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The University of New Mexico overcame a sluggish start and ghosts of last season to trounce San Diego State 41-14 Saturday afternoon at University Stadium and accepted an invitation to the inaugural New Mexico Bowl.

“We wanted to win this one bad,” sophomore running back Rodney Ferguson said. “We wanted to prove we were a better team than most people gave us credit for and deserved to get into a bowl game.”

UNM will face a representative from the Western Athletic Conference, which most likely will be San Jose State, in the bowl game played at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 23 in University Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

The Lobos’ block of 6,000 bowl tickets are on sale now at the UNM Ticket Office.

UNM took a 27-0 halftime lead over San Diego State, fueled by mistakes by the Aztecs.

San Diego State quarterback Kevin O’Connell was 10-of-24 passing for 127 yards and three interceptions in the first half.

UNM senior kicker Kenny Byrd hit 35-yard field goal after the first interception by junior linebacker Cody Kase. Ferguson scored on a 26-yard touchdown run after the second interception by sophomore DeAndre Wright. And sophomore safety Blake Ligon ran back the third interception of the half for a 24-yard touchdown.

The Lobos’ defense also blocked a field goal attempt by San Diego State kicker Garrett Palmer as time ran out in the first half to put an exclamation point on UNM’s dominant first half.

“I think in the first half, the defense played unbelievable,” UNM coach Rocky Long said.

The Lobos’ offense also worked with a short field when the defense didn’t pick off O’Connell, with senior quarterback Chris Nelson hitting Travis Brown for a 5-yard touchdown pass to pad UNM’s commanding halftime lead.

“We wanted to get off to a good start and didn’t want to have to fight our way back into a game that was so important to us,” said senior Lobo Quincy Black, who finished with a game-high nine tackles.

UNM let up on the gas in the second half, but still scored two more touchdowns to assure the rout.

Ferguson finished with 215 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. The former Manzano High standout became the eighth Lobo to reach 1,000 yards rushing in a season.

“Rodney’s a bruiser and a guy who works really hard, so it’s special to see him get to 1,000 yards,” senior offensive lineman Bo Greer said. “He definitely deserves it.”

Nelson, playing in place of injured starter Donovan Porterie, finished the game 9-of-20 passing for 87 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked twice.

Brown extended his streak to 24 consecutive games with at least one reception, finishing with three catches for 18 yards and one touchdown.

O’Connell finished the game 23-of-40 passing for 272 yards, three interceptions and two touchdowns. He also led the Aztecs in rushing with 56 yards on 12 carries. San Diego State receiver Brett Swain had eight catches for 108 yards.

San Diego State rallied late, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter but the Aztecs couldn’t put a damper on UNM’s celebration.

The Lobos improved to 6-6 and need a win in the bowl game to notch their fifth consecutive winning season.

It was major progress for a team that began the year with a humbling 17-6 loss to Division I-AA Portland State. The hits kept coming when UNM’s lost starting quarterback Kole McKamey during the opening drive of its second game of the year against New Mexico State.

Long said he wondered after the Portland State loss whether his team could win a game this season, but he praised the group’s resilience. UNM took a tough path to bowl eligibility, earning three consecutive comeback wins against UNLV, Utah and Colorado State to keep their postseason hopes alive.

Long credited UNM’s 17 seniors for the team’s success. Although only five seniors start for the Lobos, Long said the group’s dedication to the program rubbed off on his young team.

“I think that’s where our spirit comes from … a group of guys who play for the love of the game,” Long said.

The Lobos celebrated the New Mexico Bowl berth, eyeing the game as a chance to exercise one more demon that has haunted the UNM football program. The team has not won a bowl game since the 1961 Aviation Bowl.

“That’s the next step for us,” Nelson said. “We want that bowl win.”

Long also said it is a chance to help improve both UNM and the state of New Mexico’s image nationally.

“When you get out of the state, what people think of the state of New Mexico is unbelievable and it’s not very favorable,” Long said. “Some people don’t even know where New Mexico is. So the people putting this together gives us a window and a stage to show everybody in the rest of the country how wonderful a state this is, how nice a community this is and how good an athletics department this is.”