2015 Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Can Arizona build on recent bowl history?

What: Gildan New Mexico Bowl

Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque, N.M.

Time: Saturday, 12 p.m. MST

TV: ESPN

Odds: Arizona is a 9-point favorite

Rich Rodriguez is here to stay, and so the Arizona Wildcats (6-6) head to the bowl season for the fourth time under their head coach after closing a year defined by injury. Nonetheless, it’s a postseason berth.

The appearance Saturday in the Gildan New Mexico bowl adds to Arizona football’s relatively brief bowl history and provides a jumping-off point — and that extra practice time — for next year.

Among the things to watch as Arizona faces New Mexico in what’s essentially a road game: Will this be star linebacker Scooby Wright’s last game as a Wildcat? Can inconsistent sophomore quarterback Anu Solomon close the year on a high note? And will the embattled Arizona defense stop a unique triple-option Lobos attack?

On a wider scale, the game will become part of the Rodriguez legacy for a football program that, after a bowl-less streak from 1998-2008, probably doesn’t take for granted such opportunity.

Rodriguez flirted with the South Carolina head coaching gig just weeks ago before deciding there was more to accomplish in Tucson. Can the Wildcats get RichRod his third bowl game victory in his four seasons in charge?

Here’s a look back at the last three bowl appearances to begin Rodriguez’s tenure.

2012 New Mexico Bowl

Arizona 49, Nevada 48

Arizona (8-5) fell behind 21-0 to start the game and trailed 45-28 heading into the fourth quarter before kicking off the 2012 bowl season with the wildest of games. Quarterback Matt Scott threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns to receiver Austin Hill and thanks to a recovered onside kick in the final minute another to Tyler Slavin as the Wildcats beat the Wolfpack by scoring 14 points in the final 42 seconds.

2013 Advocare V100 Bowl

Arizona 42, Boston College 19

The bowl game in Shreveport acted as a showdown between the two Doak Walker Award favorites — running backs Ka’Deem Carey of Arizona and Boston College’s Andre Williams. Carey lost the individual award to Williams but got his final say in by taking 27 carries for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona (8-5) won easily, all while holding Williams to 26 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown.

2014 Vizio Fiesta Bowl

Boise State 38, Arizona 30

A game in their home state didn’t help the Wildcats, who after beating ASU to win the Pac-12 South, sputtered in the conference championship against Oregon. They fell short against Boise State, which pulled out the Statue of Liberty play that infamously won the Broncos their 2007 Fiesta Bowl classic over Oklahoma. Like its bowl game two years prior, Arizona fell behind 21-0 but this time couldn’t make up the difference in a rally. On a final possession, Solomon, with his Wildcats threatening to score in the red zone, was tracked down and dropped for a sack as time ran out.

Arizona football bowl history

Season	Bowl	Result	Opponent	PF	PA
1921	Christmas	L	Centre	0	38
1949	Salad	L	Drake	13	14
1968	Sun	L	Auburn	34	10
1979	Fiesta	L	Pittsburgh	16	10
1985	Sun	T	Georgia	13	13
1986	Aloha	W	North Carolina	30	21
1989	Copper	W	NC State	17	10
1990	Aloha	L	Syracuse	28	0
1992	Sun	L	Baylor	20	15
1993	Fiesta*	W	Miami	29	0
1994	Freedom	L	Utah	16	13
1997	Insight.com	W	New Mexico	20	14
1998	Holiday	W	Nebraska	23	20
2008	Las Vegas	W	BYU	31	21
2009	Holiday	L	Nebraska	0	33
2010	Alamo	L	Oklahoma State	10	36
2012	New Mexico	W	Nevada	49	48
2013	AdvoCare V100	W	Boston College	42	19
2014	Fiesta	L	Boise State	30	38
2015	New Mexico		New Mexico
Total	20 bowl games	8–10–1

Follow @kzimmermanaz