2011 New Mexico Bowl

The 2011 New Mexico Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on December 17, 2011 at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico as part of the 2011-12 NCAA Bowl season.

2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Temple Owls Wyoming Cowboys (8–4) (8–4) MAC Mountain West 37 15 Head coach:  Steve Addazio Head coach:  Dave Christensen
1 2 3 4 Total Temple 7 21 3 6 37 Wyoming 0 7 0 8 15
Date	December 17, 2011
Season	2011
Stadium	University Stadium
Location	Albuquerque, New Mexico
MVP	QB Chris Coyer, Temple LB Tahir Whitehead, Temple
Favorite	Temple by 7[1]
Referee	Tom Tomczyk (Big East)
Attendance	25,762
Payout	US$750,000 per team
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Clay Matvick (Play-by-Play) Brian Griese (Analyst) Jessica Mendoza (Sidelines)
Nielsen ratings	1.54
New Mexico Bowl  < 2010  2012 >

The game, which was telecast at 12 p.m. MT on ESPN, featured the Wyoming Cowboys from the Mountain West Conference versus the Temple Owls from the Mid-American Conference.

Temple made its first trip to the New Mexico Bowl, becoming the first team from the MAC to appear in the game. The Owls made just their fourth bowl appearance in school history, and their second in the last three years. Wyoming appeared in its second New Mexico Bowl. The Cowboys were 35–28 victors over Fresno State in the 2009 New Mexico Bowl.

The two schools have only previously played each other on one occasion. Wyoming won the 1990 matchup in Laramie, Wyoming by a score of 38–23.

Temple controlled the game from start to finish in a 37-15 win. The Owls were led by running back Bernard Pierce who ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Temple's aggressive defense held Wyoming's spread offense to just 267 yards (127 passing).

Teams

Temple

See also: 2011 Temple Owls football team

The Owls were led by offensively RB Bernard Pierce (1,381 yds., 25 TDs), QB Chester Stewart (743 passing yds.) and TE Evan Rodriguez (427 receiving yds.); and defensively by LB Stephen Johnson (113 tackles, 2.0 sacks), DL Adrian Robinson (47 tackles, 6.0 sacks), and DB Justin Gildea (46 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 3 INT). ^[2]

Wyoming

See also: 2011 Wyoming Cowboys football team

Making its 13th bowl game appearance, the Cowboys were led offensively by RB Alvester Alexander (678 rushing yds., 6 TDs), QB Brett Smith (385 att., 233 of 385 passes, 2,495 yards, 18 TDs), and WR Chris McNeill (504 receiving yds., 4 TDs); and defensively by SS Luke Ruff (97 tackles),DE Gabe Knapton (74 tackles, 6.5 sacks) and DB Blair Burns (48 tackles, 4 INT).

Game summary

Wyoming wore their home brown uniforms, and Temple wore white visitor uniforms. Temple sophomore quarterback Chris Coyer, the offensive MVP, threw for 169 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 71 yards. Defensive MVP, senior linebacker Tahir Whitehead, tallied 11 tackles including 1.5 for a loss. Temple jumped out to a 37-7 lead behind a balanced offensive attack and out-gained Wyoming 424 yards to 267. Bernard Pierce ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns while backup Matt Brown added 49 yards and another score. Wide receiver Rod Streater caught a 61-yard touchdown at the end of the first half.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Temple Wyoming 1 8:41 13 90 6:19 Temple Bernard Pierce 1-yard touchdown run, Brandon McManus kick good 7 0 2 14:28 9 69 4:11 Temple Bernard Pierce 1-yard touchdown run, Brandon McManus kick good 14 0 2 10:21 6 35 1:58 Temple Matt Brown 1-yard touchdown run, Brandon McManus kick good 21 0 2 0:37 11 62 5:00 Wyoming Josh Doctson 21-yard touchdown reception from Brett Smith, Daniel Sullivan kick good 21 7 2 0:19 1 61 0:18 Temple Rod Streater 61-yard touchdown reception from Chris Coyer, Brandon McManus kick good 28 7 3 1:22 12 60 6:34 Temple 34-yard field goal by Brandon McManus 31 7 4 12:50 7 47 2:48 Temple 37-yard field goal by Brandon McManus 34 7 4 3:22 13 56 8:23 Temple 34-yard field goal by Brandon McManus 37 7 4 0:03 10 71 3:19 Wyoming Cody Sutton 14-yard touchdown reception from Brett Smith, 2-point run good 37 15 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 37 15

Statistics

Statistics	Temple	Wyoming
First Downs	23	17
Total offense, plays - yards	63-424	63-267
Rushes-yards (net)	51-255	33-140
Passing yards (net)	167	127
Passes, Comp-Att-Int	8-12-0	20-30-3
Time of Possession	32:33	27:27

Game Notes

• Temple's three interceptions tied a New Mexico Bowl record.
• Temple won its first bowl game since 1979.
• Wyoming's bowl W/L record dropped to 6-7
• Bernard Pierce rushed for 1,481 yards and 27 TDs on the season
• Brett Smith was the Mountain West Freshman of the Year

References

1. Bowl Schedule, Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2011
2. Mid-American Conference Football, Mid-American Conference, December, 2011

External links

• Box Score - ESPN