New Mexico Bowl 2016: New Mexico vs. Texas San Antonio TV Schedule, Time, Odds

Bowl season begins with the 2016 iteration of the New Mexico Bowl, which features upstart programs in the New Mexico Lobos and the Texas San Antonio Roadrunners.

The Lobos out of the Mountain West finished 8-4 to make a second consecutive bowl, and a friendly crowd will see one of the nation's most dominant rushing attacks.

UTSA finished 6-6 to notch its first bowl appearance in the program's six-year history.

One of four Saturday bowl games to help kick off the season, the New Mexico Bowl is a worthwhile offensive showcase for those who are ready to dive into the festivities and refuse to let go for weeks.

New Mexico Bowl 2016

Date: Saturday

Time (ET): 2 p.m.

Location: University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Over/Under: 64

Spread: New Mexico (-7.5)

Team Injury Reports

Name	Pos	Status
Avery Jordan	OL	Out for season
John Russo	S	Out indefinitely
Tyrone Owens	RB	Probable
William Udeh	DL	Questionable
Romell Jordan	RB	Out indefinitely

Name	Pos	Status
Juan Perez-Isidoro	C	Questionable
Halen Steward	RB	Out for season

Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.

Running on the Roadrunners

It's not surprising to see a Bob Davie-coached team run the ball well.

The former Notre Dame coach employs an intimidating triple-option attack to great effect, which explains why his offense boasts a whopping 45 rushing touchdowns compared to just 11 passing touchdowns this season.

Senior running back Teriyon Gipson leads the way for the Lobos with 1,209 yards and 12 scores on an average of 9.2 yards per carry, but sophomore Tyrone Owens isn't far behind at 1,084, seven and 8.1, respectively.

For context, six members of the offense boast at least 229 rushing yards on the season. This would help explain why the Lobos rattled off six wins over their last seven games to secure a share of the Mountain West title.

As usual, Davie will have his team hinging on a ball-control attack, especially against an unfamiliar UTSA offense that also happens to be potent on the ground.

Three of the Lobos' four losses this year came on the road, so a relatively friendly locale for this bowl game is something the team can lean on throughout the day.

Hunting for a Memorable Debut

UTSA put on quite the impressive rally over the second half of the season to secure its first bowl appearance.

The Roadrunners won five of their last eight games, which would look even better had the team prevailed in a five-overtime classic against UTEP in mid-October. The team hung tough in a mid-November duel with then-No. 25 Texas A&M too, losing 23-10.

So no, these aren't the just-happy-to-be-here Roadrunners. Quarterback Dalton Sturm has thrown 18 touchdowns and five interceptions this year while being complemented by a dominant rushing attack featuring Jarveon Williams (775 yards, eight touchdowns) and Jalen Rhodes (756 and nine).

The run to a first-ever bowl appearance has cast the program in a new light and garnered praise from many, including Davie, as Stats LLC captured via ESPN.com:

"

It's been a long journey. I have tremendous respect for them because I know how much courage it took and how much foresight it took, particularly at the time they got started and the economy took a little hit. So it took a lot of courage to keep it going. I have great respect for that program.

"

Against a team with more experience in critical situations, the Roadrunners will need one of their best performances of the year. Although everything is seemingly working against UTSA, its coming up big again wouldn't be much of a shock.

Prediction

Russell Contreras/Associated Press

As the odds show, the Lobos look to have an advantage in Saturday's matchup. 

It's a fair point, but those who are picking the game will want to remember these two teams have split their only two encounters since 2013. In other words, this isn't some established program that is ready to beat up on a newcomer.

That said, this game will be won in the trenches, where New Mexico has proved to be more adept this year. Add in the fact the game will unfold in friendly territory, and the Lobos shouldn't have a problem controlling the line and pace.

Though New Mexico looks like the winner here, UTSA is clearly here to stay.

Prediction: New Mexico 28, UTSA 20

Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.