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters have been taking reps in preparation for Saturday. Fennegan played at Boise State as a freshman before he transferred to BYU. He has 28 career passing attempts. Billoups and Maiva-Peters are guys who are dual-threat options. On the other side, SMU star receiver Rashee Rice will not play. He had a school record 1,355 receiving yards this season. SMU went 7-5 SU and 5-7 ATS this season with five games going over the total and seven going under. BYU went 7-5 SU and 4-8 ATS, with eight games going over the total and four going under. SMU averaged 38.4 points and put up 479.8 yards per contest, while they allowed 34.7 points and 446.2 yards per game. Tyler Lavine had 551 rushing yards to lead the team, Tanner Mordecai threw for 3,306 yards, while Rashee Rice had 1,355 receiving yards.
BYU averaged 31.9 points and put up 440.5 yards per contest, while giving up 30 points and allowing 410 yards per game. Christopher Brooks led the team with 725 rushing yards, Jaren Hall threw for 3,171 yards, while Puka Nacua had 625 receiving yards.
New Mexico Bowl Prediction
Neither of these defenses was very good and both teams have potent offenses so it should be a high scoring game. The Mustangs have the edge on offense and with the injury to Hall, they should have the overall edge in this game. We’ll look for SMU to win and cover and for the game to go over the total.
New Mexico Bowl Format
Founded in 2006, the New Mexico Bowl is played at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, home of the New Mexico Lobos. The conference tie-ins are now the Mountain West Conference and CUSA. The payout for the New Mexico Bowl is $1.05 million.
New Mexico Bowl Past Results
| SEASON |
WINNING TEAM |
LOSING TEAM |
SCORE |
| 2021 |
Fresno State |
UTEP |
31-24 |
| 2020 |
Hawaii |
Houston |
28-14 |
| 2019 |
San Diego State |
Central Michigan |
48-11 |
| 2018 |
Utah State |
North Texas |
52-13 |
| 2017 |
Marshall |
Colorado State |
31-28 |
| 2016 |
New Mexico |
UTSA |
23-20 |
| 2015 |
Arizona |
New Mexico |
45-37 |
| 2014 |
Utah State |
UTEP |
21-6 |
| 2013 |
Colorado State |
Washington State |
48-45 |
| 2012 |
Arizona |
Nevada |
49-48 |
| 2011 |
Temple |
Wyoming |
37-15 |
| 2010 |
BYU |
UTEP |
52-24 |
| 2009 |
Wyoming |
Fresno State |
35-28 |
| 2008 |
Colorado State |
Fresno State |
40-35 |
| 2007 |
New Mexico |
Nevada |
23-0 |
| 2006 |
San Jose State |
New Mexico |
20-12 |
Six different programs have won the New Mexico Bowl in the past six years. In recent editions of this bowl game, the winning team usually scores a high number of points. Since 2008, the winning team has scored at least 31 points or more.
Most All-Time Wins
| WINS |
TEAM |
YEARS WON |
| 2 |
Arizona |
2012, 2015 |
| 2 |
Colorado State |
2008, 2013 |
| 2 |
New Mexico |
2007, 2016 |
| 2 |
Utah State |
2014, 2018 |
Four teams share the New Mexico Bowl record of two wins. Specifically, those programs are New Mexico, Colorado State, Arizona, and Utah State. Utah State is the most recent two-time winner in 2014 and 2018.
2022-23 College Football Bowl Games
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