Once in the shadow of basketball, New Mexico football jumps into the AP Top 25 for the first time

FILE - New Mexico head coach Jason Eck taps running back Damon Bankston (1) on the head after his long kickoff return for a touchdown in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Oct. 11, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Steve Conner, File)

(AP Photo/Steve Conner)

FILE - Former New Mexico and Chicago Bears football player Brian Urlacher gives a thumbs up as his jersey number is retired during a halftime ceremony at an NCAA college football game against the Air Force on Nov. 8, 2013, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)