FACTS & STATS: Site: Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800) -- Las Vegas, Nevada. Television: The Mtn. Home Record: UNM 3-3, UNLV 2-3. Away Record: UNM 1-3, UNLV 1-3. Neutral Record: UNM 0-0, UNLV 0-0. Conference Record: UNM 2-4, UNLV 0-5. Series Record: New Mexico leads, 9-6.

GAME NOTES: With just two games left in the regular season, the New Mexico Lobos make a desperate push for the postseason as they suit up against the UNLV Rebels in Mountain West Conference action at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night. The Lobos have had an up-and-down season thus far, able to put back-to- back wins together just once. The squad is currently 4-6 and a mere 2-4 in MWC action, which means even if UNM does post the required six wins even to be considered for a bowl berth, the chances of that are pretty slim. New Mexico is currently riding a two-game slide and has lost three of its last four after bowing to nationally-ranked Utah last Saturday at home, 13-10. After this weekend, the Lobos close out with a meeting at Colorado State on November 15th. As for the Rebels, they appeared to be on their way to great things in 2008 with three wins in four tries right out of the gate, but since defeating Iowa State in overtime at home back on September 20th, the Rebels have known nothing but defeat. Last Saturday, it was nationally-ranked TCU that thumped UNLV in the desert by a score of 44-14, marking the fifth consecutive setback for the Rebels, a team that is now 0-5 in conference. Last season, the Lobos picked up a 27-6 win against UNLV, which means UNM now owns a 9-6 advantage in the all-time series.

Brad Gruner threw for 165 yards and ran for another 62 on 16 attempts last weekend, but even though he registered a personal best in terms of offense, the Lobos still couldn't get past Utah in a three-point decision in Albuquerque. Gruner converted 16-of-25 passes and was sacked twice, while Rodney Ferguson was credited with the only touchdown of the day for the Lobos and finished with a mere 32 yards on 12 attempts. Before Donovan Porterie went down with a season-ending injury, this New Mexico team had a lot of promise and Gruner has tried to live up to those expectations, but he simply has not gotten the offense into a groove. Gruner is averaging a mere 88.1 ypg passing and still has more interceptions (five) than TDs (three). As a result, the team is ranked 111th in the nation in passing with 122.4 ypg and is 114th in pass efficiency with a ranking of only 96.86. Currently second in the MWC in rushing with a shade under 100 ypg, Ferguson has tried to keep the team moving by contributing to their 212.2 ypg on the ground (15th nationally) but it hasn't been quite enough.

The New Mexico defense met the challenge of shutting down Utah head on Saturday and nearly pulled off the unthinkable, but with the UNM offense sluggish it simply was not meant to be. The Lobos picked off once pass and captured a fumble, but in allowing the Utes to run five more plays the home team surrendered 104 more yards and kept the ball out of the offense's hands. In addition to posting one of the team's five tackles for loss, DeAndre Wright also picked off a pass for the unit. A starter in all 10 games this season, Wright has two of the team's 10 picks, a department that is headed by Glover Quin who has four interceptions and is currently fourth in tackles with 47. Clint McPeek ranks first in tackles with 90 in his nine starts, while Herbert Felder paces the group with 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss, the latter being an area in which the Lobos (5.5 TFLs per game) could stand some improvement.

Following up an outstanding performance against BYU a week earlier, Omar Clayton showed once again why the Rebels really can't be taken very seriously in 2008. The signal-caller completed a mere 5-of-13 passes for 45 yards and a score, while also being intercepted in the lopsided loss for UNLV. Obviously, putting Mike Clausen in the game didn't do the team much good either because he hit on only 3-of-9 for 22 yards and was sacked three times. In his nine appearances this season Clayton has been one of the better signal-callers in the MWC with 18 touchdowns and just four interceptions, but on Saturday he just didn't have the touch. The same goes for running back Frank Summers who stumbled against TCU, but for the most part in 2008 has been a model of consistency for the program with 624 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns on the ground. With seven catches per game, Ryan Wolfe is second in the league in that department, even though Phillip Payne (27 receptions, 415 yards, seven touchdowns) has received more of the glory.

The Rebels had no answer for how to slow down the TCU offense, allowing Andy Dalton to convert 16-of-29 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns and watching the rushing attack of the Horned Frogs race around the field for another 259 yards and three scores on 52 attempts. The Frogs dared UNLV to stop them on the ground and the Rebels simply were not up to the challenge. Jason Beauchamp led the way with his 11 tackles and Nate Carter chipped in 10 stops in the losing effort. Except for the loss to Air Force in which the Rebels bowed by just a single point (29-28) in the middle of October, UNLV has allowed no less than 41 points during this current winless streak, or in every setback this season for that matter. As a result, the Rebels are currently eighth in the league and 109th in the nation with a scoring defense that is allowing 35 ppg. The run defense has been especially woeful with 232.4 ypg permitted, placing the group eighth in the MWC and 115th in the country. Just as troubling is the team's inability to work its way into the backfield, posting a mere 4.4 TFLs per game to rank 110th in the country.

As long as Ferguson and Gruner can get out and run with the ball for the Lobos, maintaining possession and keeping the UNLV defense on the field for long stretches, New Mexico should have no problem picking up the road win this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: New Mexico 31, UNLV 13

Saturday, November 8th, 10:00 p.m. (et).