TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Saturday at noon, the Arizona Wildcats (6-6) meet the New Mexico Lobos in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
It's a familiar bowl desination for Arizona, who played Nevada in 2012 and escaped with a 49-48 victory by scoring two touchdowns in the final minute.
This season could be considered a disappointment after the Wildcats won 10 games in 2014 with an appearance in the Pac-12 title game and a bid to the Fiesta Bowl, but injuries derailed them following a 3-0 start.
Most notably, linebacker Scooby Wright injured his knee in the opener against UTSA, then sprained his foot against UCLA and did not return the rest of the regular season.
Staring quarterback Anu Solomon was another key figure to go down with an injury, after suffering a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit in an upset win over Utah.
Both Wright, who may leave for the NFL after this game, and Solomon are expected to play Saturday afternoon.
admitted to rushing back from the knee injury.
"Scooby's practicing full," Rodriguez said. "He's been working hard in rehab for two months now. He's worked hard up to this point and playing actual football and getting actual reps was good for him. I'm sure he's happy to be in the mix."
The Lobos (7-5) finished ninth in the 12-team Mountain West in offense with an average of 431.9 yards, but Rodriguez believes their option scheme could confuse Arizona.
Three players rushed for at least 650 yards, including quarterback Lamar Jordan. New Mexico's 37 rushing touchdowns rank sixth in the nation, and its 208 pass attempts are the sixth-fewest.
