New Mexico Bowl: First look at the New Mexico Lobos and their triple option attack

We now know which bowl Arizona will be headed to, and who they will be playing.

The Arizona Wildcats struggled to hit six wins this season, and now know their bowl destination. They'll be headed to the New Mexico Bowl, matching up against the New Mexico Lobos.

So let's take a look at what the Lobos have going for them, and how they might possibly match up against Arizona.

The Lobos are led by Bob Davie and a ravage triple option attack. They ranked 9th in the nation in rushing yards, averaging 246 yards per game. Jhurell Pressley and Teriyon Gipson led the way as a dual-back set, with sophomore quarterback Lamar Jordan orchestrating the offense.

In their option attack, they average nearly six yards a carry, and scored 38 touchdowns on the ground this season, good for fifth in the nation. With that being said, the triple option doesn't give New Mexico much of a passing game. They only throw for about 131 yards a game, ranked 122nd in the nation, and only threw for five touchdowns to 11 interceptions.

Interestingly enough, New Mexico went for it on 4th down 19 times this season, and converted on 15 of those attempts, so that might be something to watch out for in some short yardage situations. That's also when they could get the defense off-balance, and throw a pass, completing an average of nine passes a game this season.

So their running game is deadly, and their pass game has the potential to catch a defense sleeping, but it's their defense that is suspect. They rank near the bottom in both rushing and passing defense. They gave up on average 195 yards on the ground and 237 yards through the air, ranked 97th and 87th in the nation, respectively.

They didn't create very many turnovers this season as well, so that's something pretty comparable to Arizona's defense.

You would assume that Nick Wilson will be 100%, and that Anu Solomon will be the starting quarterback. With that being said, the Arizona offense should have no problems against the Lobos. Giving up 27 points per game in the Mountain West, the Lobos could have their hands full if the Wildcats get in a rhythm.

The triple option could give this 3-3-5 defense some troubles, but the staff has 13 days to devise a game plan, and get Scooby Wright III fully healthy to lead the defense in what will likely be his last collegiate game as an Arizona Wildcat.

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