The Gophers will play New Mexico in the Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix on Dec. 26.

Bowl projections had the Gophers playing against Iowa State (8-4) in the Rate Bowl, but the Cyclones opted out of the bowl Sunday morning due to “lack of healthy players to safely practice and play.”

Iowa State, which is also going through a coaching change from Matt Campbell to Jimmy Rogers, was fined $500,000 by the Big XII for declining a bowl invitation.

With Kansas State also opting out, the bowl picked a Mountain West Conference program.

New Mexico, under coach Jason Eck, won six straight games to finish 9-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play. They lost the season opener to Michigan, 34-17, on Aug. 30, but knocked off UCLA 35-10 on September 12. The Lobos also lost to San Jose State and Boise State. The Lobos barely missed out on the Mountain West championship game (Boise State beat UNVL 38-21 on Friday).

The Gophers had a memorable experience in Phoenix in 2021, beating West Virginia in the then-named Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field. More than 4,000 Gopher fans attended the game at Arizona Diamondbacks’ home venue.

The Gophers reached six wins and bowl eligibility with a 23-20 overtime win over Michigan State on Nov. 1, and after losses to Oregon and Northwestern, they improved their position with a 17-7 win over Wisconsin for Paul Bunyans Axe in the regular-season finale on Nov. 29.

The Gophers are headed to their seventh bowl game in nine seasons under head coach P.J. Fleck. They failed to qualify in his first year, 2017, and opted out of a bowl game during the pandemic-altered season in 2020.

The Gophers’ eight-straight wins in bowl games is the longest streak in the nation. The U hasn’t lost since the 2015 Citrus Bowl.

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