Arizona will play in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La., against Boston College on Dec. 31 at 10:30 a.m. MST.
“It’s a great opponent, and they got one of the best players in the country in their tail back,” Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez said.
The bowl game will feature two of the nation’s best running backs. Ka’Deem Carey is currently fifth in the country with 1,716 total rushing yards. Boston College’s Andre Williams leads the nation with 2,102 rushing yards. Carey led the nation last season in rushing yards.
“It’s definitely a pride thing,” Carey said of holding the rushing yard title. “I of course respect [Williams], but I want to go out there on the field and beat him and help my team win the game.”
Both Carey and Williams are finalists for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the best running back. Williams and Carey are first and second, respectively, in rushing yards per game.
Last year in the New Mexico Bowl, Carey went up against Stefphon Jefferson of Nevada, who was second in the nation in rushing that year. The Wildcats won that game 49-48.
“It’s been a honor, and it’s going to be awesome to play against another great running back,” Carey said. “I’ve watched [Williams] a few times. He’s a physical runner like me.”
The AdvoCare V100 Bowl was formerly known as the Independence Bowl as its inaugural season was in 1976, the United States’ bicentennial year. It is played at Independence Stadium and currently has tie-ins with the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, but due to an overflow of bowl-eligible schools, this season Arizona was substituted for an SEC school.
Oregon was the last school from the Pac-12 Conference to play in the bowl game. The Ducks lost to Wake Forest 39-35 in the 1992 Independence Bowl.
Last season, Ohio University defeated Louisiana-Monroe 45-14 in the bowl game.
Arizona corner back Jonathan McKnight is the only player on the Wildcats’ roster from Louisiana.
“I have never been to Louisiana,” senior receiver Terrence Miller said. “I have no clue what to expect, but I’m really excited.”
From 1997-98, Rodriguez was the offensive coordinator at Tulane University in New Orleans. He said he is excited to go back to a former recruiting area.
As for Boston College, the Wildcats have never played against the Eagles and haven’t played a school from the ACC since 1995.
“We haven’t watched film on them yet,” Arizona senior linebacker Jake Fischer said. “But I’ve seen their running back, and he’s impressive.”
This will also be Boston College’s first trip to the AdvoCare V100 Bowl.
The Wildcats are hoping to have 12 to 13 practices on campus before they fly to Shreveport a couple of days prior to the bowl game. Rodriguez said the first couple of practices are more like easy spring practices but get more intense as the game gets closer.
“It’s a very respectable bowl game,” Rodriguez said of the AdvoCare V100 Bowl. “It’s a neat venue. The challenge is to go down there and win. If we want to have a chance to win, we have to stop the run and we have to run the ball; that’s who we are right now.”
—Follow Luke Della @LukeDella
