 This was the first bowl of the 2012 @-@ 13 College Football Bowl season . Prior to 2012 , the teams had not met since 1941 despite their close proximity . In 1941 , Arizona beat Nevada 26 – 7 . Overall , the series record prior to the game was 1 – 1 – 1 . Arizona , who had appeared in a bowl game in four of the previous five seasons , made the Pac @-@ 12 's first appearance in the New Mexico Bowl . Nevada made its eighth consecutive bowl appearance and second all @-@ time in the New Mexico Bowl . 
