2008 New Mexico Bowl
Colorado State Rams Fresno State Bulldogs
(6–6) (7–5)
Mountain West WAC
40 35
Head coach: 
Steve Fairchild		 Head coach: 
Pat Hill
1234 Total
Colorado State 1010020 40
Fresno State 14777 35
DateDecember 20, 2008
Season2008
StadiumUniversity Stadium
LocationAlbuquerque, New Mexico
MVPRB Gartrell Johnson, CSU (Offensive)
DE Tommie Hill, CSU (Defensive)
FavoriteFresno State by 3 [1]
RefereeGil Gelbke (C-USA)
Attendance24,735[2]
PayoutUS$750,000 per team[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersJoe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore
Nielsen ratings2.2[4]

The 2008 New Mexico Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 20, 2008 at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque as part of the 2008-09 NCAA Bowl season. The game, telecast on ESPN, featured the Colorado State Rams from the Mountain West Conference and the Fresno State Bulldogs from the WAC. The two teams were rivals when Colorado State was in the WAC from 1968-98.[5][6]

Colorado State scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Fresno State, 40-35 behind running back Gartrell Johnson's 375 rushing and receiving yards, an NCAA bowl record.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Period 1 2 34Total
Colorado State 10 10 02040
Fresno State 14 7 7735

at University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico

  • Date: December 20, 2008
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST
  • 1st Quarter
    • FRES – Lonyae Miller 1-yard run (Kevin Goessling kick), 11:46. Fresno State 7-0. Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 3:14.
    • CSU – Grant Stucker 18-yard run (Jason Smith kick), 09:37. Colorado State 7-7. Drive: 4 plays, 84 yards, 2:09.
    • FRES – Anthony Harding 2-yard run (Kevin Goessling kick), 06:35. Fresno State 14-7. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 3:02.
    • CSU – Jason Smith 29-yard field goal, 02:57. Fresno State 14-10. Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 3:38.
  • 2nd Quarter
    • CSU – Jason Smith 22-yard field goal, 05:50. Fresno State 14-13. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 5:35.
    • FRES – Lonyae Miller 69-yard run (Kevin Goessling kick), 04:26. Fresno State 21-13. Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 1:24.
    • CSU – Kory Sperry 22-yard pass from Billy Ferris (Jason Smith kick), 00:02. Fresno State 21-20. Drive: 12 plays, 87 yards, 4:24.
  • 3rd Quarter
    • FRES – Anthony Harding 2-yard run (Kevin Goessling kick), 08:31. Fresno State 28-20. Drive: 7 plays, 59 yards, 3:51.
  • 4th Quarter
    • CSU – Gartrell Johnson 1-yard run (Johnson run failed), 09:45. Fresno State 28-26. Drive: 7 plays, 32 yards, 3:41.
    • CSU – Rashaun Greer 69-yard pass from Billy Ferris (Jason Smith kick), 07:00. Colorado State 33-28. Drive: 3 plays, 73 yards, 1:07.
    • CSU – Gartrell Johnson 77-yard run (Johnson run failed), 01:46. Colorado State 40-28. Drive: 2 plays, 85 yards, 0:57.
    • FRES – Ryan Skidmore 7-yard pass from Tom Brandstater (Kevin Goessling kick), 00:55. Colorado State 40-35. Drive: 5 plays, 59 yards, 0:51.

Game Notes

  • Gartrell Johnson set an FBS bowl game record for yards from scrimmage with 375
  • Johnson's 285 rushing yards were second most in FBS bowl history (P.J. Daniels, 307 in 2003)
  • Johnson's rushing performance ranked second in Colorado State history
  • Colorado State won their first bowl game since 2001

References

  1. ↑ "2008-2009 Bowl Game Betting Odds". Bleacher Report.
  2. ↑ https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i96OTe1UDB-wSpIpiUF24qV-2CFAD956NSL02
  3. ↑ "SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NCAA Football stats, scores, standings, and blogs from NCAA Football columnists". Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Bowl TV ratings". January 12, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Tradition continues! New Mexico Bowl III will be played on Saturday before Christmas". New Mexico Bowl Press Release. May 23, 2008. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Fresno State accepts invite to New Mexico Bowl". AP. December 4, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
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