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FACTS & STATS: Site: Mackay Stadium (29,993) -- Reno, Nevada. Television: None. Home Record: UNM 0-4, Nevada 1-0. Away Record: UNM 0-1, Nevada 1-3. Neutral Record: UNM 0-0, Nevada 0-0. Conference Record: UNM 0-1, Nevada 1-0. Series Record: New Mexico leads, 2-0-1.

GAME NOTES: Tied with Florida Atlantic for the longest losing streak in the nation entering play this week, the New Mexico Lobos try yet again to make their way into the win column as they challenge the Nevada Wolf Pack in non- conference action at Mackay Stadium in Reno.

New Mexico, which has dropped eight straight outings since defeating Wyoming in Mountain West Conference play last November (34-31), has even gone so far as to relieve head coach Mike Locksley of his duties a few weeks ago and bringing in George Barlow as the interim head coach in an effort to get a rise out of the squad. Unfortunately, coach Barlow ran into the same trouble as his predecessor the first of October when the Lobos bowed to in-state rival New Mexico State at home, 42-28.

Also in play this weekend for the Lobos is a 17-game road losing streak which is one of the longest in the nation as well.

Meanwhile, the Wolf Pack are in the midst of a three-game homestand after opening the 2011 campaign with four consecutive road tests in which the squad came out with just a single victory. Last weekend, Nevada opened its home schedule against rival UNLV in the battle for the Fremont Cannon and not only did the Pack defeat the Rebels for the seventh straight time, but they did so with their first-ever shutout of UNLV, 37-0. The victory snapped a brief two- game slide for a Nevada program that is done with non-conference opponents after this weekend and dives completely into Western Athletic Conference action on October 22 versus Fresno State.

UNM owns a 2-0-1 edge in the all-time series, thanks to a 23-0 victory in the most recent matchup in 2007.

Life as a Lobo football player has been dismal for several years now and it doesn't appear as though it will get better anytime soon. Were it not for a 45-point scoring burst by UNM in an overtime loss to Sam Houston State a few weeks ago, the team's scoring average of 19.8 ppg (seventh in the Mountain West Conference and 102nd in the nation) would be even worse right now. Quarterbacks Tarean Austin and B.R. Holbrook have combined to convert 56.7 percent of their passes for more than 260 ypg, but even with three touchdowns apiece and just two total interceptions that's still not good enough to get New Mexico over the hump. The bigger issue is a rushing attack that is gaining only 122.2 ypg (88th in the country) and needs Austin to be the leading man in that department with 162 yards on 51 attempts. Crusoe Gongbay has taken up some of the slack in recent games and has now accounted for 161 yards and four of their five rushing scores, but its still not enough for the slumping unit.

While the New Mexico offense fumbles around and misses out on far too many scoring opportunities, it is the defense of the Lobos that is being criticized the most. The group, which was last in the nation a year ago with a whopping 250.2 ypg allowed on the ground, is permitting 228,8 ypg this time around through five outings and when combined with a pass defense that is giving up another 293.4 ypg, you have the second-weakest overall defense in the land (522.2 ypg). Outside of the hard-fought game against Colorado State in the opener, a meeting that held significance since it was also the Mountain West Conference kickoff, when the Lobos allowed a mere 14 points, opponents have been feasting on the UNM defense and are now delivering 43.0 ppg on the average which is second-worst in the country this week. A lack of pressure at the line of scrimmage, the team posting just 4.2 tackles for loss per game and one sack per outing, is allowing opposing offenses far too much time to pick which way they want to demoralize the Lobos.

The meeting with UNLV started out slow enough for the Wolf Pack last Saturday, but eventually the home team put all the pieces together and cruised to the 37-point win as Tyler Lantrip converted 18-of-29 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns, making up for the two interceptions tossed by Cody Fajardo. Rishard Matthews accounted for 10 catches for a career-best 220 yards and a score, while Stefphon Jefferson was instrumental in the ground game with a game-high 100 yards on 17 attempts. After five games and 39 carries, Jefferson is averaging more than six yards per attempt, taking some of the pressure off Mike Ball who leads the program with 397 yards on 85 rushing attempts. Fajardo, who has three rushing scores, is someone who can provide a spark on offense for the Pack when Lantrip isn't getting the job done, but there's good reason why the latter is the starter and the former continues to make appearances in a supporting role.

To say that the Nevada defense was ready for everything the Rebels could throw at them would be an understatement. Not only did the Pack limit UNLV to just 102 yards on the ground, the squad also held quarterback Caleb Herring to a mere 1-of-14 passing for a grand total of eight yards, and that connection didn't occur until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Defensive tackle Brett Roy garnered much of the spotlight for Nevada as he registered a career- high 11 tackles, including four behind the line of scrimmage and one sack as he was named the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. As a group, the Pack is ranked third in the WAC and 63rd in the nation with 5.8 TFLs per game, but on a personal level Roy is tops in the nation with his 2.5 TFLs per outing. For a Nevada team that has been trying to wipe away the effects of an ugly 69-20 loss to Oregon in the season opener, Roy has been a one-man wrecking machine with an average of 1.2 sacks per game to rank fourth in the country.

If the Nevada defense can come even close to how well it performed last week against UNLV the Lobos have virtually no shot at being competitive in this game, and that's being kind.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Nevada 31, New Mexico 6