Arizona Bowl, by the numbers: Wolf Pack, Red Wolves evenly matched

Nevada football coach Jay Norvell talks about the Wolf Pack recruiting class on Wednesday. Jim Krajewski, jkrajewski@rgj.com

Buy PhotoThe numbers tell a story of two evenly matched teams who should get together for a close Arizona Bowl game on Saturday.

While certainly not identical, Nevada and Arkansas State put together regular seasons that have some remarkable similarities. The teams rank near each other in a number of major categories, including total offense (the Red Wolves at 463 yards per game; the Pack at 442) and total defense (ASU is 49th in the nation; Nevada is 52nd).

Both teams also rely on big plays on defense. The finished with identical marks of 2.67 sacks per game (32nd…