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FACTS & STATS: Site: Aggie Memorial Stadium (30,343) -- Las Cruces, New Mexico. Television: AggieVision. Home Record: USU 4-2, NMSU 2-3. Away Record: USU 2-3, NMSU 2-5. Neutral Record: USU 0-0, NMSU 0-0. Conference Record: USU 4-2, NMSU 2-4. Series Record: Utah State leads, 31-7.

GAME NOTES: With an invitation to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl already in hand, the Utah State Aggies now try to finish off the regular season on a positive note on Saturday as they clash with Western Athletic Conference foe New Mexico State in Las Cruces.

Last weekend Utah State captured a 21-17 win over Nevada in the home finale and in the process won its fourth straight game and moved to 6-5 overall which assured the team of at least a .500 season. Wasting little time, the call went out from the committee associated with the postseason action in Boise, Idaho and USU was rewarded with a bowl invitation for the first time since 1997. Not only was the victory key in extending the season for USU, it was also the first for the program at home against the Wolf Pack since 1950.

As for the other Aggies of the Western Athletic Conference, the prospects of this season end on Saturday when the team tries to snap a two-game slide. New Mexico State has a total of just four wins in 12 opportunities in 2011, only two of those victories coming against league foes. Last weekend the Aggies were beaten up by the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 44-0, as the opposition captured the league title.

Since scoring a season-high 48 points in a three-point win over Fresno State back on November 12, NMSU has been outscored by LaTech and BYU on the road by a combined 86-7 margin.

In terms of the all-time series between these two programs, Utah State owns a 31-7 advantage thanks in part to a 27-22 win last season in Logan.

Stanley Morrison caught one pass and threw another, his toss resulting in a 34-yard TD for running back Robert Turbin which turned into the game-winning score at the end of the third quarter versus Nevada last weekend. Turbin had an off-game in terms of running the ball with just 61 yards on 18 carries. Kerwynn Williams posted a team-best 71 yards rushing and a touchdown for the hosts, while Adam Kennedy converted 7-of-14 passes for 140 yards and a TD. With an average of 119.8 ypg on the ground this season, Turbin is second in the conference and 10th in the nation in overall production and he not only has 19 touchdowns on the ground, he has also scored three times on receptions.

Against what is now the ninth-ranked rushing attack in the WAC with an average of 254.2 ypg, the Aggies slowed Nevada to just 185 yards and a single score last weekend to keep the Wolf Pack moving in the wrong direction. While he had just two solo stops, Bobby Wagner was again the star on defense for USU as he finished with 15 total stops and a clutch fumble recovery to help preserve the victory. Kyle Gallagher accounted for 11 tackles and the lone sack of the day for the hosts. As expected, Wagner has been a beast for Utah State this season, leading the group in total tackles with 134, an average of 12.2 per game which ranks him third in the nation at the moment. Wagner also has both of the interceptions registered by Utah State this season, an area that needs to vastly improve moving forward because right now the team ranks seventh in the conference and 111th in the nation with -0.82 turnovers per game.

Against a team that was on a quest for a conference title, the New Mexico State Aggies were facing a Louisiana Tech squad that was on a mission. Coming up with just 15 first downs and converting a mere 4-of-15 on third-down plays, NMSU was no match for the Bulldogs as the hosts bull-dozed the Aggies in Ruston. Kenny Turner managed to produce a game-high 149 yards rushing on 29 carries, but at the same time his quarterback, Travaughn Colwell, converted just 15-of-25 passes for 119 yards, was sacked seven times and tossed three interceptions. At this point the Aggies' offensive line has been tabbed as one of the weakest in the conference, allowing 2.9 sacks per game which is seventh in the league and 108th nationally. If there were positives to look for in this final game of the season for NMSU, Taveon Rogers needs just 24 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season and already Turner has six 100-yard rushing games and is already over the 1,000-yard mark for the campaign.

The Aggies had no answer for Louisiana Tech last weekend on either side of the ball. Defensively, NMSU gave up 202 yards on the ground, 148 of those yards being logged by Hunter Lee who landed in the end zone three times. The pass defense was slightly less attentive with 217 yards allowed, but at least LaTech scored only once through the air. Putting his best foot forward in the ugly outing was Pierre Fils who made half of his seven total tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Not much has gone right for New Mexico State on either side of the ball this season, but at least the team can recognize the efforts of defensive back Donyae Coleman who leads the league in interceptions with six and is tied for the most forced fumbles and recoveries with three apiece, not to mention posting 10.0 tackles per game which is tied for second in the WAC.

Even though the next move for Utah State has already been determined, beating up on New Mexico State would be the perfect way to close out the most successful regular season in quite some time.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Utah State 38, New Mexico State 17