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FACTS & STATS: Site: Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800) -- Las Vegas, Nevada. Television: The Mountain. Home Record: SDSU 3-3, UNLV 2-2. Away Record: SDSU 3-1, UNLV 0-6. Neutral Record: SDSU 0-0, UNLV 0-0. Conference Record: SDSU 3-3, UNLV 1-4. Series Record: San Diego State leads, 12-8.

GAME NOTES: Having already qualified for a possible bowl selection this season, the San Diego State Aztecs try to bolster their position this weekend as they pay a visit to the UNLV Rebels for a Mountain West Conference showdown at Sam Boyd Stadium.

San Diego State, which still has a game against Fresno State out of conference on December 3, has the necessary six wins to earn consideration for a place in the postseason, but the team needs to show some resilience at this time. Last week against nationally-ranked Boise State the Aztecs fell behind 45-14 in the third quarter but refused to go away quietly as they battled back to lose by a score of 52-35. Even though SDSU didn't score the upset, the team still earned some respect for not simply lying down and taking a beating at home without a fight.

Unfortunately for the Rebels, the same cannot be said for most of their performances this season. Losers of three in a row, UNLV has one of the weakest scoring defenses in the country and it was again on display versus Air Force last weekend as the Rebels suffered a 45-17 loss in Colorado. The sixth setback in the last seven outings, UNLV is just 3-9 in home finales since the creation of the MWC, although the team has won two of the last three such contests if that's any consolation.

Last year UNLV was taken down rather easily in a 48-14 final at Qualcomm Stadium, which means the Rebels now trail the all-time series by a count of 12-8.

Refusing to go quietly, the Aztecs kept plugging away against Boise State by scoring three touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of their meeting to make the final score much more respectable. In defense of the Broncos, they clearly had the game won, but at the very least SDSU had an opportunity to bolster some stats as Ryan Lindley converted 30-of-51 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns, two of those going to Gavin Escobar who finished with eight catches for 113 yards. Ronnie Hillman, who a week earlier suffered a sprained ankle, was not at full strength as he carried the ball three times for just eight yards. Hillman, who is now fifth in the nation in rushing with 128.6 ypg, doesn't have to be at 100 percent in order for the Aztecs to take care of UNLV, in fact he doesn't need to be on the field at all after Adam Muema showed his worth with 119 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.

Like so many teams over the last decade, the Aztecs became just the latest victim to fall prey to the quick-strike offense of Boise State, one that had 42 points at the half and only then took it down a few notches. The SDSU pass defense was subjected to another outstanding effort by Kellen Moore who converted 28-of-40 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Granted, Larry Parker did pick off a Moore pass and Demetrius Barksdale logged a sack and a fumble recovery, but still those individual efforts were no match for the perfectly-oiled machine that is Boise State football. If there's a chink in the San Diego State armor it is that the team has a weak run defense this season, one that is allowing 193.9 ypg and ranks 99th in the country right now. On the positive side, in conjunction with Lindley the team is tied for seventh in the nation in turnovers with plus-1.0 per contest.

Tim Cornett ran for 104 yards on Saturday, while quarterback Caleb Herring and Bradley Randle both landed in the end zone for the Rebels, but by no means was the team even close to competing against Air Force on the road in the 28-point setback. As a whole, UNLV rolled up 227 yards on 58 rushing attempts, but that's not surprising since Air Force has one of the weakest run defenses in the country. However, what was a stunner was the fact that Herring completed just 6-of-14 balls for a mere 41 yards and an interception. Completing 55.0 percent of his pass attempts, Herring has just eight TDs to show for his efforts and an average of only 98.3 ypg as the team puts up a disappointing 114.7 ypg through the air which is last in the conference and 117th in the country this week. Overall the offense is producing just 18.4 ppg (111th) and it would be a lot worse if not for the scoring bursts in the two wins over Colorado State and Hawaii that saw the Rebels explode for a combined 78 points.

UNLV's defense was attacked from all angles by the Academy last weekend. Not only did the Rebels give up a staggering 394 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, the unit also permitted AFA quarterback Tim Jefferson to convert 7- of-12 passes for another 128 yards and a score in the romp as well. Not once did the Rebels get to Jefferson in the backfield as the Falcons averaged close to seven yards per rushing attempt. James Dunlap did post a pair of tackles for loss, while Nate Carter had one TFL of his own among his team-best 11 tackles. Sacks have been a rarity for the most part this season for the Rebels, the team averaging just 1.4 per game to rank sixth in the conference and 99th in the nation. Then again, defense as a whole has been dismal for a UNLV program that is giving up a whopping 454.2 ypg of offense which has led to 39.8 ppg (118th).

UNLV's pass defense is permitting 263.7 ypg this season which must be the first thing the San Diego State coaching staff see as they prepare to whip up on the Rebels in the desert this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: San Diego State 42, UNLV 10