The New Mexico Bowl, played in Albuquerque, grew up in the time — and place — of Breaking Bad.
This game regularly opens the bowl season. It is typically played in the middle of the day. The event usually pits a decent Mountain West team against a middle-of-the-road Pac-12 team. Schools from Conference USA (UTEP), the MAC (Temple), and the WAC (Fresno State) have played in this bowl over the past nine years. This game will never garner a lot of stature. It’s a little pre-Christmas dose of fun, meant for innocence and not to be taken too seriously.
It’s worth being called the Breaking Bad Bowl, or even better, HeisenBowl.
If past New Mexico Bowl teams were characters in Breaking Bad, here are some selections:
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SKYLER WHITE: FRESNO STATE
It was all set up for Fresno State to succeed the two times it played in the HeisenBowl, in 2008 and 2009. Yet, a series of plot complications caused favorable situations to fall apart and unravel. One could make an even more precise comparison between Skyler White and Pat Hill. The former Fresno State coach almost had it all. Had his team defeated USC in 2005, there’s no telling how successful the Bulldogs could have been. They might have become Boise State before the Broncos became a powerhouse under Chris Petersen.
The 2008 and 2009 New Mexico Bowls witnessed the life of a program slipping away; it was very much akin to Skyler seeing her world crumble while Walt just kept digging and digging and digging…
DON ELADIO: 2012 NEVADA AND 2013 WASHINGTON STATE
One moment, you’re having a pool party with beautiful women, owning a 13- to 15-point lead at some point inside the final three minutes of regulation.
The next moment, you’re dead, having lost in regulation.
That was the story of Nevada in 2012 and Washington State in 2013. Nevada led Arizona by 13 with 1:48 left and somehow lost. Washington State led Colorado State, 45-30, with 2:55 left, and somehow lost… without even going into overtime.
TED BENEKE: UTEP
When you’re outscored 73-30 in two HeisenBowl appearances, this is what you are:
HANK SCHRADER: NEW MEXICO
This isn’t a reference to Saturday’s upcoming game; it’s a reference to the Lobos’ history in this game and over the past decade.
Often looking awkward and seeming to be out of their depth at first, the Lobos — rarely elegant but undeniably and admirably resilient — have worked their way back to a favorable situation through patient hard work and perseverance.
New Mexico lost the first HeisenBowl but battled back to win the second one in 2007. The Lobos fell on hard times, but Bob Davie has led them back to this stage. In the end, the Lobos are heroes as Breaking Bad Bowl X arrives. It’s a feel-good story in the ABQ.
MIKE EHRMANTRAUT: TEMPLE
From Philadelphia, Ehrmantraut came to Albuquerque and kicked butt. So did Temple against Wyoming in the 2011 HeisenBowl.
GUS FRING: BRIGHAM YOUNG
The biggest blowout in HeisenBowl history was Brigham Young’s 52-24 win over UTEP in 2010. The former WAC counterparts existed on a very different plane, with BYU working its way toward independence the next year and UTEP firmly established in Conference USA. The gap in skill and strength between the two operations could not have been more pronounced.
Just envision the proprietor of Los Pollos Hermanos listening to the action on his burner phone before tossing it away and smiling as he walked back to his restaurant.
