Fresno State wins 37-10 in New Mexico Bowl, finishes 9-4 on the season

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KFSN) -- The Fresno State football team won the 2023 Isleta New Mexico Bowl with a 37-10 win over New Mexico State (10-5), finishing the year with a record of 9-4.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak the team was riding to end the regular season.

It also extends a bowl game win streak to 5 games, a streak that started with the 2017 Hawaii Bowl.

Tim Skipper served as the team's acting head coach, with Jeff Tedford away from the team to focus on his health.

"This game ball is going to Coach Tedford," he said in a postgame interview with ESPN.

Sophomore quarterback Mikey Keene completed his first 15 passes and finished 31/39, throwing for a new career-high 380 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

"I don't think it really mattered who we were going against tonight," Keene told ESPN postgame. "This one's for Coach Tedford."

His 79% completion percentage was a new program record in a bowl game, breaking the 73% mark set by Tom Brandstater in the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl.

A defense that was shredded in the final three games of the season responded by taking away the Aggies' strength.

NMSU came in ranked 11th in the country in rushing yards per game but was held to just 135 yards.

Diego Pavia was held to 10/24, passing for just 61 yards and an interception from Dean Clark.

Malik Sherrod had the most yards of any position player, finishing with 90 yards and 81 receiving yards. He comes up just 34 yards shy of a 1,000-yard rushing season.

These two teams will meet again in a non-conference game in 2024. FS will play again on August 31, 2024, against Michigan at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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