Our 2012 bowl predictions kick off on Saturday, December 15th with the New Mexico Bowl, and we are set to make our New Mexico Bowl predictions, tips, and keys to the game for the duel between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Arizona Wildcats.

2012 New Mexico Bowl: Nevada Wolf Pack vs. Arizona Wildcats
2012 New Mexico Bowl Location: University Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
2012 New Mexico Bowl Date/Time: Saturday, December 15th, 1:00 p.m. (ET)
2012 New Mexico Bowl On TV: ESPN, Watch ESPN

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2012-13 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: Stefphon Jefferson cannot wear down
It’s really tough to imagine just how many times Jefferson has carried the ball this year for the Wolf Pack. He is averaging touching the rock over 30 times per game in the Pistol offense, and he is going to have be going full bore against this Arizona defense from start to finish. The Wildcats allowed 189.8 yards per game this year on the ground to opponents, and the only comparable teams to this Nevada club that they played were the Oregon Ducks (228 rushing yards allowed), Oklahoma State Cowboys (200 rushing yards allowed), and UCLA Bruins (308 rushing yards allowed). We know that it isn’t just Jefferson that is going to be carrying the ball on Saturday, as QB Cody Fajardo is going to be doing so as well, but it is Jefferson that has to keep those chains moving on a regular basis, and he is also going to be tabbed with making sure that the Wolf Pack stay on schedule with down and distance. They’ll make their big plays, and Jefferson will be part of that, but Jefferson has to keep running the ball and running it hard for the full 60 minutes.

New Mexico Bowl Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
Nevada Wolf Pack +9
Arizona Wildcats -9
Over/Under 77
Click Here to Bet Your New Mexico Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Austin Hill must stretch the field
The Wildcats are a team that can run the football and run the heck out of it, too. We already know that RB Ka’Deem Carey will get his yards and his touchdowns from in close, but to move the pigskin in chunks, it’s going to require a solid effort from WR Austin Hill. QB Matt Scott averaged 7.2 yards per pass attempt this year, including 24 touchdowns. Hill was not just the leading receiver for the team with 73 catches, 1,189 yards, and nine scores, but he also led the team in yards per catch with 16.3. Hill had a few absolutely massive games this year, including 139 yards against Toledo, 125 yards against Okie State, 165 yards against Stanford, and 259 yards against USC. He hasn’t had a 100+ yard game since the end of October, but this could be the secondary that he could torch. The Wolf Pack did only allow 218.3 passing yards per game this year, but there were a lot of games that were played against teams that run it more than they throw it. The last truly excellent quarterback/receiver tandem that Nevada saw this year was against the Fresno State Bulldogs when QB Derek Carr threw for 220 yards and two TDs and WR Davante Adams had nine catches, 120 yards, and trip to the end zone.

Key #3: The Wolf Pack have to be a bit unpredictable
Predictability has been a major problem for Nevada over the course of the last several bowl games. The team has only won one bowl game since the 2005 Hawaii Bowl, and a lot of these games have featured terrible offensive showings. For example, Nevada has averaged just 17.0 points per game in its last six bowl games this year. The problem the Wolf Pack have is that they run a unique offense that is just too darn simple. It doesn’t take all that long to figure out this offense if you study enough game tape, and though there isn’t always enough time to figure out in preparation for this offense in just one week’s time, getting ready for a bowl game with 16 extra practices is a totally different story. The Pack have to be thrilled that they are playing one of the first bowl games of the year this year though, as it only gives Head Coach Rich Rodriguez two weeks to figure out how to counter this fantastic offense. Still, Fajardo and the gang are going to have to show some more creativity in this one, or once the Arizona defense gets settled, it could really figure out how to wreck havoc on this Pistol attack.

Paypal	Credit Card

This Exclusive Sportsbook Bonus Offer Is Available From Bankroll Sports Only
Click Here For An Exclusive 100% Signup Bonus (Up to $500) @ BetUS!
Credit Card Deposits Are Also Accepted @ BetUS Sportsbook & Casino!

The New Mexico Bowl will kick off the 2010 bowl season on Saturday afternoon, and here at Bankroll Sports, we have the ins and outs covered for a great game for you to make your NCAA football picks for. The BYU Cougars and UTEP Miners really played opposite seasons of each other, as the Miners started off strong and limped to the finish line, while BYU won five straight games to become bowl eligible before losing the Holy War to the Utah Utes by a narrow margin. Which team will end up beating the 11.5 point spread in favor of the Cougs? Check out these three New Mexico Bowl keys to the game.

Key #1: Protecting Trevor Vittatoe
The BYU defense has done a great job this year against opposing passing games, especially in the second half of the campaign. The team only allowed 187.8 yards per game this year through the air, one of the top marks in the MWC and good enough to rank No. 21 in the country. No one threw for over 300 yards on this ‘D’ all season long. For UTEP, QB Trevor Vittatoe is dealing with an ankle injury, and though he is going to be playing in the game, he is probably going to be hobbled just a bit as well. Over the course of the last three seasons, the signal call was sacked 21, 25, and 22 times respectively, but the OL did a lot nicer job this year, allowing him to get dropped behind the line just 14 times. Of late, those numbers are getting worse, and more and more pressure is getting into his face. Vittatoe has only completed 37 passes over his last three games, and he hasn’t made it to the 200 yard mark in any of those efforts, averaging under 150 yards per game. He hasn’t thrown a TD pass in almost nine quarters of game time and has been picked off twice in that stretch as well. It’s fairly clear that, when given a chance, Vittatoe is lethal. He threw for 340 yards and three TDs against the Houston Cougars and 246 yards and five scores against the New Mexico State Aggies. However, this is probably the best pass defense he has seen all season long, and if the Cougs get to him in the backfield consistently, the Miners are in some big time trouble.

New Mexico Bowl Odds at BetUS Sportsbook
Northern Illinois Huskies -1
Fresno State Bulldogs +1
Over/Under 58.5
Click Here to Bet on Your New Mexico Bowl Picks! 

Key #2: Jake Heaps needs to play like the signal caller he was in the final four games of the year and not the one from the first two months
True freshmen sometimes get a bad rap for the way that they play. Sometimes it’s justified and they just never grow into themselves. Other times, they just need some more time to shine. That’s exactly what happened with QB Jake Heaps this year for the Cougs. He started off the season splitting reps with QB Riley Nelson, a far more experienced and significantly more mobile option. However, HC Bronco Mendenhall turned the keys to the car, per se, over to Heaps going into the game against the Nevada Wolf Pack. He struggled mightily in his first four games as the lone starter, throwing six picks and no scores. However, since the start of November, Heaps has been fantastic. He has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for an average of just under 250 yards per game with nine TDs and just one INT. All but two of his TD passes this year came in the month of November. Remember last year when Utah Utes QB Jordan Wynn really shined brightly down the stretch and in his bowl game? That’s exactly what Heaps has to do here in the New Mexico Bowl to beat the Miners.

Key #3: Someone aside from JJ Luigi needs to help Heaps out
RB JJ Di Luigi did just about everything for the Cougars this year. He had the most carries on the team (158), the most receptions (42), the most rushing yards (819), the most receiving yards (422) and the most total TDs (8). We know that, whether as a rusher or a receiver, Di Luigi is going to get his numbers, and there is nothing that the UTEP defense can do about it. What the Miners have to do though, is shut down everyone else around him. RBs Bryan Kariya and Joshua Quezada have combined for over 1,000 total yards from scrimmage this year, but there isn’t a receiver out there that has more than 34 catches or even 400 yards for BYU aside from Di Luigi. We know that both WR Cody Hoffman and WR Luke Ashworth are threats, but that doesn’t mean that they are going to be able to really bust out. UTEP has to contain these men on the outside and keep from letting the big play happen. There was only one pass play all season long that went for more than 50 yards for the Cougars, and the Miners need to make sure that it stays that way.