New Mexico Bowl 2012: Complete Grades for Arizona's Shocking Win over Nevada

Just about every record related to total offense in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl was shattered on Saturday afternoon as the Arizona Wildcats defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack 49-48 with a 21-point fourth quarter.

Both teams combined to accumulate over 1,200 yards of offense, but the game was decided by Arizona's miraculous onside kick recovery on special teams.

What kind of letter grades will the various personnel groups on both teams receive? Click ahead to find out!

Arizona Offense

Game Grade: A-

The Arizona Wildcats put on an outstanding display of offense against the Nevada Wolf Pack and racked up 578 total yards, including 382 yards through the air.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Matt Scott made a couple of poor decisions, which resulted in two interceptions, but ultimately the Corona, Calif., native will be remembered more for completing 28 of 47 passes and throwing three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore wide receiver Austin Hill led all of Arizona's pass-catchers with eight receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns, while David Richards and Dan Buckner both made a couple of spectacular catches during the contest.

Arizona's running game, led by sophomore running back Ka'Deem Carey, piled up 196 rushing yards. Carey finished the game with 172 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries.

The only reason the Wildcats are not getting a straight A or an A+ for their efforts today is because of the three turnovers and struggles at the beginning of the first and second halves, which nearly cost Arizona the game.

Nevada Offense

Game Grade: A-

There weren't too many low points for the Nevada Wolf Pack's offense en route to finishing the Gildan New Mexico Bowl with 659 total yards, in addition to 39 first downs, which is a new NCAA bowl game record.

The Wolf Pack did much of their damage on the ground by rushing for 403 yards. Sophomore quarterback Cody Fajardo and junior running back Stefphon Jefferson combined to run for 320 yards and three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, senior running back Nick Hale came in for Jefferson on two separate occasions, though both were after Nevada's No. 1 tailback fumbled, and rushed for 73 yards on 14 carries.

Nevada also had success through the air when head coach Chris Ault wanted to keep the Arizona Wildcats defense completely off balance. Fajardo completed 22 of 31 passes for 256 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Wide receiver Zach Sudfeld hauled in two touchdown receptions for his only catches of the afternoon, and sophomore wideout Richy Turner got himself open for a 33-yard scoring grab in the third quarter.

Plain and simple, Nevada's offense did more than enough to win this game, but the Wolf Pack don't earn a perfect grade due to the four turnovers and another fumble that could have been costly had it been recovered by the Wildcats.

Arizona Defense

Game Grade: D-

Arizona Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez has never been known for being a defensive mastermind, but his team reached the lowest levels of ineptitude on that side of the ball against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

The stats do not lie, and as you have seen in the past couple of slides, the offensive numbers Nevada put up were unacceptable for any defense.

The only saving grace for Arizona is the fact that Marquis Flowers managed to snag the game-ending interception along with the onside kick recovery that helped set up the Wildcats' final drive.

Shaquille Richardson also come up with an interception, though it might as well have been gift-wrapped by Cody Fajardo, who threw the ball deep down the field and into double coverage.

The Wildcats forced three fumbles but only managed to recover two of them. A couple of critical stands in the fourth quarter also saved Arizona from receiving a failing grade.

Nevada Defense

Game Grade: D

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Nevada Wolf Pack also receive a less than superb grade for their defensive performance against the Arizona Wildcats.

Again, the stats already mentioned in this slideshow are ridiculous numbers for any defense to give up, and the Wolf Pack would have received a failing grade had they not been able to create three turnovers.

Nevada also did a decent job at stopping the Wildcats on third downs and only allowed Arizona to convert four of 11 attempts, though it should be noted that Rich Rodriguez's team was 2-of-3 on fourth down.

The Wolf Pack surrendered 21 points in the fourth quarter, including two touchdowns in the final 46 seconds of the game.

It is safe to say that the Wolf Pack's dismal defensive effort cost them what would have been the fifth bowl victory in school history.

Arizona Coaching

Game Grade: B+

It is the head coach's responsibility to have his team ready to play from the opening kickoff until the final whistle blows, and while Rich Rodriguez and his staff made a lot of great calls, the Arizona Wildcats were clearly rattled at the beginning of the first and second halves.

The Wildcats fell behind 21-0 early after the offense sputtered on its first two possessions and Jared Baker fumbled on a kick off return.

Arizona's offense struggled to sustain a drive once again in the third quarter and was not able to get Nevada's offense off the field long enough to make anything happen.

Rodriguez did make the most of his timeouts, though, and preserved just enough time for the Wildcats' up-tempo offense to score twice in the final minute of the game, which is why Arizona's coaching staff earned itself an above-average grade.

Nevada Coaching

Game Grade: B

The Nevada Wolf Pack executed every part of its game plan on the offensive side of the ball, but the defensive struggles and late-game decision to take a more conservative approach to the play-calling ultimately fall on head coach Chris Ault.

Although Stefphon Jefferson fumbled late in the game, Ault should have stuck with his top offensive playmaker instead of going to Nick Hale on a fourth-quarter drive that stalled out and allowed the Arizona Wildcats to climb back into the game.

The defensive play-calling late also cost the Wolf Pack a victory. Ault's defense needed to make an adjustment to the short sideline routes the Wildcats were running instead of letting Arizona get all the way inside the 20-yard line before changing defensive tactics.

Ault and the staff get solid marks for offensive performance, but the defensive effort and game management late in the contest drop the grade to a B.

Overall Grade for Arizona

Game Grade: B

Although the Arizona Wildcats put on an offensive clinic as they usually do, there is no way to overlook or deny that this is one of the worst defensive teams in all of college football.

Granted, the Wildcats were extremely banged up and played several walk-ons, but that is no excuse for how bad Arizona played defensively against the Wolf Pack.

Thankfully, Arizona more than made up for its defensive issues with a potent offense and a miraculous onside kick recovery late in the game.

The Wildcats get a bit of a bump for picking up the win and putting together a comeback for the ages, though Arizona's overall performance is hardly worthy of anything better than a B.

Overall Grade for Nevada

Game Grade: C+

The Nevada Wolf Pack nearly ran away with the game early and almost pulled away late in the contest but wound up surrendering three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and could not finish off the Arizona Wildcats.

The offense put up enough points and racked up enough yardage to win the game, which gives the Wolf Pack a boost in terms of their overall grade.

Nevada hurt its report card significantly, though, due to defensive struggles and the failure to recover the onside kick in the final minute of the fourth quarter, which would have ended the game rather than set Arizona up for a game-winning touchdown drive.

Four turnovers and another fumble also did not help Nevada's cause in the grading process.