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FACTS & STATS: Site: Romney Stadium (25,513) -- Logan, Utah. Television: None. Home Record: Nevada 4-1, USU 3-2. Away Record: Nevada 2-3, USU 2-3. Neutral Record: Nevada 0-0, USU 0-0. Conference Record: Nevada 4-1, USU 3-2. Series Record: Nevada leads, 17-4.

GAME NOTES: Missing out on a chance to at least own a share of the Western Athletic Conference title last weekend, the Nevada Wolf Pack now refocuses as it clashes with the Utah State Aggies at Romney Stadium in Logan.

Already bowl eligible with six wins this season, the Wolf Pack could have made things much more interesting last weekend when it clashed with Louisiana Tech at home in Reno and ended up suffering the 24-20 defeat. The loss snapped a five-game win streak for Nevada and dropped the team to 4-1 in conference play which means they are in second place in the standings with two games remaining.

As for the Aggies, a team which needs just one win in the final two outings to become bowl eligible as well, they won their third straight game and the second overtime affair of 2011 last weekend with a thrilling 49-42 triumph over Idaho at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

Nevada has owned this series since it began more than a century ago, taking 17 of the 21 encounters and six straight to this point. Last season the teams combined for 98 points in Reno, with the hosts securing a 56-42 triumph.

Nevada appeared to be on its way to a crucial conference win last weekend, thanks to the efforts of Cody Fajardo and Lampford Mark, but it was the defense that dropped the proverbial ball in the three-point home loss to the Bulldogs. Fajardo was responsible for 110 rushing yards, Mark another 109, as the two combined to carry the ball 50 times. Fajardo also converted 23-of-32 passes for 212 yards and a score, but was picked off once and sacked three times. Fajardo is slowly evolving into the same type of quarterback that ran this offense so well for four years, Colin Kaepernick, as he has now run for 635 yards and 11 touchdowns, both of which are now team highs among active players following the dismissal of Mike Ball (704 yards, three touchdowns) this week due to rules violations. With Ball being taken out of the equation it means that Fajardo and Mark (513 yards, six TDs) will have their roles in the offense expanded a little more.

Somehow the Wolf Pack allowed a golden opportunity to escape them last week as they gave up three touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the meeting against LaTech. The secondary was exposed and picked on, allowing three aerial scores as Louisiana Tech put together scoring drives of 84, 89 and 92 yards, the last of those taking just 1:38 off the clock. J.M. Johnson and Brett Roy both recorded sacks for the Pack, while Isaiah Frey logged three pass breakups for the hosts in the hard-luck loss. Roy has been a dominating force for the Wolf Pack all season long, his 17.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks representing some of the top totals in the WAC and the nation. However, as a whole, the Pack is coming up with just 5.0 TFLs per contest and that has them ranked sixth in the conference and 85th in the nation entering play this week.

The nation's sixth-best running back was at it again last week as Robert Turbin recorded a career-high 208 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns, two of them coming in overtime periods, as the Aggies won their third straight game in the final minute or with no time left on the clock. Turbin carried the ball 24 times to reach his mark and now has more than 3,000 yards rushing for his career as he broke USU's single-season rushing TD, total TD, scoring and the Aggies' career scoring records along the way. Quarterback Adam Kennedy managed the game well enough to come away with 182 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Turbin, who is generating 125.7 ypg on the ground, now has 296 career points and 19 rushing TDs this season alone, not to mention a total of 21 touchdowns overall for a program that is now averaging 36.9 ppg, tops in the WAC and 15th in the nation this week.

Obviously, with such a high-scoring game last weekend the Utah State defense was less than spectacular as they permitted 450 yards and were on the field for 92 plays. However, when it counted the best player showed up as Bobby Wagner intercepted a pass in overtime in order to preserve the victory for the Aggies. Considered one of the WAC's top defenders coming into this season, Wagner was second on the unit with 11 tackles, while Bojay Filimoeatu was credited with one forced fumble, one recovery and three tackles for loss in the contest. Filimoeatu is now tied with Wagner for the most TFLs on the team with nine, although Filimoeatu has but 34 total tackles and Wagner ranks among the best in the nation with an average of close to 12 stops per contest. Wagner has both of the team's interceptions in 2011, which explains why USU is ranked seventh in the conference and 113th in the country with a minus-0.9 turnovers per game.

Utah State has a little bit of wiggle room when it comes to becoming bowl eligible, but the Aggies don't want to let it all come down to one last game against New Mexico State next week. Then again, USU might be putting too much pressure on itself to operate at top speed this weekend so expect a good fight either way.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Utah State 41, Nevada 37