ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Utah State football completed a busy day of activities surrounding the New Mexico Bowl Thursday in its first full day in Albuquerque.
 
The main task at hand Thursday was practice, which Utah State held on the University of New Mexico campus in its Indoor Practice Facility from 12-2 p.m.
 
Utah State players also represented the team at the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital and at Pueblo of Isleta Elementary School in Isleta, N.M. Senior safety Gaje Ferguson and senior running back Justen Hervey represented the Aggies at the children's hospital, while senior cornerback Deante Fortenberry, sophomore safety Shaq Bond and sophomore cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram visited with the kids at the elementary school.
 
"You walk away from something like that and I think a lot of times it has more of an effect on you than it does the kids. Just listening to them talk and understanding what it means to them and how we were able to brighten somebody's day was really special," said Ferguson.
 
"It's awesome to be able to make a kid's day just by showing up and giving them a few things," said Fortenberry. "You can see how happy all the kids were and I thought that was really cool."
 
The Utah State players and an equal amount of North Texas players posed for photographs, signed autographs and visited with the children. Both teams also brought team memorabilia to hand out to the kids.
 
Both teams concluded the day's activities with a dinner at the Albuquerque Convention Center, followed by the New Mexico Bowl's version of Family Feud. The game began with six players from the Aggie offense losing to the North Texas offense, followed by members of the Aggie defense defeating members of the North Texas defense. Members of both coaching staffs then faced off with USU's coaches edging the Mean Green coaches to post the Family Feud win.
 
On Friday, Dec. 14, USU interim head coach Frank Maile, USU sophomore quarterback Jordan Love and sophomore linebacker David Woodward, along with North Texas head coach Seth Littrell and two Mean Green players will address the media in the bowl game's only pre-game press conference at 10:30 a.m. Both teams will then participate in a Kickoff Luncheon, before concluding the day with a Pep Rally and Battle of the Bands at the Old Town Plaza at 4 p.m.
 
Utah State, which is ranked No. 23 in this week's Amway Coaches poll, finished the regular season at 10-2, including a 7-1 mark in the Mountain Division of the MW to tie for first. The Aggies will face North Texas in the 13th-annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 15, at noon, at Dreamstyle Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
 
For Utah State, this will be its second appearance in the New Mexico Bowl as it posted a 21-6 win against UTEP in 2014. Only New Mexico (4) and Colorado State (3) have made more appearances in the Albuquerque-based bowl than USU (2). Overall, this is USU's seventh bowl appearance in the last eight seasons and 13th in program history.
 
Utah State and North Texas will be meeting for the eighth time in series history as USU holds a 4-3 advantage. USU posted a 4-1 record against UNT when both teams were members of the Big West Conference from 1996-2000 and USU went 0-2 against the Mean Green when both programs were members of the Sun Belt Conference from 2003-04.
 
Tickets for the 2018 New Mexico Bowl are available by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305. Tickets can also be purchased 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
 
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.