NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES NOTES:
NM State Bowl History (3-0-1 All-Time)
1936 SUN BOWL
New Mexico State (A&M) 14, Hardin-Simmons 14 January 1, 1936 at Jones Stadium in El Paso, Texas A fourth quarter hook and lateral by New Mexico A&M gave the Aggies a 14-14 tie with Hardin-Simmons in the program’s first bowl appearance. With the ball at midfield, Aggie quarterback Lem Pratt completed a pass to ‘Hooky’ Apodaca at the 35. Hooky then lateraled the ball to Lauro Apodaca, who ran in untouched for the score. Hooky made the extra point to tie the game. Hardin-Simmons had missed the extra point following its second touchdown, but the Aggies were offsides on the play and HSC was successful on the second attempt. Thee Aggies finished the season with a record of 7-1-2 under head coach Jerry Hines.
1959 SUN BOWL
New Mexico State 28, North Texas State 8 December 31, 1959 at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas New Mexico State defeated North Texas State, 28-8, in the 1959 Sun Bowl, the Aggies making their second bowl appearance and first since 1936. The Aggies took advantage of two North Texas State turnovers in the first quarter to mount a 14-0 lead. They added another touchdown in the second quarter to build the lead to 21-0 at halftime.
NM State scored its rst touchdown when Sun Bowl MVP Charley Johnson hit Pervis Atkins for a 57-yard touchdown pass. At the end of the first quarter, Bob Kelly intercepted a Mean Green pass, but fumbled the ball at NTSU’s 5-yard line. As the ball rolled into the end zone, Billy Ray Locklin pounced on it for an Aggie score. North Texas had six fumbles, with four inside the 25-yard line.
1960 SUN BOWL
New Mexico State 20, Utah State 13
December 31, 1960 at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas
New Mexico State, making its second-consecutive appearance in the Sun Bowl, rallied from a 13-7 halftime deficit to defeat Utah State, 20-13.
NM State quarterback Charley Johnson threw for 190 yards and was tabbed the Sun Bowl’s MVP for the second-straight year. Johnson is the only player to earn the Sun Bowl’s MVP honor twice. The NM State defense held the nation’s top offense to just 268 total yards. Utah State’s defense was equally impressive. USU, led by future Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, held the NM State offense to only 224 yards, including just 44 rushing yards on 32 carries. Utah State took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but Johnson connected with Pervis Atkins on a 3-yard pass to tie the game. Trailing 13-7, Bob Gaiters scampered 32 yards for a TD and Johnson hit E.A. Sims on a 7-yard pass for the final score
2017 ARIZONA BOWL
New Mexico State 26, Utah State 20 (OT)
December 29, 2017 at Arizona Stadim in Tucson, Arizona
Ending a 57-year bowl drought for NM State, the Aggies made history when they moved to 3-0-1 in bowl games. The game opened up with early scores for both sides. NM State struck first on its opening drive when Dylan Brown split the upright on a 23-yard field goal attempt. The lead did not last long, however, as Utah State returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to go up 7-3 just 3:59 into the game. NM State erased that deficit in a hurry when Jason Huntley answered with a 100-yard kicko return touchdown to give the Aggies a 10-7 advantage just 14 seconds later. NM State sat behind by seven heading into the final 6:58 of action. A great pass from Tyler Rogers to Jaleel Scott saw the receiver haul it in and keep his foot inbounds for the score, which tied the game at 20. A missed field goal in overtime for Utah State gave NM
State the opportunity to take home the trophy. The team did just that when Larry Rose III found the hole and broke off for a 21-yard score to secure the 2017 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl for NM State with a final score of 26-20.
BOWLING GREEN FALCONS NOTES:
OPENING KICK
FALCONS TO SPEND HOLIDAYS IN THE “MOTOR CITY”
• Bowling Green State University returns to action in the eighth annual Quick Lane Bowl against the New Mexico State Aggies on Mon., Dec. 26.
• It is Bowling Green’s first appearance in the Quick Lane Bowl, but the Falcons appeared in a bowl game two previous times at Ford Field, including the now-defunct Motor City Bowl (2003) and the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (2013). Both those games also happened to be played on Dec. 26.
BOWLING GREEN VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
• The 2022 Quick Lane Bowl will be the first all-time meeting between Bowling Green and New Mexico State in football.
• BGSU is playing a FBS Independent team for the first time since traveling to Notre Dame in 2019.
FIVE TOP STORYLINES
• Bowling Green is playing in its first bowl game since the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl when the Falcons fell to the Georgia Southern Eagles.
• Bowling Green enters Bowl Season as one of four FBS programs whose win totals improved 4+ games from 2020 to 2021 and then improved 2+ more games from 2021 to 2022. Joining BGSU on the list are Kansas State, Oregon State and Tennessee as the Falcons are the only program from outside the “Power-5” to accomplish the feat.
• DL Karl Brooks is a first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus and is the highest graded edge rusher in the nation. He enters Bowl Season No. 8 in the nation in sacks with 10.0. He is also No. 9 in the nation with 18.0 tackles for loss.
• WR Odieu Hiliare has a catch in 34-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M. It is the 14th-best active streak in the nation. The Alabama A&M transfer has 156 career receptions for 2,069 career receiving yards and 19 receiving touchdowns.
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. leads BGSU with four rushing touchdowns. He and Tennessee’s Princeton Fant are the only tight ends with at least four rushing touchdowns. Fant scored his fifth last time out at Vanderbilt. He is the only FBS tight end in the nation to lead his team in rushing touchdowns.
BOWLING GREEN IN FORD FIELD BOWL GAMES
• Northwestern took away Bowling Green’s running game. So Josh Harris beat the Wildcats through the air. Harris passed for 386 yards and three touchdowns to lead Bowling Green to a 28-24 victory over Northwestern in the 2003 Motor City Bowl. It was the first postseason meeting ever between schools from the MAC and Big Ten.
• Bowling Green took the lead for good on Harris’ 3-yard touchdown pass to Cole Magner with 4:06 left. Harris, who also ran for a TD, set a Motor City Bowl and BGSU record for completions with 38 in 50 attempts. It also marked the third fourth-quarter rally for BGSU against a Big Ten squad (Northwestern in 2001 and Purdue in 2003). Magner also set a game record for catches, finishing with 12 for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
• Bowling Green used two 80-yard scoring drives to take a 21-17 lead early in the fourth. Harris threw a 7-yard TD pass to Magner, and put the Falcons on top with an 11-yarder to Steve Sanders.
• Chris Blewitt’s field goal with 1:17 remaining gave the Pitt a 30-27 win over the Bowling Green in the 2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field.
• Pitt freshman James Conner ran for 229 yards and a touchdown, while the Panthers’ Tyler Boyd had 173 receiving yards and returned a punt 54 yards for a score.
• On BG’s second drive, Johnson found Shaun Joplin for gains of 18 and 17 yards, respectively, on back-to-back plays. Joplin led the BG receivers with six catches and 86 yards vs. the Panthers. The Falcons got into the red zone before the drive stalled, and Tyler Tate kicked a 28-yard field goal fo give the Brown and Orange the early lead.
• Trailing by a touchdown at halftime, BGSU drew even at the start of the second half, as BooBoo Gates returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a score. Tate’s PAT tied the game with only 11 seconds elapsed.
• That Gates return tied the school record for longest kickoff return in history, matching Leon Weathersby’s 94-yard return in a 1997 game at Doyt Perry Stadium.
• The next drive, however, saw the Panthers kick what proved to be the winning field goal. On the second play of that drive, Voytik rolled out and gained 19 yards, giving Pitt a first down at midfield. Conner gained 20 yards on the following play. Voytik handed the ball to Conner on each of the next three plays, gaining a total of nine yards. On that thirddown play, Conner was stopped for no gain, but on fourth down, Blewitt’s 39-yard kick was good.
BOWLING GREEN FIRST WENT BOWLING IN 1961
• In 1961, Bowling Green played in its first bowl game, the Mercy Bowl at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The game against Fresno State was played to raise money to help the families of 16 members of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football team. The 16 players perished in a plane crash shortly after takeoff from Toledo Express Airport after a 1960 game against BG. The game netted $170,000 for the memorial fund.
• A bronze plaque mounted on the peristyle end of the Los Angeles Coliseum commemorates the 1961 Mercy Bowl. Until the 2021 LA Bowl, it was the last bowl game played in the city limits of Los Angeles.
MCDONALD FAMILY KNOWS BOTH BGSU AND NEW MEXICO STATE
• Bowling Green quarterback Matt McDonald is no stranger to New Mexico State. His older brother Andrew was a quarterback for the Aggies in 2012 and 2013. As the starter in 2013, he finished with 2,497 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns.
• Matt and Andrew’s older brother, Michael, was a quarterback at USC following in dad Paul’s footsteps. More on McDonald family on page 10.
BGSU AND NEW MEXICO STATE WILL SEE A CLASH OF LINES
• Bowling Green is No. 11 in the nation with 37 sacks, or No. 9 in the nation with 3.08 sacks a game. They will have a battle in the trenches as New Mexico State is No. 25 in the nation by allowing only 15 sacks.
• The most sacks New Mexico State gave up in a game was three against UMass. BGSU tallied six in a game three times.
AGGIES HAVE HOSTED A NO-FLY ZONE IN 2022
• New Mexico is No. 13 in the nation by allowing only 183.7 yards per game through the air.
• Bowling Green’s Matt McDonald has thrown for 200+ yards in a game eight times this season, creating a fun matchup to watch.
FALCONS ARE BOWL-ELIGIBLE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2015
• Currently BGSU has the most season wins (6) and MAC wins (5) since 2015 when BGSU went 10-4 overall and 7-1 in MAC play.
• BGSU’s win at Toledo made Bowling Green bowl-eligible for the first time since 2015.
• A win in the Quick Lane Bowl will give BGSU its first winning season since 2015 and 61st in program history.
MCDONALD’S CATCHABLE PASS RATE IS HIGH
• QB Matt McDonald is tied for No. 4 in the nation on catchable pass rate on throws 15+ yards downfield vs. FBS opponents.
• Below is where Matt ranks in the category:
Name, School Catchable Pass Rate
- C.J. Stroud, Ohio State 77.3
- Kedon Slovis, Pitt 76.4
- Bo Nix, Oregon 76.1
- Matt McDonald, Bowling Green 75.0
Spencer Rattler, South Carolina 75.0 - Chevan Cordeiro, San Jose State 74.6
BOWLING GREEN IS GETTING TO THE QUARTERBACK
• In records dating back to 1990, BGSU is tied for the third-most team sacks over the past 33 seasons. BGSU cracked the top-5 during that span in just eight games, while the other teams on the list all played in bowl games, with three playing for a MAC championship. The 1992 and 2013 teams won the MAC championship.
• BGSU all-time career sack leader Kevin O’Brien had 19 of those 38 team sacks in 1992.
• BGSU is one of 50 FBS programs since 2000 to have at least 33 team sacks through the first nine games of the season.
• Below are the top-five BGSU team sacks seasons since 2000:
Year Team Sacks (Games)
- 2012 38 (13)
1992 38 (11) - 2022 37 (12)
- 2014 33 (14)
- 2013 30 (14)
BOWLING GREEN DEFENSE PUTS PRESSURE ON THE QUARTERBACK
• Bowling Green is No. 9 in the nation with 241 QB pressures, per Pro Football Focus.
• Karl Brooks owns 47 of those pressures, or nearly 20 percent (19.5) of the team QB pressures.
• Below is BGSU ranks in team QB pressures heading into Bowl Season:
School QB Pressures
- Clemson 287
- Texas 277
- Pitt 272
- Penn State 268
- Houston 256
- Utah 253
- NC State 248
- Washington 243
- Bowling Green 241
- Coastal Carolina 240
MCDONALD CLIMBS THE BGSU CAREER PASSING LIST
• Matt McDonald has entered BGSU Top-10 list for career passing touchdown at Bowling Green.
• McDonald needs 14 passing yards to pass Mark Miller for No. 9 all-time at Bowling Green in career passing.
• McDonald needs 167 passing yards to jump past Erik White for No. 8 all-time in the BGSU career passing annals.
• With 94 passing yards, McDonald will become the ninth Falcon all-time with 6,000 career passing yards. He would be the 59th quarterback in MAC history to reach the milestone.
• Below is where McDonald sits on the BGSU career passing list:
Player Years Career Passing Yards
- Rich Dackin 1986-89 6,862
- Erik White 1989-92 6,072
- Mark Miller 1974-77 5,919
- Matt McDonald 2020-pres. 5,906
