With the start of the 2015-16 NCAA Football Bowl Games that for the most part begin on the Saturday the 19th of December 2015 with the Gildan New Mexico Bowl as the 6-6 Wildcats of Arizona of the Pac-12 playing the 7-5 Lobos of New Mexico of the Mountain West with the game being played at Branch Field at the University Stadium in Albuquerque , New Mexico with kick-off scheduled for 2:05 PM ET and seen on ESPN TV.
Last season the Wildcats of Arizona were seeking the Pac-12 Title while this year they have struggled to get a Bowl invite. What took the cake for them was their Week 12 win over then Utah who was No. 10, thus a bowl invite, and now they face the strong Lobos of New Mexico in this Bowl game. Yes, the Lobos are ready and playing at home for Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
Those that Bet on College football at SBG sportsbook the Wildcats of Arizona are favorites in this game at -10 with the Over/under at 64 ½ and -350 on the moneyline. The Lobos of New Mexico are underdogs at +10 and +290 on the ML.
If you like the 6-6 Wildcats of Arizona at the beginning of the year they were expected to be in competition for the Title in the Pac-12, thus fans were disappointed with their .500 finish. But they did show they can comeback like beating the then No. 10 Utah in double OT 37-30 and with that win secured this Bowl bid this season.
Their QB A. Solomon will be the reason for a win against the Lobos of Mexico, and that is if he can play after having a concussion. If so he has proven that he can break apart the opponent’s defenses either with his passing game or running the ball himself. In his best game he has excelled as he passed for 18 touchdowns this season and 2,339 yards passing and had only 4 intercepts to date. Bet on the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
For the Wildcats to use their passing game could bring success since the Lobos pass defense has allowed opponents some 238 yards passing each game this season.
The Wildcats have the talent in their trio of WR’s as C. Jones, D. Richards and N. Phillips have combined for 13 touchdowns in 2015. Also their safety J. Jackson who also plays as a receiver at times has scored 5 touchdowns a team high.
If on defense there LB S. Wright is able to return, the All-American will assist the Wildcats in allowing less yardage from the Lobos. Yes, he was sidelined for some 8 games this season with an injury, but in 2014 led the team with 14 sacks.
For the fans of the 7-5 Lobos of New Mexico surely you’re aware that they and their vicious running game led them to a Bowl game at their home field, and they even made a run for their Division Title the West Division of the Mountain West. Yes their running game ranked 8 in FBS as they averaged some 247 yards rushing each game this season.
Their trio of stars is QB L. Johnson and RB’s T. Gipson and J. Pressley, and Pressley has 11 touchdowns and 847 yards rushing while QB Johnson and RB Gipson have 6 touchdowns each. The three have averaged some 5.4 yards on each carry, and that should fit well against a weak Arizona rush defense that is allowing opponents 189 yard rushing each game in 2015.
The Lobos have not been known as a great passing team since this season they have had only 5 touchdowns from their passing game, but since the defense crowds the running lanes they may be open to throwing some deep passes against the Wildcats. With a trio of WR’s in C. Wiggins, D. Hart-Johnson and D. Gamblin who have between them had touchdowns of 64 yards, 86 yards and 62 yards respectively, so yes they have the ability to score on the long ball.
On defense the New Mexico defense is solid with LG D. Cox leading with 87 tackles and 11 for a loss and 5 sacks this season and 1 interception. He’s their main man to limit the Wildcats balanced offense. In the ultimate 7 games at home, the Lobos are with 5 wins and 2 losses.
The online betting prediction for this Bowl game with the Wildcats of Arizona playing at the home of the Lobos of New Mexico, it turns out that Arizona overcomes the Lobos to win a close game.