The 2018 New Mexico Bowl presented by Progressive is one of the more intriguing matchups in the opening weekend of the FBS postseason.
North Texas pulled off one of the most amazing plays of the 2018 season while Utah State had solid wins and came close to a perfect season. On Saturday, the teams will meet in the middle when North Texas plays Utah State in the New Mexico Bowl Presented by Progressive.
North Texas (9-3) finished 5-3 in Conference USA, and its only losses were to a good Louisiana Tech team, at conference champ UAB and at Old Dominion, who took down Virginia Tech this year. North Texas will most be remembered for the fake punt/run back for a touchdown against Arkansas in Week 3. North Texas beat those Razorbacks, 44-17, in Fayetteville.
Utah State (10-2) finished at 7-1 in the Mountain West Conference, falling by nine points at Boise State in the season finale for the division championship. The only other loss by the Aggies was, 38-31, in the season opener at Michigan State.
Utah State has coaching distractions and North Texas has been compared to the "next Central Florida" team.
2018 New Mexico Bowl
Utah State vs. North Texas
Dreamstyle Stadium • Albuquerque, N.M
Time: 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT
TV Channel: ESPN
Radio: ESPN Radio
Live Streaming: Watch Live with fuboTV – Try Free Trial; or Watch ESPN
Odds: Utah State -7.5; over/under 68.5 (Vegas Insider)
KEY MATCHUP:
Utah State offense vs. North Texas defense
North Texas allows just under 22 points and 113 rushing yards per game, and the Mean Green have 17 interceptions this season. The Aggies are third nationally with 47.2 points a game, mostly behind the arm of sophomore quarterback Jordan Love, who has thrown for 3,200 yards and 28 touchdowns in 12 games.
Prediction:
Brett Vito (Denton (TX) Record-Chronicle): North Texas 31, Utah State 30
"On paper, this is a game Utah State should win. The Aggies have been the more consistent team and have played a tougher schedule. The nature of the matchup changed and UNT's chances significantly improved when Utah State coach Matt Wells left the program to take over as Texas Tech's head coach. Frank Maile took over in an interim capacity. Utah State's players said in the days leading up to the game that they are ready to go, but there is no way all that has gone on over the last few weeks hasn't affected Utah State. UNT will take advantage and post just the fourth bowl win in program history.
Uncommon Knowledge
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