Norm Dettlaff / Las Cruces Sun-News

It wasn̢۪t pretty.

As a matter of fact, it was quite ugly, but the Fresno State Bulldogs were able to close out their regular season with a 30-23 victory over New Mexico State, playing through harsh rain showers and a saturated field.

But it wasn̢۪t just the rain leaving the Bulldogs with dampened spirits.

The injury bug plagued the Bulldogs once again as freshman running back Ryan Mathews tore a muscle near his left collarbone during Friday night̢۪s game and will be out for Fresno State̢۪s bowl game against Georgia Tech.

Sara D. Davis / Associated Press

Mathews left the game in the third quarter after rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Mathews joins fellow running back Lonyae Miller on the long list of Bulldogs nursing an injury. Miller failed to make the trip to Las Cruces due to a bruised quadriceps muscle.

Senior running back Clifton Smith, who was named team MVP at yesterday afternoon̢۪s awards banquet, saw limited action Friday night due to a bruised hip he suffered two weeks ago and didn̢۪t touch the ball once on offense.

Despite Mathews̢۪ early exit, the offense was still able to amass 263 yards rushing. This was due to the performance of sophomore running back Anthony Harding.

For the second straight week, Harding ran for over 100 yards. He gained a career-high 121 yards and scored once.

Although the Bulldogs were up by as much as 17 points, they still needed a late defensive stance to seal the victory.

After Clint Stitser missed a field goal late in the fourth quarter, New Mexico State quarterback Chase Holbrook guided the Aggies̢۪ offense to its own 39-yard line, but could not do anything more.

Holbrook̢۪s fourth-down pass intended for A.J. Harris fell incomplete.

After last week̢۪s career day, Fresno State quarterback Tom Brandstater did a nice job controlling the game clock and running the offense. He completed 10-of-19 passes for 205 yards. Brandstater added a 1-yard touchdown run.

Brandstater and the Bulldogs controlled the time of possession 35:08 to 24:50. This was imperative, as the Aggies̢۪ pass-happy offense was kept off the field for most of the game.

As the rain kept falling harder, the Bulldogs continued pounding with the running game.

Despite the sloppy field, neither team made a turnover.

Directing the air raid offense, Holbrook threw for 323 yards on 31-of-52 passing, throwing a 66-yard, first quarter touchdown pass to Kenneth Buckley to put the Aggies up 7-0.

Fresno State (8-4, 6-2 Western Athletic Conference) will now set their sights on the Roady̢۪s Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho.

The Bulldogs will face off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) on Dec. 31.

The Yellow Jackets are led by senior running back Tashard Choice, who has rushed for 1,310 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead the ACC.

The Buldogs were able to flip-flop their 2006 record from 4-8 to 8-4 this season with their win Friday night.

New Mexico State (4-9, 1-7) finished its season on a five-game losing streak, finishing at eighth place in the conference.

The Bulldogs improved to 14-0 all-time against the Aggies.