After two ‘challenging’ years, Arizona Bowl eyes return to normalcy with Ohio-Wyoming matchup

Actually, she had something to ask.

“What time is it?” Adair inquired.

“Game time!” the crowd roared.

After two turbulent years for the Arizona Bowl — including a last-minute cancelation in 2021 — Adair was doing her very best to speak this year’s game into existence. The matchup between Ohio and Wyoming is set for 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 at Arizona Stadium.

“The last few years have been super challenging,” Adair said later Sunday. “It feels like a lifetime ago when we actually had a normal game. We can’t be more excited to pull off a normal game.”

“I’d be happy if it’s just so boring this year,” she added with a laugh. “I’m tired of all the unexpected surprises. But I know it’s not going to be boring.”

The Arizona Bowl game itself is typically packed with drama. Two of the six games have gone to overtime, with the deciding score coming on a walk-off touchdown. The inaugural game, in 2015, was decided by five points; the winning TD was scored with 1:06 remaining.

Unfortunately, off-field angst has accompanied the game the past two years.

In 2020, San Jose State barely had enough players and coaches to participate because of COVID protocols. The Spartans were missing the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year and both of their coordinators, among many others. Ball State defeated SJSU 34-13 in front of a national-TV audience on CBS — and a nearly empty stadium because of pandemic restrictions.

Last year, Boise State was set to play Central Michigan. But an outbreak among the Broncos prevented them from participating. Four days before it was scheduled to be played, the 2021 Arizona Bowl was canceled. CMU played in the Sun Bowl, which needed a team after Miami couldn’t play because of COVID.

The virus hasn’t gone away, but Adair wouldn’t even entertain the thought of this year’s game being in jeopardy.

“I don’t even need to cross my fingers,” Adair said. “We’re having a game Dec. 30. Period. Both teams are committed.

“I have no qualms that we are going to have a game … come hell or high water. If I have to put on pads, if I have to be out there, I’ll be out there.”

One of the reasons Adair and her team picked Wyoming to represent the MWC — and not Boise State, the league runner-up — is that the Cowboys had a positive Arizona Bowl experience in 2019. Wyoming defeated Georgia State 38-17 in front of an announced crowd of 36,892.

“We had the opportunity to take Boise,” Adair said. “But we had Boise selected last year, and we really wanted to try something different this year. We selected what we thought was the next-best team in Wyoming.

“And you know what? We had a tough year last year, if I’m being transparent. We needed a team that’s going to come and show up, buy tickets, drink beer, enjoy our hospitality and really give back to this community. We knew that we had that … in Wyoming.”