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Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - New Years Eve comes alive with three key bowl games, one of which is the Fiesta Bowl which featured 21st-ranked Boise State and the 12th-ranked Arizona Wildcats at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Wildcats, who are essentially playing in their own backyard, are led by coach Rich Rodriguez who is in his third year with the program. They finished atop the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference standings with a record of 7-2. The team lost just two games during the regular season, both in league action, versus USC and UCLA by a combined 12 points. Following the setback to the Bruins, the program ripped off four straight wins in order to capture the division crown. However, in the Pac-12 title game Arizona was thoroughly dominated by Oregon earlier this month, 51-13. Needless to say, the 51 points allowed were by far the most this season by the Wildcats. As for the Broncos, under new head coach Bryan Harsin who is both a former assistant coach and player for Boise State, the program got off to a bumpy start in late August as it kicked off the 2014 campaign with a 35-13 loss to Ole Miss in Atlanta. At the time the decision appeared detrimental to BSUs postseason pursuits, but the Rebels turned into one of the top programs in the nation and the Broncos more than responded in the weeks following. Under new leadership, the Broncos won 10 of their next 11 outings, the lone setback being a stunning loss at Air Force (28-14). Still, once the regular season wrapped up in late November, Boise State was still at the top of the Mountain Division standings of the Mountain West Conference, at 7-1, as it prepared for the MWC title game versus Fresno State. In a weakened West Division, the Bulldogs were just 6-6 entering the meeting with BSU and were lucky to stay within a pair of touchdowns (28-14) on Dec. 6 at Albertsons Stadium in Idaho. The goal from when we set out this season was to be in this game - and when we got into this game, the goal was to win this game, said Harsin after the win over FSU. To accomplish that goal is a credit to our approach to the game each and every week. As the top-ranked team residing outside of the power conferences, Boise State is back in the Fiesta Bowl for the first time since 2007 when the team stunned Oklahoma and the football world with a 43-42 overtime thriller in which the Broncos ran a successful hook-and-lateral play as well as a Statue of Liberty play in order to earn the unexpected victory. Boise State has a record of 9-5 in bowl games dating back to just 1999, although the Broncos did bow to Oregon State in the 2013 Hawaii Bowl, 38-23, snapping a four-game bowl win streak. Meanwhile, the Wildcats are back in this particular event for the first time since posting a 29-0 victory over Miami in 1994, and for the third time overall. Arizona, which is 8-9-1 in bowl outings -- starting with a 38-0 loss to Centre in the 1921 Christmas Classic -- has won two straight bowl contests, the latest being a 42-19 triumph over Boston College in the 2013 Advocare V100 Bowl. Somewhat surprisingly, this is actually the first-ever meeting between these two institutions on the football field. Harsin, one of five finalists for the Paul Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year Award in just his first year at his alma mater, had his offense clicking on all cylinders almost the entire season, save for the two defeats in which the unit scored a combined 27 points. As of Christmas Day, the Broncos ranked ninth in the country in scoring with 39.8 ppg, thanks to an offense that produced a shade under 500 yards per contest. Grant Hedrick was tasked with handling the offense as he completed a stellar 70.9 percent of his pass attempts for 3,387 yards, but his 22 touchdowns were tempered by 13 interceptions on 381 tries. Shane Williams-Rhodes, a starter in nine of his 13 appearances, was responsible for a team-best 68 catches and led the unit with seven TDs, yet he averaged a mere 8.6 yards per grab. Thomas Sperbeck, who picked up some of the slack left when Matt Miller (28 receptions for 461 yards and three touchdowns) went on the shelf after just five games, finished with 39 catches for 678 yards and three TDs. But as well as some of those guys played, the main attraction for the Broncos on offense continues to be running back Jay Ajayi. The All-American was simply phenomenal as he took the ball a staggering 325 times in order to net 1,689 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground. As if that were not enough, Ajayi also made himself available for 45 receptions for 536 yards and another four TDs, making him one of the most accomplished offensive players in program history. With Ajayi as the not-so-secret weapon on offense, the Boise State defense didnt have to be as stout this time around, and while there were times when the unit struggled, it was again a very solid group that ranked 39th in the country with 366.5 ypg allowed. One of the biggest hitters for the Broncos was Tanner Vallejo who led the program with 86 tackles, of which 15 came behind the line of scrimmage. He also paced the program with three recovered fumbles. Just a sophomore, Kamalei Correa made a major impact with his 17 tackles for loss, including a team-best 10 sacks. Another all-conference performer was safety Darian Thompson who recorded seven interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown against Wyoming. Because of the efforts of Thompson, BSU has a turnover margin of plus-0.54 per game, which is 32nd in the nation. From a numbers perspective, the Broncos certainly appear stronger on paper than Arizona, but the Wildcats might just have better personnel overall. One of the top players on the defensive side of the ball for Arizona is linebacker Scooby Wright III who was not only named a Unanimous All-American, he was also named the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy which recognizes the nations top defensive player. Wright was all over the field for the Wildcats, making an incredible 153 tackles, of which 89 were solo efforts (more than all but one of his teammates had in all). But more than just a tackling machine, Wright made several stops in key situations, registering 28 TFLs and 14 sacks, both of which easily paced the program. Add to that six forced fumbles and one recovery and it is difficult to find another defender who exerted as much influence on games this season. Wright was also selected as the 2014 recipient of the Rotary Lombardi Award which honors the top linebacker or lineman in the nation. The Chuck Bednarik Award, presented annually to the nations most outstanding defensive player by the Maxwell Football Club, was also handed to Wright. Jared Tevis accounted for another 119 tackles, nine TFL and four sacks for a unit that still somehow surrendered 449.5 ypg to rank 103rd in the nation. The UA secondary was especially suspect as it gave up 279.1 ypg (117th nationally), the main reason why the program allowed 27.5 ppg. While Wright was standing in the spotlight the entire season for the Arizona defense, the other side of the ball saw the Wildcats gambling on a youngster at quarterback in Anu Solomon. The gunslinger lit up the air with 58.0 percent completions, en route to 3,458 yards and 27 touchdowns, against just seven interceptions on close to 500 attempts. Cayleb Jones was the primary target down the field for Solomon, as he caught 65 balls for 902 yards and nine touchdowns, although Austin Hill and Samajie Grant also served as key outlets as they combined for 86 grabs for 1,254 yards and nine scores. As one of the more productive running backs in the Pac-12, Nick Wilson churned out 1,289 yards and 15 TDs on 217 carries in order to take some of the pressure off Solomon from time to time for a unit that placed 25th nationally with 461.5 ypg. Darrell Henderson Youth Jersey . - The Clippers have signed guard Dahntay Jones to a second 10-day contract. Joe Namath Womens Jersey . But when it was all over they had wasted another lead, seen another pitcher flame out on the mound and lost their fourth straight at home. http://www.laramsfootballshops.com/aaron-donald-jersey/. 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Augustes shot ended a field goal drought of 9:05 for the Irish and came after North Carolina took its first lead since early in the first half on two Kennedy Meeks foul shots, capping a 16-6 surge with about two minutes left. The last minute was sloppy, with misses at both ends. Steve Vasturia missed two foul shots for Notre Dame with five seconds left and North Carolina called a timeout. The Tar Heels called time again with 1.4 ticks remaining after dribbling the ball over midcourt. But Marcus Paige, who led North Carolina with 15 points, missed an off-balance 3-point try from the left sideline as time expired, giving Notre Dame its first win in the series since Jan. 11, 1992 at Madison Square Garden. We held off a lot of runs and did what we needed to do to escape, but [it was] a tough situation, said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. I thought we were really poised. Every time they made a run we came out and executed and gave us a little bit of a cushion, and we needed all that cushion down the stretch. Auguste led Notre Dame (15-1, 3-0 ACC) with 18 points, Pat Connaughton scored 16 and Demetrius Jackson had 15, including 12 in the first half when the Irish led by as many as 10. Jerian Grant had eight points and eight assists for the Irish before fouling out late in the game. Meeks and J.P. Tokoto scored 12 points each for the Tar Heels (11-4, 1-1), who trailed by as much as 11 in the second half. They had chances to re-take the lead after Augustes go-ahead shot for Notree Dame.dddddddddddd The best came after Tokoto rebounded Paiges missed 3-point try and the Tar Heels called timeout with 19 seconds remaining. But Paige hit the rim on a driving layup after play resumed. North Carolina, coming off a 24-point victory over Clemson on Saturday, had a five-game winning streak snapped. The Irish snapped a five-game losing streak in the series, which included their first two games against the Tar Heels since joining the ACC. They have won 11 in a row for their longest winning streak since taking 12 straight from Nov. 17, 2012-Jan. 7, 2013. The 15-1 record is Notre Dames best start since opening 24-1 in the 1973-74 season. Notre Dame led the country by shooting 55.3 percent from the field coming in and made five 3-pointers in the first half, including three in a row to take a 25-15 lead nine minutes in. They didnt make any mistakes early, and it seemed like to me almost every shot went in, said North Carolina coach Roy Williams. It was just an uphill battle. We kept fighting. Seven North Carolina players scored during an extended 17-8 run that got the Tar Heels within 33-32 on Paiges jumper with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half. Jacksons 12 points led all players in the half and Notre Dame carried a 38-34 advantage into the break. Game Notes North Carolina players wore a patch reading Stu in honor of ESPN broadcaster Stuart Scott, who died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. Scott graduated from North Carolina in 1987 and served as commencement speaker at the school in 2001 ... The Tar Heels are 3-2 against ranked opponents this season ... North Carolina leads the all-time series with Notre Dame 18-5 ... Both teams are back in action with big games on Saturday, when North Carolina hosts No. 5 Louisville and Notre Dame hosts No. 3 Virginia. ' ' '