Semester exams cut bowl game preparation by 5 days

The Wildcats are allotted 16 practice days according to NCAA regulations on pre-bowl rehearsals but will only use 11, so players can have time off to study and take finals.

Arizona will continue to use its practice field near McKale Center until Dec. 16, when the players and coaches take over the La Paloma Resort.

From then on, the team will practice at nearby Catalina Foothills High School until the game at Arizona Stadium.

Staying at the resort will give the players, both veteran and rookie, a chance to experience the bowl atmosphere, complete with luncheons, public appearances and game preparation.

"It is so important for us to keep our focus and constantly hound each other," said defensive lineman Joe Salave'a, who has appeared in two bowls in his career.

Salave'a played in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl victory over Miami, and the following season's Freedom Bowl loss to Utah.

Playing the Lobos renews a longtime rivalry. The game marks the 64th time the schools have faced each other, with most of those games coming when Arizona was a member of the Western Athletic Conference up to 1997. Arizona leads the overall series 42-18-3. The last time the teams met was in 1990, when the Wildcats won 25-10 in Albuquerque.

This series is second only to the Arizona State rivalry, by just five games.