FACTS & STATS: Site: Qualcomm Stadium (54,000) -- San Diego, California. Television: CBS College Sports. Home Record: UNLV 4-3, SDSU 1-4. Away Record: UNLV 1-3, SDSU 0-6. Neutral Record: UNLV 0-0, SDSU 0-0. Conference Record: UNLV 2-5, SDSU 0-7. Series Record: San Diego State leads, 10-7.

GAME NOTES: Still with an opportunity to become bowl eligible, the UNLV Rebels hit the road this weekend to face the disappointing San Diego State Aztecs in a Mountain West Conference showdown at Qualcomm Stadium. UNLV looked to be dead after losing five in a row, but the squad bounced back with a 27-20 win over New Mexico and then stopped Wyoming on November 13th by a score of 22-14. The victory over the Cowboys moved UNLV to 5-6 on the campaign and 2-5 in league play, leaving the Rebels with a glimmer of hope when it comes to the postseason. As for the Aztecs, their postseason aspirations were dashed long ago, losing three straight to start the campaign and now riding a seven-game slide. Since defeating Idaho at home back on September 27th, SDSU has known nothing but defeat, the most recent of those being a lopsided 63-14 setback versus eighth-ranked Utah at home last week. At 0-7 against the rest of the Mountain West, San Diego State is the only program without a league win to this point. Last year, UNLV was dealt a 38-30 setback by the Aztecs, giving SDSU a 10-7 advantage in the all-time series.

Mike Clausen completed 16-of-30 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown and Frank Summers ran for 75 yards and another scores, efforts that combined proved to be enough for the Rebels as they made their way past Wyoming last week. It also didn't hurt that kicker Kyle Watson booted three field goals in the first half either. For his efforts, the transfer from Texas Southern earned himself MWC Special Teams Player of the Week honors on Monday. With starting quarterback Omar Clayton having suffered a torn right MCL a few weeks back, Clausen is going to have to be the one to give the Rebels their chance at the postseason. However, now working against Clausen and the Rebels is the fact that receiver Phillip Payne may not be available either with a concussion. Third on the team in receptions with 29, Payne is first with his seven TD catches, one fewer than Ryan Wolfe and Casey Flair combined. Expect to see Summers get many more chances to carry the ball though, especially since SDSU is so poor against the run.

While Watson was getting the job done for the offense, the defense of the Rebels kept the Cowboys on their toes, allowing just a pair of passing touchdowns from Chris Stutzriem. Other than those two efforts, Wyoming was never really a threat, even as the visitors produced 151 yards rushing on 33 attempts. Perhaps the most important part of the game for the UNLV defense was that it was on the field for less than 21 minutes, thanks to holding the Pokes to 2-of-9 on third down plays. Aside from the last two games and the season- opening win over Utah State, the defense for the Rebels has been anything but strong. After 11 games the team is ranked 115th at stopping the run (224.1 ypg allowed) and 103rd in total defense (418.1 ypg). The biggest problem for this group is that it simply cannot get enough pressure at the line of scrimmage. The program ranks eighth in the Mountain West in both tackles for loss (4.36) and sacks (1.0) per game, numbers that have the Rebels ranking 107th and 108th in the nation, respectively.

On Monday, New Mexico head coach Rocky Long decided to step down from his position and with how the Aztecs have played this season, he might not be the only Long to do so. SDSU head coach Chuck Long has to be wondering where he went wrong with his team, especially after last week's ugly outing against Utah. Sure, the Utes are one of the better teams in the nation, but to allow 63 points and score just 14 is just unreal. Quarterback Ryan Lindley threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns in the meeting, but only two of those scores were to his own players. The other two TDs went to Utah's Deshawn Richard in a span of just 70 seconds in the fourth quarter as he intercepted passes and returned them for a total of 127 yards. Lindley has now thrown for 2,266 yards and 14 touchdowns which is decent, but it is the lack of a running game that continues to hurt this group. Entering play this week the Aztecs are last in the conference and 117th in the nation with a mere 71.5 ypg on the ground and considering running back Atiyyah Henderson totaled close to 300 yards in just two games this season it really is dreadful to watch.

Having a poor run defense is one thing, as it surrendered 198 yards and a pair of touchdowns to the Utes last time out, but to permit Utah's quarterback to throw five touchdowns all in the first half is something else altogether. Utah signal-caller Brian Johnson picked apart the San Diego State secondary for 283 yards and made a relatively quick exit once the outcome had been decided. SDSU's Jose Perez did come up with an interception, but that was pretty much the only mistake the Utes made the entire game. Getting back to the run defense for the Aztecs, there are still ranked dead last in all of college football with an incredible 267 ypg allowed on the ground, a rather embarrassing number considering league foe TCU is first in the nation with just 39.5 ypg allowed. Since opponents have found it so easy to move the ball on the ground, there hasn't been much call to attack the Aztecs through the air, aside from Utah's efforts, which is why the unit is permitting just 203.9 ypg by way of the pass.

The Aztecs have had some weak teams in the past, but the 2008 version has to be the worst in recent memory. With so much on the line the Rebels can not afford to let this opportunity slip away, so expect to see Summers quite a bit for the visitors as they shoot for postseason consideration.