2022 New Mexico Bowl
The 2022 New Mexico Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 17, 2022, at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 17th annual New Mexico Bowl, the game featured the SMU Mustangs from the American Athletic Conference (The American) and the BYU Cougars, an FBS independent. The game began at 5:37 p.m. MST and aired on ABC; this time was switched with that of the Las Vegas Bowl due to an NFL scheduling decision. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season.
| 2022 New Mexico Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17th New Mexico Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 17, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | University Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Albuquerque, New Mexico | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offense: Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters (QB, BYU) Defense: Ben Bywater (LB, BYU) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | SMU by 4.5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Ted Pitts (Sun Belt) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 22,209 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$1,050,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Tom Hart (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), and Taylor McGregor (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN Deportes and ESPN Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | ESPN Deportes: Kenneth Garay (play-by-play) and Pablo Viruega (analyst) ESPN Brazil: Matheus Pinheiro (play-by-play) and Weinny Eirado (analyst) | ||||||||||||||||||
Both teams entered the game with momentum, as SMU concluded the regular season having won four of their final five games, and BYU finished with three consecutive victories of their own. Both teams entered with identical records, with seven wins and five losses. Both teams were missing several players due to injuries, draft opt-outs, and the NCAA transfer portal; these included SMU wide receiver Rashee Rice, who was nursing a toe injury and decided to begin draft preparations, and BYU linebacker Keenan Pili, who entered the transfer portal after the Cougars' regular season concluded.