The New Mexico Lobos and Arizona Wildcats will each be playing their first game of the season on Saturday, August 31st. This game will be played at Arizona Stadium in Tucson and televised on ESPN.

ESPN will be covering the season opener between the New Mexico Lobos and the Arizona Wildcats, set to kick off at 10:30 ET from Arizona Stadium in Tucson. The over/under line is currently set at 53.5 points, with the Wildcats as the heavy favorite at -30.5 points. This will be the first game of the season for both teams.

New Mexico Lobos vs Arizona Wildcats

New Mexico Records And Recent Play

Arizona Records And Recent Play

New Mexico Offense Breakdown

Devon Dampier, who threw for 525 yards and six touchdowns last season, is the top returning quarterback for the New Mexico Lobos. The team’s offense was more focused on the run, averaging 193.6 rushing yards per game, which ranked 38th in the nation. Overall, the Lobos averaged 27.2 points per game last season, placing them 58th in the country. They also ranked 49th in third down conversion percentage (41%).

One of the new additions to the backfield is Eli Sanders, who ran for 477 yards at Iowa State last season. Andrew Henry, who rushed for 326 yards last year, also returns to the Lobos’ backfield. In the passing game, Caleb Medford, who had 551 receiving yards and two touchdowns, is the top returning wide receiver for New Mexico.

Arizona Offense Breakdown

Arizona’s offense was effective on third down last season, converting 49.1% of their chances, which was the 5th best rate in the country. The Wildcats also ranked 20th in scoring, putting up 34.6 points per game. Last year, they were a pass-heavy offense, averaging 35.7 passing attempts per game, and their 308.3 passing yards per game was 9th best in the nation. The Wildcats also had the 5th best completion percentage at 71.6%.

This season, Arizona’s offense is led by quarterback Noah Fifita, who threw for 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns last year. He finished the season with a passer rating of 115.8. The Wildcats also added Jacory Croskey-Merritt at running back, who rushed for 1,174 yards and 17 touchdowns last season at New Mexico. Tetairoa McMillan, who had 1,402 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, returns as the top wide receiver for the Wildcats.

New Mexico Team Defense

Opposing offenses had success through the air and on the ground against the New Mexico Lobos last season, as they allowed 35.1 points per game. The Lobos’ pass defense was a weakness, ranking 111th in passing yards allowed per game (234.3). On the ground, they gave up 176 rushing yards per game, which ranked 131st in the nation.

New Mexico Team Defense

Arizona’s defense was strong against the run last season, holding opponents to just 118.5 rushing yards per game, which ranked 38th in the nation. However, their pass defense struggled, giving up 239.7 passing yards per game. Overall, the Wildcats allowed 21.1 points per game, placing them 25th in the country in scoring defense. They also finished 65th in completion percentage allowed, at 59.7%.

New Mexico vs Arizona Trends

• In their last five road games, New Mexico has averaged 24 points per game while allowing 31. The team’s record in this stretch was 2-3 while going 3-2.
• Through their last ten home games, Arizona has an ATS record of just 7-3. However, their overall record was 6-4 while averaging 35 points per game.
• The last ten games that New Mexico was the underdog, they have an ATS mark of 5-5 while going 3-7 straight up.
• Going back to their last ten games as the favorite, the Arizona Wildcats have a straight up record of 9-1. But, their mark vs the spread was just 6-4.

Lobos vs Wildcats Prediction

Our projected score for this week one matchup between Arizona and New Mexico is 45-12 in favor of Arizona. The over/under line is set at 53.5 points, and with our projection of 57 total points, we recommend taking the over.

Arizona is the heavy favorite at -30.5 points, and we expect them to cover the spread while putting up big numbers at home.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.