GAME NOTES: A battle for first place in the Western Athletic Conference takes the spotlight on Friday night, as the sixth-ranked Boise State Broncos host the surging Nevada Wolf Pack at Bronco Stadium.

Still in contention for a postseason invite to a coveted BCS Bowl Game the undefeated Broncos, who are a remarkable 61-2 at home since the start of the decade, are sixth in both the AP and BCS rankings this week. BSU last took the field a week ago in Logan, Utah and started off a bit slow before pummeling the Utah State Aggies in a 52-21 final.

Since defeating Tulsa by a close 28-21 score back in the middle of October, the Broncos have scored no less than 45 points in any one of the last five contests and now lead the nation in scoring at 44.4 ppg.

As for the Wolf Pack, a squad that actually lost the first three games of the season before going on a run that has generated eight consecutive victories, they too have been a wildly exciting offense to watch. Last weekend, Nevada scored over 60 points for the fourth times this season in a 63-20 rout of New Mexico State on the road in Las Cruces.

Since being shut out in the opener against Notre Dame (35-0), Nevada has been bullying opponents all over the field, thanks to a rushing attack that is not only first in the nation with 373.2 ypg, but also set an NCAA record by having three different players (Colin Kaepernick, Vai Taua and Luke Lippincott) all register at least 1,000 yards rushing on the season.

The Broncos have won 23 of the previous 35 meetings with the Wolf Pack, including a 41-34 final last season in Reno as BSU ran the table in the conference and the regular season. The last time the teams played on this field was two years ago when they battled in a 69-67 four-overtime affair that went to the Broncos.

"I'm going to look at it in a positive way," New Mexico State head coach DeWayne Walker said of his team's performance against Nevada last week. "We're probably going to throw this tape in the trash can and get ready for San Jose next week."

And why wouldn't he put this one in the dumpster, seeing as how his Aggies allowed Nevada to put up 28 points in the first quarter and then run away with the 43-point win. Chris Ault's bunch again ran circles around the competition as Lippincott (162 yards, two touchdowns), Taua (126 yards, one TD) and Kaepernick (114 yards, 2 TDs) registered a staggering 574 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

So potent was the ground attack, Kaepernick didn't really have to put the ball in the air, yet he did, and converted five passes into another 96 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, everything was going fine until the final period when NMSU put up a couple if insignificant TDs, the first on offense for the Aggies in 20 quarters. Honestly, it meant nothing because by the opening moments of the final frame Nevada had already tallied nine touchdowns and it was just a matter of getting out of Las Cruces without any injuries at that point.

Even though Boise State has been grabbing all of the headlines in the WAC this season, Nevada has been stealing some of them back in recent weeks with a number of awkward looking finals that are almost hard to believe. Nevertheless, this squad thrives on handling the ball and keeping opposing offenses off the field. Since giving up 45 points in a wild shootout versus Idaho last month, the Pack has permitted a total of 62 points in four games.

This season Kaepernick, the reigning WAC Offensive Player of the Year, has learned that he doesn't have to do it all for the Pack to come out on top. Handing the ball off to Taua (1,185 yards, nine touchdowns) and Lippincott (1,028 yards, nine TDs) is as good as he himself tucking the ball and moving it down the field, which has resulted in 1,129 yards and 16 TDs.

While Kaepernick might be the most dangerous option player in the league right now, the top passer continues to be Kellen Moore for the Broncos, even though he was limited to 233 yards and one score through the air in the win against Utah State. On that night head coach Chris Petersen decided it was time to put the ball into the hands of the backs and they responded with 323 yards and six touchdowns. Doug Martin especially took to the challenge as he gained 121 yards and scored four touchdowns on his way to being named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Defensively, there were some moments in the first half when it appeared as though the Broncos had not taken their A-game to Logan, but it all settled out perfectly for Boise State, even as it allowed 363 yards of total offense and a trio of touchdowns by USU running backs.

"I think we, after a while, kind of settled in and played good in all three phases for the most part," noted BSU head coach Chris Petersen in his weekly teleconference, so even he could see that the Broncos didn't have it all together in the first quarter or so.

In addition to being one of the most prolific offensive units in football again this season, the Broncos have managed to marry that aspect of the game with a tight defense that is currently ranked first in the league and 18th nationally in points allowed with just 17.3 ppg. It is one thing to have one unit hitting on all cylinders, but another to have a complete attack like Boise State possesses.

BSU is first in the nation in sacks allowed, allowing less than one-half sack per outing, but on the other side the Wolf Pack has guys like Kevin Basped and Dontay Moch who are going to explore their options and try to break in on Moore whenever he settles into the pocket. Should those guys ever get their hands on the Boise State QB it could change the entire feel for the event.

Because the Nevada offense tends to be so one-dimensional, assume that coach Petersen will prepare his defense accordingly and force Kaepernick into some awkward situations.