P.J. Fleck secures seventh straight Bowl victory as Minnesota defeats New Mexico 20-17 in overtime thriller at Rate Bowl

Freshman wide receiver Jalen Smith comes up big with two touchdowns when it mattered most

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Minnesota Gophers beat the New Mexico Lobos 20-17 in an overtime nail biter at Chase Field on Friday night, to secure their ninth straight bowl game victory as a program.

Both teams struggled to score for most of the half, until Gopher's quarterback Drake Lindsey found Jalen Smith in the corner of the end zone for the first touchdown of the night to go up 7-6 heading into the half.

Following a slow third quarter, the fourth brought plenty of action, including a short rushing touchdown from Minnesota's Darius Taylor and a 100-yard kick return from New Mexico's Damon Bankston to make it a two point game.

That left first-year head coach Jason Eck with the opportunity to go for two to knot the game at 14, which is exactly what they did on a nifty pass play from Jack Layne to Keagan Johnson.

As the game remained tied at the end of regulation, the two teams geared up for overtime.

The Lobos started with the ball and settled for a field goal, leaving the Gophers with the opportunity to win the game with a touchdown.

On third-and-8 from the 13-yard line, Lindsey fired to Smith over the middle, who made an incredible diving grab once again for the game winning touchdown.

With the victory, P.J. Fleck secured his seventh straight bowl game win, while Eck and the Lobos had their best season since 2016.