Arizona Wildcats will head to VIZIO Fiesta Bowl against Boise State
Dec 7, 2014, 7:52 PM | Updated: 10:54 pm
The No. 10 Arizona Wildcats have a Pac-12 South title under their belts and will get the opportunity to appear in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl against No. 20 Boise State (11-2) on New Year’s Eve in Glendale, Ariz.
“We are thrilled to have two of the top-ranked teams in the country with Boise State and Arizona playing in this year’s VIZIO Fiesta Bowl,” said Executive Director Mike Nealy in a statement. “With Boise State and Arizona’s strong fan base, we couldn’t be more excited to welcome the new era of college football and celebrate this milestone on Dec. 31.”
Arizona (10-3), who fell three spots in the College Football Playoff Committee rankings to No. 10 after a loss in the Pac-12 Championship game to the No. 2 Oregon Ducks, will have the opportunity to improve to 11-3 after a milestone season in which they won their first division title.
Arizona saw a meteoric rise this season and went 10-3, beating rival Arizona State in the Territorial Cup to win the Pac-12 South and also upsetting top-four opponent Oregon earlier in the season. The last time the Wildcats won double-digit games was in 1998 when they went 12-1.
Led on offense by freshman quarterback Anu Solomon and freshman running back Nick Wilson, Arizona ranks 28th in the nation in total offense (461 yards/game), 28th in passing offense (277.7 yards/game) and 28th in points per game (34.8).
Arizona’s defense does not rank quite as well, finishing 73rd in the country in points allowed per game (27.5) and 104th in yards allowed per game (449).
Boise State ranks 14th in the nation with 496 yards per game. They are also a top 10 scoring offense, putting up 39.8 points per game.
Like Arizona, the Broncos’ defense is the weaker side of the ball, although the disparity between those two units is not as great. Boise State ranks 40th in the nation in yards per game (366) and 65th in points allowed per game (26.5).
The Wildcats will make their third consecutive postseason appearance with the selection. For Boise State, this will be their third Fiesta Bowl appearance.
