Week 13: UNLV at New Mexico

If any two teams in the Mountain West are right where they're supposed to be in the standings, it's UNLV and New Mexico.

The Rebels thought they were headed somewhere after opening conference play with a shocking shutout of Utah, but they have not followed that up with anything positive. The Lobos are where they always are, in the top half of the league, but nowhere close to contending for a championship.

UNM is on the verge of an 8-4 record, an improvement over last year's 6-7 mark that included a loss to San Jose State in the hometown New Mexico Bowl. That's the funny thing about this season: The Lobos are still jockeying for one of the league's four bowl slots, with five teams likely to have seven or more wins. And the conference's rules will not allow them to play in the New Mexico Bowl again until 2009.

They could have solidified their postseason credentials last weekend, but their offense played poorly in a 28-10 loss at Utah. The Lobos' only touchdown came on an 11-yard drive following an interception and they finished with 279 total yards.

UNM should do better against a UNLV defense that gave up 377 total yards to TCU. The Lobos' defense did play decently at Utah, allowing 310 total yards, and should not have much problem with a UNLV offense that gained only 247 yards at TCU.

One thing about the Rebels, they risen up and competed in the last game of each of coach Mike Sanford's two seasons. They almost upset bowl-bound Colorado State in 2005 and knocked off Air Force last year. But those games were at home, and UNLV has been lousy on the road.

The Lobos are tough at home, and they have a lot to play for this week.

New Mexico by 15