New Mexico Bowl 2011: TV Schedule, Live Streaming, Radio, Game Time and More

The Gildan New Mexico Bowl features two underrated teams in the form of the Temple Owls and the Wyoming Cowboys.

Both these teams had winning seasons and had some good performances during the season. Wyoming finished only behind TCU and Boise State in the MWC standings while Temple came within four points of upsetting Penn State.

These teams will kick off the bowl season and hopefully they will do so in an exciting fashion.

Keep on reading to find out more about this game.

Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico

When: Saturday, Dec 17 at 12 p.m. MT

Watch: ESPN/ESPN3

Listen: ESPN Radio, KFBC 1240 AM- Wyoming, 1210 AM WPHT- Temple

Key Storyline

Both these teams return to postseason play after a haitus in the 2010 season. Wyoming appeared in this exact bowl in 2009 and beat Fresno State 35-28 in double-overtime. 

These teams have played each other once before in 1990, with Wyoming coming out on top 28-23. Temple is 1-2 against current MWC members and Wyoming is 6-2 against current MAC members.

Who Might Not Play for Temple

QB Chis Coyer — Questionable (Shoulder) Coyer started the Owls last four games but is questionable for the bowl game with a shoulder injury he received in the last regular-season game against Kent State.

Who Might Not Play for Wyoming

LB Oliver Schober — Out for Season (Undisclosed Illness) Expected starter at Strong Safety has missed entire season with illness

WR Chris McNeill — Out for Season (Arm) McNeill is a key loss for the Cowboys having suffered a season ending injury against in the game against the Air Force. He was one of the Cowboys' main offensive threats.

RB Nehemi Kankolongo — Out for Season (Undisclosed) Kankologo was injured in preseason.

FB Bryson Studnicka — Out for Season (Leg) Studnicka suffered a leg injury in preseason. He was expected to start at FB

DT Patrick Mertens — Out for Season (Undisclosed Illness) Mertens is another expected starter that has unfortunately missed the entire season.

RB Ghaali Muhammad — Out for Season (Leg) Muhammad suffered a season ending injury in the loss to TCU.

What It Means for Temple

Temple sat at home last season after a similar 8-4 record. They lost their last bowl game to UCLA in 2009 and will be looking to improve upon their 1-2 bowl record in this game.

Temple will also want to prove that last year's lack of an invitation was a mistake. Under first-year head coach Steve Addazio, the program will want to show that it is moving in a positive direction.

What It Means for Wyoming

Wyoming won the last the last time they were in this exact same bowl, and they will want to show that they can be a consistently successful bowl team.

They came third in a Mountain Western Conference which includes BCS upstarts Boise State and TCU and played respectable games against the two ranked opponents.

With a 6-6 bowl record so far, this game would provide the perfect chance to get on the positive side of the .500 mark.

Temple Owls Player to Watch: Bernard Pierce

Pierce is second in the nation with 25 rushing touchdowns and sixth in the nation in yards per game with 125.55. Pierce could very well be entering his last collegiate game, and the Cowboys will have a tough time stopping him.

Wyoming Cowboys Player to Watch: Brett Smith

Wyoming's true freshman quarterback Brett Smith is a dual-threat. Smith has passed for 18 touchdowns in the air and rushed for 10 touchdowns, four more than the Cowboys' leading rusher Alvester Alexander.

Key Matchup: Temple Rushing Game vs Cowboys rushing defense

The Owls' rushing game is a point of concern for Cowboys head coach Dave Christensen, and it should be. The Owls rank seventh in the nation in rushing yards per game while the Cowboys rush defense is 115th in the country.

Prediction: Temple 35, Wyoming 28