New Mexico takes air out of ball; Rebels defense goes on alert

Given New Mexico's rushing ability and UNLV's difficulty stopping the run, Lobos coach Bob Davie was asked whether his team should even attempt a pass today.

"We'll probably need a pretty good reason to try and throw it," he replied, outlining a few situations in which going to the air against the Rebels might be necessary.

The point, though, is that no one has to guess what UNLV must do in the 1 p.m. game at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"I feel like we've got to stop the run," junior linebacker Tim Hasson said. "That's big, stopping the run, and making them open up the playbook. I feel if we don't stop the run, they don't have to have a big playbook."

New Mexico averages 302.7 yards rushing per game. The Rebels are allowing 213.3 yards on the ground, with three opponents clearing 300.

Stopping the Lobos' Kasey Carrier, who has 1,104 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 6.5-yard per-carry average, will be a big challenge, but not the only one. Expected starting quarterback Cole Gautsche is New Mexico's No. 2 rusher, with 463 yards, five touchdowns and an astounding 8.4 average.

New Mexico averages 12.2 pass attempts, and attempted only three during a 35-14 win over Texas State on Oct. 6. The Lobos attempted one pass in the second half of a 32-29 loss to Boise State on Sept. 29.

Davie has successfully implemented a triple option offense in his first season as the Lobos' coach. But UNLV's lone victory was against Air Force, a running team that perhaps has perfected the triple option.

Rebels coach Bobby Hauck, however, said New Mexico's offense reminds him more of the zone read UNR runs. UNLV's defense had some first-half success against the Wolf Pack, but fell apart in the final 30 minutes of the Rebels' 42-37 loss.

If little doubt exists about New Mexico's offensive attack, much the same can be said about UNLV. The Rebels have tried to be balanced all season, and probably will again against a Lobos defense that gives up 5 yards rushing per carry and 272.2 yards passing per game.

UNLV junior Tim Cornett needs only 65 yards rushing to reach 1,000 for the season, and the opportunity exists for Nick Sherry to reach, if not eclipse, his 222.3-yard passing average.

The Rebels (1-8, 1-3 Mountain West Conference) are 3½-point favorites against New Mexico (4-5, 1-3) as they begin a season-ending stretch of four beatable opponents. UNLV, favored for only the fifth time in three years (three times against the Lobos), has lost three times after leading in the fourth quarter.

"We know our record right now is pretty bad," Hasson said. "Just looking back on our record, it's just negativity that kind of brings us down as a team. By looking forward to these last four games, which we all believe are winnable, it gives us some hope."

In the end, no matter how the Rebels get it done, it's important they win today to perhaps ignite a season-ending streak.

"We've been really competitive. We just have to find ways to win games," Hauck said. "We've got an inability to do that right now, so we need to shove it over the top.

"Obviously, there are four big conference games for us, and we want to have good performances. We've had good performances, but in terms of finishing it and getting Ws, that's what we want to do."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.