The 2013 New Mexico Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on Saturday, December 21, 2013 at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The eighth annual New Mexico Bowl, it featured the Colorado State Rams, representing the Mountain West Conference, against the Washington State Cougars, representing the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 12:00 noon MST and was televised on ESPN. It was the first of the 35 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games that concluded the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Sponsored by Gildan Activewear, the game was officially known as the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. The Rams won 48–45 after they were down 15 points in the final minutes of the game; they scored a touchdown, Washington State lost two fumbles, after both of which, Colorado State scored, and after the latter of which, as time expired, they kicked a field goal to win the game.
Teams
The game has conference tie-in agreements with the Mountain West Conference (MWC), which ultimately sent Colorado State, a team that finished 7–6 during the season and had not appeared in a bowl since 2008 (they played in the New Mexico Bowl), who was the fourth selection from the conference, and the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12), which ultimately sent Washington State, who was making their first bowl appearance since 2003 (they played in the Holiday Bowl), and was the seventh selection from the conference. The bowl was the first meeting between the teams.
Pregame buildup
Few media outlets thought this would be a particularly good game to watch, as it featured two mediocre teams, however since it was the first bowl game of the year, it received a decent amount of hype beforehand. One preview noted that it should be a fun game to watch, as it "promises to be a high-scoring" game. Both teams featured strong offenses, however they juxtaposed one another in that Washington State, as typical of Mike Leach-coached football teams, heavily relied on the passing game, whereas Colorado State relied heavily upon the running game. Though Washington State was only a 3.5 point favorite, college football analysts were nearly unanimous in predicting a Washington State victory by an even larger margin.
Washington State
Led by Mike Leach, in his second-year at Washington State, the Cougars opened the season with a loss to Auburn, an eventual top finisher on the final BCS Standings, and a win over then No. 24 ranked USC that sprung a three-game winning streak, prior to a loss vs. No.5 ranked Stanford. They lost three of their next four games, but then won two more, prior to closing their season with a loss to Washington in the Apple Cup. They played the most difficult schedule in the country, according to statistician Jeff Sagarin of USA Today.