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FACTS & STATS: Site: University Stadium (39,224) -- Albuquerque, New Mexico. Television: The Mtn. Home Record: NMSU 1-2, UNM 0-2. Away Record: NMSU 0-0, UNM 0-1. Neutral Record: NMSU 0-0, UNM 0-0. Conference Record: NMSU 0-1, UNM 0-1. Series Record: New Mexico leads, 66-28-5.

GAME NOTES: The Rio Grande Rivalry celebrates its 100th game this weekend, as the New Mexico State Aggies drop in on the New Mexico Lobos at University Stadium in Albuquerque.

Started in 1894 and played every year since 1946, this association stands as one of the longest running series in NCAA football. For the Lobos, it gives them another shot to break into the win column this season, now off to an 0-3 start for the first time since 2000. New Mexico, which dropped the Mountain West Conference opener to Air Force last weekend by a final of 37-13, is trying to avoid its first 0-4 start since 1994 when the program dropped five in a row to begin the campaign.

As for the Aggies, they too already have a Western Athletic Conference loss on the season after opening with a 21-6 setback to Idaho. The team has been at home in Las Cruces for the first three games of the year and will now be playing three of the next four on the road. Last week, NMSU was turned away by UTEP in a 38-12 decision, a week after picking up an uneventful 21-18 win against Prairie View A&M.

New Mexico captured a 35-24 win in last year's meeting, which means the team now owns a commanding 66-28-5 mark over the Aggies. This contest is pitting a pair of first-time coaches against each other, the first time that has happened since 1983. For the Lobos, the new leader on the sideline is Mike Locksley, while NMSU has DeWayne Walker calling the plays this time around.

New Mexico State's offense was nowhere to be found for the first three quarters of the meeting with UTEP on Saturday, instead coming up with 12 inconsequential points in the final frame of the 26-point loss at home. Starting quarterback Jeff Fleming converted 6-of-13 passes for just 74 yards and had two tosses intercepted, while Trevor Walls hit 4-of-10 for a mere 23 yards, but at least he managed to get the team into the end zone. From a rushing standpoint, Seth Smith handled the ball 13 times for a team-best 99 yards. Through three games Smith now has a team-high 266 yards and an average of almost six and a half yards per attempt, the only problem is he has yet to make it into the end zone. Fleming, who is averaging less than two yards per carry, is tied for the team lead with two scores. Unfortunately, Fleming hasn't been as productive throwing the ball yet, failing to put a pass into the end zone while tossing four interceptions. At the moment the Aggies rank last in the WAC and 114th nationally with a mere 131.7 ypg passing.

Upon first glance, the run defense of the Aggies didn't get completely dominated by the Miners over the weekend, giving up 156 yards on 34 attempts, but in the final analysis NMSU gave up significant yards at the wrong time, leading to five rushing touchdowns for the visitors. If not for the end of the first half, New Mexico State would have been on the hook for allowing five straight scores between the second and fourth quarters to the visitors. Ross Conner tried to keep NMSU in contention with his game-high 11 tackles, while Pierre Fils tallied 1.5 sacks along the way in the setback. Ross tops the list for total tackles thus far with 28 stops, yet the charts show that just five of those were unassisted. The squad has struggled to make an impact in the backfield of opponents, generating a mere three tackles for loss per game to rank second-to-last in the conference and 116th in the country entering play this week. The unit has had trouble forcing turnovers to this point, logging just one fumble recovery and a couple of interceptions, but don't blame that on Stephon Hatchett because he has one of each.

Even though the Lobos have increased their scoring output over the first three games of the season, there is still very little light at the end of the tunnel for the team. Against Air Force the squad recorded only 10 first downs and 102 yards passing. Even more telling was the fact that the Lobos were able to take just 52 snaps and controlled the ball for less than two minutes in the final quarter. Running back James Wright tried to keep the team moving in the right direction with five carries for 126 yards, including an 84-yard effort, leading to one of his two touchdowns. Unfortunately, the combination of B.R. Holbrook and Donovan Porterie at quarterback resulted in three interceptions and four sacks. The offense for the Lobos has been simply brutal to this point, ranking last in the MWC and 118th in the nation with an average of just 230.7 ypg. Certainly a concern that must be addressed is that of allowing far too many sacks. The offensive line has been a turnstile while giving up 4.7 sacks per game to rank 118th in the nation this week. Turnovers are also killing UNM as the team averages a minus-2.67 miscues per game ranking them, you guessed it, 118th in the country.

Like most teams that go up against the Falcons on a weekly basis, New Mexico had no answer for how to stop the punishing running attack that grinds out yards and kills time on the clock for Air Force. Knocking quarterback Tim Jefferson out of action with an ankle injury was one way to try and make a dent in the academy offense, but it made little difference in the end. Carmen Messina, who recorded a game-high 19 tackles and posted a forced fumble in the contest, paced three double-digit tacklers for the Lobos in the loss. Also having a strong outing was Kendall Briscoe with his eight tackles, one TFL, one fumble recovery and a blocked kick. Because of Messina's efforts last week, he is now averaging 14 tackles per contest and not only is that tops in the Mountain West, it is also tied for first in the country this week as well. Last season the linebacker, who played in every game for the Lobos, finished with a total of 35 stops, so already he has gone far beyond his previous production. Giving up almost 490 ypg has made it easy for opponents to average close to 41 ppg, the latter number ranking UNM last in the conference and 113th in the nation.

In previous seasons this would have been a huge game for these programs, and while it still is, it has lost some of its luster because the talent is just not there for either team right now. The Lobos should have the advantage at the quarterback position, but that might not be good enough to get the home team into the win column.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: New Mexico State 23, New Mexico 14