FACTS & STATS: Site: Mackay Stadium (31,900) -- Reno, Nevada. Television: Local. Home Record: NMSU 1-1, Nevada 1-1. Away Record: NMSU 1-1, Nevada 2-1. Neutral Record: NMSU 0-0, Nevada 0-0. Conference Record: NMSU 0-0, Nevada 1-0. Series Record: Nevada leads, 10-1.

GAME NOTES: The New Mexico State Aggies finally get their Western Athletic Conference schedule off the ground this weekend as they challenge the Nevada Wolf Pack in Reno. The Aggies have played a total of just four games thus far and were, in fact, lucky to have that many considering Alcorn State was a late addition to the slate. Unfortunately for the Braves, the meeting did not end in their favor as NMSU posted a 45-10 decision that wasn't even as close as the final score would lead you to believe. The win was the second in the last three chances for the Aggies. As for the Wolf Pack, they too had an easy time of it last weekend, dismantling the University of Idaho in a 49-14 romp on the road. It was the second straight game and the third time this season that Nevada had managed to ring up 49 points against an opponent, the other two being Grambling State and local foe UNLV. Nevada claimed last year's 40-38 decision on the road, giving the team four straight wins and 10 in 11 tries all-time versus the Aggies.

Marquell Colston gave the Aggies a legitimate running attack against the Braves, racing for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the lopsided decision. Quarterback Chase Holbrook was an efficient 20-of-25 for 270 yards and two scores before giving way to backup J.J. McDermott who converted another 6-of-9 for 81 yards. Wideout Chris Williams, in addition to his six catches for 128 yards and a score, also returned a punt 83 yards for a TD in the onslaught. The passing attack is a given for the Aggies pretty much every weekend, considering the squad ranks first in the WAC and eighth in the nation with an average of 321.8 ypg. However, even after producing so successfully on the ground against Alcorn State, the squad is still putting up a mere 104.8 ypg rushing, which is last in the conference and 104th in the country this week. Despite being help in check by Nebraska in the opener, Holbrook now has 10 TD passes this season, against five interceptions.

All one needs to know about the NMSU defense is that it held Alcorn State to 0-of-11 on third down and sacked the opposing quarterback six times for a loss of 47 yards. Put that all together and it is easy to see how the Aggies limited the opposition to just 195 yards of total offense. Jamar Cotton stepped up big for New Mexico State with his two tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one recovery and a pair of pass breakups and quarterback hurries. One would think that holding the Braves to minus-13 yards rushing on 24 attempts would certainly be a big boost to the team's overall run defense after four games, but that just doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, the effort was so poor in the first three games of the season that the unit is now just 113th in the country in that department with 222.8 ypg allowed. Ranking seventh in the conference and tied for 103rd in the nation in turnover margin (minus-1.0) doesn't do much for the group either these days.

The rushing attack for the Wolf Pack was back up and running on Saturday afternoon as the team posted 264 yards and five touchdowns in the 35-point win over Idaho on the road. Vai Taua posted three of the team's rushing scores and quarterback Colin Kaepernick added one on the ground and two through the air as he missed on just five of his 24 pass attempts, leading to 243 yards. The team as a whole posted 264 yards rushing, while Marko Mitchell led the way through the air with his six catches for 121 yards and a score. Taua, who is now averaging five and a half yards per carry, is second on the team in total rushing yards and trails only Kaepernick in terms of rushing scores with his six. Thanks to his team-best 511 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, Kaepernick has turned the pistol offense into a monster that can strike in any number of ways. In fact, the squad is now ranked first in the WAC and fourth in the country in rushing with 308 ypg and is seventh in total offense with an astounding 521.2 ypg.

Out to a 28-0 lead in the third quarter, the Wolf Pack never really felt threatened by Idaho on Saturday, allowing just two insignificant touchdowns in the second half. Because the home team trailed by so much so early, the Vandals could not afford to keep forcing the ball on the ground, which is one of the reasons why the program was left with a mere 24 yards on 28 attempts once the smoke cleared. Nevada defenders took down the two Idaho signal- callers a total of four times for a loss of 38 yards, which contributed heavily to the team's lackluster rushing total. Sacks have been a specialty for the Pack so far this season, with the team placing second in the conference and 16th nationally with 2.6 sacks per game. Tackles for loss also earn the unit kudos because it is picking up better than eight per game thus far, which is tops in the league and ninth in the country. Thanks to an aggressive attack at the line of scrimmage, Nevada is now first in the WAC and seventh in the nation in run defense as well with 67.8 ypg allowed.

The run defense of the Pack will matter little in this meeting, but the pressure brought by the ends and the linebackers will be there to throw Holbrook off his game and into the loss column yet again.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Nevada 41, New Mexico State 30

Saturday, October 11th, 4:05 p.m. (et).