Gameday Guide: USU at New Mexico

Utah State (4-5, 2-3) will travel to Albuquerque to play New Mexico (3-5, 1-4) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

<h3>WHAT IS ON THE LINE?</h3>

Utah State needs to win two of its last three games to become bowl eligible. A win in Albuquerque Saturday would be a good step toward that goal.

“We have to find a way to win this and get us back to even, three wins in the league and another step closer to bowl eligibility,” head coach Matt Wells said. “It’s a brand new day and a brand new week.”

But New Mexico is fighting for the same thing, and for the Lobos, circumstances are a little more dire. UNM will need to win three of its final four games to make the cut. After USU it will be a road game against the SEC’s Texas A&amp;M, then it’s at home against UNLV before finishing with a road trip to San Diego State.

<h3>HOW TO WATCH &amp; LISTEN</h3>

The game will be broadcast on AT&amp;T SportsNet. For Comcast customers in Utah, that is channel 52 or 693HD. For DISH subscribers it is channel 414 and on DirecTV it is channel 683.

The “KVNU Gameday” pregame show with Al Lewis and Craig Hislop will begin at 1:30 p.m. Tune in at 610 AM and 102.1 FM, listen online at kvnutalk.com or on the KVNU mobile app. Radio coverage on KVNU will continue with “Aggie Call” once the game concludes.

<h3>THE LOBOS</h3>

New Mexico has played teams like Colorado State and Boise State close, but victories have only come against three teams: Abilene Christian, Tulsa and Air Force. The Lobos are currently on a three-game losing streak after getting beat by Fresno State, Colorado State and Wyoming.

Offensively, New Mexico runs the option, and so far that has meant a lot of rushing yards. The Lobos rank third in the conference in rushing with 234.5 yards per game. It’s passing, however, is second-to-last with barely more than 150 per game.

The Lobo defense allows 371.8 yards and 28.8 points per game. Most of that is through the air. One thing New Mexico does particularly well, according to Wells, is kick and punt the ball.

“Coach (Mark) Tommerdahl thinks the punter and the kicker combo may be as good as we’ve seen all year,” he said. “This guy is going to kick it halfway to Santa Fe when we’re playing. Both of them together is a good combo.”

<h3>THIS WEEK’S MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE</h3><h4>Saturday, Nov. 4</h4>

Army at Air Force 1:30 p.m. MT

Utah State at New Mexico 3:30 p.m. MT

Hawai’i at UNLV 3 p.m. PT

Colorado State at Wyoming 5 p.m. MT

Nevada at Boise State 5 p.m. MT

San Diego State at San Jose State 7:30 p.m. PT

BYU at Fresno State 7:45 p.m. PT

<h5> </h5><table border=”0″><caption><strong>Mountain Division </strong></caption><tbody><tr><td> Boise State</td><td>4-0 </td><td>6-2 </td></tr><tr><td> Colorado State</td><td>4-1 </td><td>6-2 </td></tr><tr><td> Wyoming</td><td>3-1</td><td>5-3 </td></tr><tr><td> Air Force </td><td>3-2 </td><td>4-4 </td></tr><tr><td> Utah State </td><td>2-3 </td><td>3-5 </td></tr><tr><td> New Mexico</td><td>1-4 </td><td>3-5 </td></tr></tbody></table><h5> </h5><table border=”0″><caption><strong>West Division </strong></caption><tbody><tr><td>Fresno State</td><td>4-1</td><td>5-3 </td></tr><tr><td>San Diego State </td><td>3-2 </td><td>7-2 </td></tr><tr><td>UNLV </td><td>2-3 </td><td>3-5 </td></tr><tr><td>Nevada </td><td>1-3 </td><td>1-7 </td></tr><tr><td>Hawai’i </td><td>1-4 </td><td>3-5 </td></tr><tr><td>San Jose State </td><td>0-4 </td><td>1-8 </td></tr></tbody></table>

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