| Game Name: | New Mexico Bowl |
| Subheader: | 14th New Mexico Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 21 |
| Year Game Played: | 2019 |
| Football Season: | 2019 |
| Stadium: | Dreamstyle Stadium |
| City: | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Visitor Name Short: | Central Michigan |
| Visitor Nickname: | Chippewas |
| Visitor Record: | 8–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Jim McElwain |
| Visitor 1Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 8 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home Name Short: | San Diego State |
| Home Nickname: | Aztecs |
| Home Record: | 9–3 |
| Home Conference: | Mountain West |
| Home Coach: | Rocky Long |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 13 |
| Home 3Q: | 21 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | Offense: Jordan Byrd (RB, SDSU)[1] & Jesse Matthews (WR, SDSU)[2] Defense: Kyahva Tezino (LB, SDSU)[3] |
| Odds: | San Diego State by 3.5[4] |
| Referee: | Adam Savoie (AAC)[5] |
| Attendance: | 18,823 |
| Payout: | 1,050,000[6] |
| Us Network: | ESPN & ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | ESPN: Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Ryan Leaf (analyst), Jerry Punch (sideline) ESPN Radio: Dave Neal (play-by-play), D.J. Shockley (analyst), Dawn Davenport (sideline) |
The 2019 New Mexico Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 21, 2019, with kickoff at 2:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. local MST) on ESPN.[7] It was the 14th edition of the New Mexico Bowl, and one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season.
The 2019 edition of the New Mexico Bowl did not have a corporate naming sponsor. The game was going to be sponsored by DreamHouse, an Albuquerque-based company focused on the film industry. However, the company was found to be a fraudulent enterprise, operating without a business license, and the sponsorship agreement was cancelled.[8]
This was the first time that Central Michigan and San Diego State played each other, and the first time either played in the New Mexico Bowl.[9]
See main article: 2019 Central Michigan Chippewas football team. Central Michigan entered the game with an 8–5 record (6–2 in conference). The Chippewas finished atop the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), before losing the MAC Championship Game to Miami (Ohio), 21–26.
See main article: 2019 San Diego State Aztecs football team. San Diego State entered the game with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference). They finished even with Hawaii atop the West Division of the Mountain West Conference, with the division title going to the Rainbow Warriors due to their 14–11 defeat of the Aztecs during the regular season.