ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The San Diego State football program arrived safely in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Thursday, marking the start of their New Mexico Bowl week.
The day began with team walkthroughs at SDSU’s facilities before loading up the buses to depart at 8:30 a.m. PST. The Aztecs arrived in Albuquerque at roughly 2:30 p.m. MST and were greeted by members of the New Mexico Bowl staff as well as a live mariachi band.
After a quick stop at the team hotel, the team enjoyed an official welcome dinner held at Main Event Entertainment. The players, staff and other San Diego State personnel spent the evening enjoying food, arcade games, bowling and laser tag. In keeping with the holiday spirit, the Grinch also made an appearance!
The team is scheduled to practice for the first time in New Mexico tomorrow morning before spending the afternoon engaging in community service work at a local rehabilitation facility. The Aztec’s Christmas day will be wrapped up with the official New Mexico Bowl Team Dinner held at the Albuquerque Convention Center later that night.
The Aztecs finished the regular season with a 9-3 record, including a 6-2 mark in Mountain West play. SDSU tied with Boise State, New Mexico and UNLV atop the league standings, but was left out of a MW Championship appearance because of computer rankings. Boise State, which San Diego State beat, 17-7, in the regular season, captured the MW Championship with a 38-21 win over UNLV.
The six-win improvement for the Aztecs in regular-season play from last year (3-9) to this season (9-3) matches the largest win increase by SDSU in program history (since 1921), joining a six-win improvement from 1960 (1-6-1) to 1961 (7-2-1).
San Diego State faces No. 25 (CFP) and No. 23 (AP) North Texas (11-2) in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 3:45 p.m. MT (2:45 p.m. PT). The game will be played at University Stadium in Albuquerque and will air nationally on ESPN and San Diego Sports 760, the home of San Diego State athletics.