ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It's been a ride. One of the greatest seasons in program history came to an end on Saturday night at the Isleta New Mexico Bowl inside University Stadium.
 
NM State (10-5, 7-1 CUSA) was on the losing end of a bowl game for the first time in its history as Fresno State (9-4, 4-4 Mountain West) defeated the Aggies 37-14 in front of the bowl game's largest crowd since 2010.
 
Offensively, the Aggies struggled to produce positive movement – generating just 200 yards of offense while the Fresno State attack tallied 500 yards. Diego Pavia led the Aggies on offense, rushing for a team-high 74 yards.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Torren Union led all Aggie tacklers with 11, including two behind the line of scrimmage. Sophomore linebacker Keyshaun Elliott also registered double-digit tackles – finishing with 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup.
 
FIRST QUARTER
After receiving the ball first, Diego Pavia rushed the ball for 31 yards across the first three plays of the game. Later the Aggies would trot out the field goal unit, however, following a delay of game, NM State would punt the ball away. The Bulldogs would return the ensuing punt for a touchdown, but fortunately for the Aggies, a penalty would negate the 93-yard punt return.

From there, Fresno State would begin its first drive from their own 25-yard line and utilized a balanced attack to work the ball down the field before ultimately kicking a 32-yard field goal to tally the game's first points.
 
Later, a rare interception by Diego Pavia gave Fresno State a short field, starting at NM State 40-yard line. The Bulldogs needed just three plays to find the back of the end zone as quarterback Mike Keene connected with Josiah Freeman who found the right side of the end zone to put the Aggies in a 10-point hole.
 
Scoring Plays: Dylan Lynch field goal (32 yards), Josiah Freeman receiving TD (26 yards)
 
End 1^st Quarter: Fresno State 10, NM State 0
 
SECOND QUARTER
After another short-lived offensive possession, NM State generated some momentum when a Zach Haynes punt was muffed by the Bulldogs, allowing BJ Sculark to hop on top of it at the Aggie 33-yard line. A 45-yard field goal by Ethan Albertson put NM State on the board to make it a one-score game with 10:47 remaining in the second.
 
Starting on their own 18, Fresno State used the arm of Redshirt Sophomore quarterback Mikey Keene to convert 68 of the 72 yards needed for their second touchdown of the afternoon.
 
The Bulldogs drove the ball down the field again on their next drive, however, with the ball set up on the Aggies' eight-yard line, Mehki Miller helped the Aggies gain instant momentum by intercepting a ball thrown into the end zone.
 
The Aggies would drive the ball down to the Fresno State 38-yard line before stalling out and failing to convert a 4^th-and-10.
 
Scoring Plays: Ethan Albertson field goal (45 yards), Jaelen Gill receiving TD (23 yards)
 
End 2^nd Quarter: Fresno State 17, NM State 3
 
THIRD QUARTER
Fresno State's offense would continue its success early in the second half as Keene led the Bulldogs on a 75-yard scoring drive. The stingy red zone defense would come into play once again as the Bulldogs were only able to come away with three points – extending their lead to 17 points.
 
In need of an answer, the Aggies turned to Volcano Vista High School alumni Diego Pavia who led the Aggies 57 yards to the Fresno State 14-yard line. From there, a triple option featuring Pavia, Jamoni Jones and Jonathan Brady resulted in a 14-yard touchdown rush from Pavia to cap off the drive and pull the Aggies back within 10 points.
 
Scoring Plays: Dylan Lynch field goal (25 yards), Diego Pavia rushing TD (14 yards)
 
End 3^rd Quarter: Fresno State 20, NM State 10
 
FOURTH QUARTER
The next drive would contribute massively to the outcome of the game as Fresno State used six minutes and three seconds of game clock to work the ball 75 yards down the field and into the end zone. This score would put the Mountain West team ahead 27-10 with 13:20 remaining in the final period.
 
Following the Aggies fifth punt of the night, Fresno State tacked on another three points to move ahead by 20 points with just over seven minutes remaining in the game. The Bulldogs would also register one final touchdown in the final five minutes of the game.
 
Scoring Plays: Mike Keene rushing TD (4 yards), Dylan Lynch field goal (38 points), Jalen Moss receiving TD (9 yards)
 
Final: Fresno State 37, NM State 10