The New Mexico Bowl, which is played every year at University Stadium in Albuquerque, will kickoff it’s 2009 edition on Saturday, December 19th. The game will be held between Fresno State, who is representing the Western Atlantic Conference (WAC), and Wyoming, representing the Mountain West Conference (MWC). The match is schedule to start at 4:30 pm ET and will air nationally on ESPN.

Fresno State ended the regular season 8-4 (overall) and 6-2 (in conference play), which gave them the third place in the WAC. This will be the second consecutive appearance for Fresno in this Bowl, their third straight bowl game and their eighth postseason game in nine years since the year 2000.

The Bulldogs had 2452 net passing yards (204.3 passing yards per game), and a completion of 59.8%. They rushed 2779 yards (231 rushing yards per game), for an average of 5.4 yards per rush. They ranked 14th in the nation in points per game at 34.3, and 19th in total yards per contest with 435.9. 

Wyoming finished the season with an even 6-6 (overall) and 4-4 (in the MWC), a bad record that placed them fifth in the conference. This will be their first time since 2004 that they have appear in a bowl game. Head coach Dave
Christensen is only the second Wyoming first-year coach to take the Cowboys to postseason play.

The Cowboys had a total of 2048 net passing yards (170.7 per game) and a completion percentage of 54.9. Their total rushing yards were 1536 (128.0 per game), for an average of 3.4 yards per rush. The last time they met Fresno State, back in 1997, they lost 24-7.

After losing last year’s New Mexico Bowl against Colorado State, Fresno State will be seeking some revenge to finally win in this neutral turf. “We are a much different team, a more confident team than when we came to New Mexico a year ago”, said their coach Pat Hill. Will he be right? Will Wyoming pay for the broken dishes? In 4 days we’ll have an answer.

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