Given that star receiver Le’Meke Brockington was sidelined for the Rate Bowl on Friday, Minnesota required a player to emerge from its somewhat limited wide receiver corps.
Jalen Smith seized this chance decisively. The freshman, in his redshirt year, secured two diving touchdown receptions, with his second one sealing the victory in the extra period.
Achieving a 20-17 win, the Golden Gophers (8-5 overall, 5-4 in the Big Ten) extended their perfect bowl record to 7-0 under coach P.J. Fleck, simultaneously preventing New Mexico (9-4 overall, 6-2 in the Mountain West) from reaching a 10-win season for the first time since 1982.
Prior to this contest, Smith had only two scoring catches for the entire season. He doubled that personal tally, making six receptions for a total of 64 yards.
His fellow team member, quarterback Drake Lindsey, targeted him in the end zone during a crucial third-and-8 situation in overtime, following New Mexico’s initial 36-yard field goal in the extra period.
Lindsey delivered the pass while leaning backward. Just as the ball soared into the end zone, Smith elevated, reaching out ahead of a Lobos defender to snare the pass and confirm the 12-yard touchdown upon landing.
Their initial scoring collaboration proved even more remarkable. This earlier play also occurred on a third down, specifically third-and-4, with under two minutes remaining in the initial half, when New Mexico held a 6-0 advantage.
However, that lead vanished when Lindsey lofted a pass precisely to the back corner of the end zone, placing it exclusively within Smith’s reach and out of the grasp of three pursuing Lobos defensive players.
The 10-yard scoring throw seemed to suspend in the air for an extended duration. Smith flawlessly followed its trajectory and made a full-extension dive to complete the touchdown.
Minnesota, ranked third nationwide for the fewest penalties per game (averaging 3.3), accrued nine penalties totaling 87 yards during the contest against New Mexico.
The Golden Gophers managed to overcome these errors, in addition to a remarkable 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Lobos veteran running back Damon Bankston at the outset of the fourth quarter.
Bankston entered the game averaging 30.4 yards per kickoff return for the current season, having previously achieved a similar return for a score.
During Friday’s game, New Mexico leveraged his impressive return into eight points, thanks to a deceptive play for the conversion. Running back Scottre Humphrey received a direct snap, then passed it to quarterback Jack Layne, who executed a fake pitch reverse before launching a pass down the middle to an uncovered Keagan Johnson for a two-point conversion, leveling the score at 14-14.
This particular play was a highlight in what has been a distinctive season for New Mexico, a season that commenced with the Lobos retaining only 34 athletes from their 2024 roster, marking the lowest number of returning players among all FBS teams this year.
Initially projected to finish 11th in the Mountain West preseason rankings, they subsequently concluded conference play with a 6-2 record.
Nevertheless, in their first bowl appearance since 2016, they fell short in overtime against a Minnesota squad that consistently secures victories late in the season under Coach Fleck’s leadership.
