 The 2012 <unk> New Mexico Bowl was a post @-@ season American college football bowl game that was held on December 15 , 2012 , at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque , New Mexico in the United States . The seventh edition of the New Mexico Bowl began at 11 : 00 a.m. MST and aired on ESPN . It featured the Nevada Wolf Pack , who represented the Mountain West Conference in their first year as a member , against the Arizona Wildcats , who represented the Pac @-@ 12 Conference . The Wolf Pack accepted their invitation with a 7 – 4 record in their first eleven games of the season , while the Wildcats accepted their invitation after finishing the regular season at 7 – 5 . The bowl was the first of 35 played in the 2012 – 13 bowl game season . 
