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Saturday, December
15th
New
Mexico
Bowl -
University Stadium - Albuquerque,
NM 1:00 PM ET
Nevada
Wolfpack vs. Arizona Wildcats (-9.5/75)
How Nevada got here
The Wolfpack earned a bowl berth very early thanks to a 6-1
start but things took a turn for the worse following a loss against San Diego St. in
overtime which triggered a disappointing 1-4 finish. Nevada closed the regular season hoping for
some momentum with a win over Boise
St. but it was not meant to be as it lost 27-21 in
what could be the final meeting between the two rivals. This is definitely not
the bowl game the Wolfpack were hoping for but playing against a BCS Conference
team should have it motivated along with the fact the 16 seniors want to go out
winners.
How Arizona got here
Arizona
did not exactly end the regular season very strong as it lost to rival Arizona St. at
home. The Wildcats won the yardage battle 522-460 but four turnovers did them
in. One positive that can be taken out of the season is that after starting 0-3
in the Pac 12, Arizona
went on to finish 4-2 so there was no giving up. Still, the Wildcats are not
thrilled about being here as they were hoping for a Sun Bowl or a Las Vegas
Bowl bid. Making things tougher is that there is a quick turnaround with it
being the first bowl game and it happens to come right at the end of finals
week.
Interesting Stat
Arizona and Nevada are two of just
three teams in the country that average at least 230 rushing yards and 240
passing yards.
Breakdown
This is the third highest total of the 35 bowl games so a
shootout is certainly a possibility. Overall Arizona
is seventh in total offense and 17th in scoring offense while Nevada is 11th in total offense and 20th in
scoring offense. Can the defenses stop the opponents? Considering the Wildcats
are 116th in total defense and 100th in scoring defense and the Wolfpack are
86th and 94th respectively, it doesn't look that way. Arizona may be getting a little too much
respect here as the line is up to -10 in a lot of places.
Trending
Arizona
is 3-11 ATS in its last 14 games against teams averaging 31 or more ppg.
Nevada
is 0-7 ATS when the total is greater than or equal to 63 this season.
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