New Mexico travels to New Mexico State (0-1). No market line yet; the model gives New Mexico a 66% shot.
This is Rio Grande Rivalry — see the full head-to-head history →
What’s at stake
New Mexico State
- New Mexico State has dropped 2 straight in Rio Grande Rivalry — a chance to snap the skid.
New Mexico
- New Mexico has won 2 straight in Rio Grande Rivalry — a chance to extend it.
The series
New Mexico leads the series 65-24-2
91 meetings since 1931 · New Mexico has won the last 2
- 2025New Mexico 38–20
- 2024New Mexico 50–40
- 2023New Mexico State 27–17
- 2022New Mexico State 21–9
- 2021New Mexico 34–25
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
New Mexico
The chip · vs the national mediaFans relish that a team the preseason poll buried at 11th of 12 tied for first and earned Coach of the Year — and they want every analyst who wrote the Lobos off to explain how they missed it.
What this game touches
The lost decade. Between Rocky Long's 2007 bowl team and Jason Eck's 2025 arrival, New Mexico went without a bowl game for the better part of two decades — years of losing seasons and coaching turnover that made the 2025 breakthrough feel almost unbelievable.
New Mexico State
The chip · vs the national mediaFans are tired of being college football's punchline for losing — the program everyone schedules as a guaranteed win — and remember that Jerry Kill's 2023 team walked into that reputation and won ten games anyway.
What this game touches
The post-Kill regression. Jerry Kill took the Aggies to 10 wins and a Conference USA title game in 2023, then stepped away. Tony Sanchez went 3-9 in 2024 and 4-8 in 2025 — proof of how fragile the program's good years are, and how quickly the floor returns.
Best players
New Mexico State
- Sone Aupiu (LB) · 8 tackles
- Brodrick Malone (WR) · 96 receiving yards
- Gabe Peterson (DE) · 7 tackles
New Mexico
- Jaxton Eck (DL) · 2025: 128 tackles
- Tavian Combs (S) · 2025: 72 tackles
- Keagan Johnson (WR) · 2025: 754 receiving yards
The line, and the room
New Mexico State fans are feeling better about their season (99th percentile) than New Mexico fans are (15th) — even with New Mexico favored here.
Conditions
New Mexico State is 51% at home, 21% on the road since 2018 (20-19 home, 10-37 away).