With main wideout Le’Meke Brockington not enjoying in Friday’s Rate Bowl, Minnesota wanted somebody to step up in a comparatively skinny receiver room.
Jalen Smith leaped on the alternative. The redshirt freshman dove for a pair of landing catches, the second a game-winner in additional time.
Advertisement
With a 20-17 victory, the Gophers (8-5, 5-4 Big Ten) improved to 7-0 in bowl video games beneath head coach P.J. Fleck and denied New Mexico (9-4, 6-2 Mountain West) its first 10-win season since 1982.
Smith got here into the day with solely two landing receptions this season. He matched that whole whereas recording six catches for 64 yards.
His classmate, quarterback Drake Lindsey, gave him an opportunity ultimately zone on third-and-8 in additional time after New Mexico began the additional body with a 36-yard discipline objective.
Lindsey threw off his again foot. As the ball reached the paint, Smith lifted off. He prolonged in entrance of a Lobos defensive again to reel within the move earlier than securing the 12-yard rating when he hit the bottom.
Advertisement
The first Lindsey-Smith connection was much more spectacular. It additionally got here on third down, this time on third-and-4 with lower than two minutes left within the first half. New Mexico was main 6-0 at that time.
That was, till Lindsey floated a move to the again nook of the tip zone. Lindsey put it solely the place Smith may get it, away from three trailing Lobos defenders.
The 10-yard landing move hung within the air for what felt like a minute. Smith tracked it completely and laid out for the rating.
Minnesota, which entered third nationally in fewest penalties per sport (3.3), had 9 penalties for 87 yards towards New Mexico.
Advertisement
The Gophers survived these errors as nicely as a 100-yard kickoff return landing by Lobos senior working again Damon Bankston early within the fourth quarter.
Bankston got here into the matchup averaging 30.4 yards per kickoff return this season and had already ran one again for six.
Friday, New Mexico turned his home name into eight factors. A trick play was behind the conversion. Running again Scottre Humphrey took a direct snap and handed it off to quarterback Jack Layne, who faked a pitch reverse after which threw over the center to a wide-open Keagan Johnson for a two-point conversion that tied the sport 14-14.
Advertisement
That was a particular play in a particular New Mexico season that started with the Lobos bringing again simply 34 gamers from the 2024 marketing campaign, the fewest returners of any FBS crew this season.
They had been picked eleventh within the Mountain West preseason ballot. Then they completed 6-2 in convention play.
But of their first bowl sport since 2016, they got here up quick in additional time versus a Minnesota crew that simply retains successful this time of yr beneath Fleck.