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FACTS & STATS: Site: Sam Boyd Stadium (41,800) -- Las Vegas, Nevada. Television: The Mtn. Home Record: Hawaii 1-0, UNLV 1-1. Away Record: Hawaii 1-0, UNLV 0-0. Neutral Record: Hawaii 0-0, UNLV 0-0. Conference Record: Hawaii 0-0, UNLV 0-0. Series Record: Hawaii leads, 12-6.

GAME NOTES: Back on the mainland this weekend, the Hawaii Warriors shoot for their third win in as many tries to kick off the 2009 campaign as they challenge the UNLV Rebels in non-conference action at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Hawaii came out of the gate rather weak, barely getting by Central Arkansas at home in the opener, 25-20, but then the team woke up and posted a 38-20 victory versus Washington State in Seattle last weekend. The victory over the Cougars really shouldn't have even been as close as it was, given that the Warriors led by a commanding 35-0 score early in the second quarter and 35-6 at the break.

As for the Rebels, they smothered the Sacramento State Hornets in the first game of the season with a 38-3 romp, but the team then surrendered a winnable outing against Oregon State last Saturday in a 23-21 setback at home. After this bout the Rebels hit the road for two tough games, first being the Mountain West Conference opener against Wyoming and then the annual battle for the Fremont Cannon at Nevada the first weekend of October.

Hawaii posted a convincing 49-14 win two seasons ago to take a 12-6 lead in the series with UNLV.

Greg Alexander threw three touchdown passes within the first 19 minutes of action against Washington State, finishing 26-of-36 for 453 yards as the Warriors cruised past the Cougars. Alex Green and Leon Wright-Jackson provided some much-needed punch with the running game as each player hit the end zone once. Because of their efforts, Hawaii averaged almost five and a half yards per carry in the contest. Through the first two games, the Warriors have shown that they are fast starters, scoring a combined 44 points in the first half, but after that the action slows down and the squad has tallied just 19 points. That lack of sustained effort will come back to haunt the Warriors when they face off against the stronger teams in the WAC, so they had better pick up the pace now in order to avoid such pitfalls. Alexander, who was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week, has converted better than 69 percent of his pass attempts for 757 yards and six touchdowns, against just one interception, while receiver Greg Salas is first in the nation with an average of 187.5 receiving ypg.

Even though Hawaii had such a huge lead over the Cougars early in the second quarter, giving up 20 unanswered points tells the story of a defense that had a letdown. Forget that Hawaii generated a hefty 626 yards of total offense on 14 fewer offensive plays and just focus on the fact that Washington State was able to post 176 yards on the ground and average better than five yards per snap, something that the Warriors need to clean up if they hope to perform well down the stretch this season. Corey Paredes and Mana Silva had outstanding games for the squad, the former posting a sack and two forced fumbles, the latter grabbing two interceptions. Paredes, the WAC Defensive Player of the Week, has made a huge impact for the defense in the early going, registering a pair of sacks and three forced fumbles already. Showing strong pass defense along with Silva is Spencer Smith who has one pick and leads the team with five passes defended already.

The UNLV offense slept through the first half of action against the Beavers on Saturday and it wasn't until the third quarter that the team actually put points on the board when Omar Clayton hooked up with Rodelin Anthony for an 18-yard TD strike. However, Clayton exited the game with an injury, which brought in backup Mike Clausen who converted 6-of-9 passes for 58 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the setback. Ryan Wolfe, who is already all over the record books for the Rebels, added to his totals with nine catches for 91 yards. Wolfe now has 223 receptions in his career, putting him in a tie for fourth place in Mountain West Conference history with Colorado State's David Anderson. Wolfe needs just 40 more receptions to become the top receiver in MWC history. However, the problem at this point is knowing who his quarterback is going to be after both Clausen and Clayton shared time under center in the first two games of the season.

After the UNLV offense woke up and made some moves, it was up to the Rebel defense to earn the win for the team, but it just wasn't meant to be. Ahead by just a single point following the 10-yard TD pass from Clausen to Phillip Payne, the Rebels allowed Oregon State to march 64 yards on 12 plays, eating up more than four minutes in the closing moments, and watched as Justin Kahut knocked through the game-winning field goal with just seven seconds remaining in regulation. Starr Fuimaono tried to hold it together for the group with a game-high 12 tackles, but it wasn't meant to be. In order for the Rebels to win close games like they had against OSU the defense needs to make some statement plays, force turnovers and change momentum. After two games the unit has just one takeaway, an interception by Malo Taumua, but at least the offense has not given the ball right back to the opposition. Because of that, the team's turnover margin is not that bad at the moment (minus-0.5 per game) but that could be a cause for concern moving forward.

Right now pass defense doesn't appear to be the strong suit for the Rebels, which is reason enough to think that Alexander and Salas will be able to carve up the secondary to their liking this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Hawaii 37, UNLV 20