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FACTS & STATS: Site: War Memorial Stadium (33,500) -- Laramie, Wyoming. Television: None. Home Record: UNLV 2-1, Wyoming 1-1. Away Record: UNLV 0-0, Wyoming 0-1. Neutral Record: UNLV 0-0, Wyoming 0-0. Conference Record: UNLV 0-0, Wyoming 0-0. Series Record: UNLV leads, 9-8.

GAME NOTES: Losers of two straight, the Wyoming Cowboys try to get back into the win column this weekend as they kick off their Mountain West Conference schedule against the UNLV Rebels at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.

Wyoming started off the 2009 campaign on the right foot for new head coach Dave Christensen with a 29-22 triumph over Weber State at home, but after that the team suffered back-to-back losses against a couple of Big 12 Conference opponents. First it was a 41-10 setback to nationally-ranked Texas in Laramie, and then last weekend the team made the trip to Boulder, only to be routed by the Colorado Buffaloes in a 24-0 shutout.

As for the Rebels, they've been trapped in a couple of nail-biters the last few weeks after opening with a 38-3 thrashing of Sacramento State. First there was the 23-21 setback to Oregon State in the final moments and then last Saturday night saw the team pick up a 34-33 victory against visiting Hawaii at Sam Boyd Stadium. The two wins in the first three games means the Rebels have already tied their win total for each year between 2005-2007 and could be well on the way to surpassing last year's 5-7 mark should things fall into place.

The Rebels posted a 22-14 win in last year's contest, giving UNLV a slim 9-8 advantage in the all-time series. The victory for the Rebels snapped a four- game win streak for the Cowboys in the series as well.

UNLV scored single touchdowns in each of the first three quarters last Saturday, but then came up with 13 points in the fourth frame to capture the one-point win over the visiting Warriors. More specifically, Omar Clayton hit Phillip Payne with a 15-yard TD strike with just 36 seconds to play to give UNLV the triumph. Clayton, who was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, converted 28-of-43 passes for a career-high 340 yards and three touchdowns, but was also picked off twice in the event. Payne was responsible for eight catches, leading to 94 yards and two TDs, while Ryan Wolfe reeled in nine balls for 130 yards. With just under eight catches per game in the early going Wolfe, who is a candidate for all-America honors, paces the program with his 288 yards, yet he has not found his way into the end zone to this point. Payne, on the other hand, has taken three of his 18 catches in for scores, which means the Rebels have two receivers that opponents have to worry about. Running back Channing Trotter broken into the new season with 102 yards and three touchdowns versus the Hornets, but the last two games have seen him register just 103 yards and no scores.

The UNLV defense limited Hawaii to a mere 28 yards rushing on 15 attempts, but before anyone gets too excited about that stat they have to remember that the Warriors are one of the weakest running teams in the nation and have been for several seasons. Where the Rebels have to have some concern is in the secondary because they permitted UH's Greg Alexander to throw for a career- best 477 yards and three scores. Senior linebacker Jason Beauchamp tried to slow down the aerial attack by logging 1.5 sacks and another tackle for loss in the contest. While it has only been three games, the pass defense has to be a concern for coach Sanford and his staff because at the moment the unit is ranked eighth in the MWC and 99th nationally with an average of 258 ypg allowed. Another disturbing stat is the one that shows UNLV without a single fumble recovery. Add to that a mere two interceptions and the defense is clearly not making enough impact plays to put the Rebels into the win column on a consistent basis.

Very little went right for the Wyoming offense last Saturday, especially starting quarterback Robert Benjamin who quickly found himself on the bench and just another spectator to the shutout loss to Colorado. Benjamin completed just one of his four passes for a mere two yards, prompting coach Christensen to replace him with Austyn Carta-Samuels, who finished the outing a modest 11- of-24 for 125 yards. Just 4-of-18 on third-down attempts, the Pokes couldn't get their running game moving either as Carta-Samuels finished as the top ground gainer with his 36 yards on nine attempts. The scoring offense has gotten progressively worse for the Cowboys in the first three games of the season and now the team is eighth in the conference and 111th in the nation with just 13 ppg. The issue at quarterback won't make things any easier as the staff tries to figure out which signal-caller gives them the best chance to win. Last season it was much the same story, only now former starter Karsten Sween has been demoted to the third team. While the quarterbacks for this squad have yet to throw an interception, they have not yet tossed a touchdown pass either.

The pass defense for the Cowboys did a fine job keeping Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins under wraps, allowing the son of the coach to hit on 17-of-31 for just 175 yards. The real concern, however, came with Rodney Stewart who carried the ball 32 times and finished with a game-high 127 yards and two touchdowns. Because of all the time they spent on the field, four Cowboys registered at least 10 tackles, with Brian Hendricks heading the list with his 18 stops, adding one tackle for loss and a fumble recovery to his stat line. Hendricks has been a beast in the early going, already with 39 tackles to rank second in the Mountain West and tied for fourth in the country with an average of 13 stops per outing. As is the case with UNLV, the Pokes have also had trouble slowing down passing attacks of the opposition and now rank 110th in the country and ninth in the Mountain West with 283.3 ypg permitted to this point. The run defense might appear to be a bit stronger, but that's only because Weber State gained just 89 yards and failed to get into the end zone in the opener. The last two contests show a run defense that has allowed five rushing touchdowns and more than 170 ypg.

With solid quarterback play and a couple of outstanding receivers, the Rebels are in the perfect position to earn their third win in four tries as they take to the road for the first time this season.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: UNLV 21, Wyoming 10