FACTS & STATS: Site: Hughes Stadium (34,400) -- Fort Collins, Colorado. Television: The Mtn. Home Record: UNM 3-3, CSU 3-2. Away Record: UNM 1-4, CSU 1-3. Neutral Record: UNM 0-0, CSU 0-1. Conference Record: UNM 2-5, CSU 2-4. Series Record: Colorado State leads, 31-23.

GAME NOTES: The 2008 season draws to a close for the New Mexico Lobos this weekend as the squad suits up against Mountain West Conference foe Colorado State at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins. The Lobos have lost any chance of taking part in the postseason with three straight setbacks and losses in four of the last five games overall. Last Saturday, the team was downed by UNLV on the road in Las Vegas by a score of 27-20, leaving the Lobos with a 2-5 mark in conference. This is the first time in seven years that UNM is not eligible for a bowl and cannot finish at least .500 in league play. As for the Rams, they need to win this game and their regular-season finale versus Wyoming just to become bowl eligible in a league that already has four programs getting ready for the postseason. CSU continues to make it hard on itself by dropping one game after another, as the team did last Saturday in a 38-17 setback versus Air Force. The loss was the second in a row and the fourth in five games for Colorado State. Last year, the Rams were taken out in a 26-23 decision, and yet Colorado State still leads the all-time series by a 31-23 mark.

UNM picked up rushing touchdowns by Bryant Williams and Rodney Ferguson in the first and second quarters on Saturday, but then the offense went cold for the Lobos in their seven-point loss to UNLV on the road. Thanks to 123 yards by Ferguson the team finished with 222 yards on the ground, but the combination of Brad Gruner and Michael Scarlett throwing the ball tallied just 148 yards and a pair of interceptions. Ferguson, who was expected to be one of the top running backs in the MWC this season, has now carried the ball 209 times for 1,020 yards and is tops on the list with 13 rushing scores for the Lobos. The team as a whole has been relying heavily on the running game, especially since starting quarterback Donovan Porterie went down with an injury. After 11 games New Mexico is averaging 213.1 ypg on the ground, third in the Mountain West and 15th in the nation this week.

The Lobos locked into the UNLV rushing offense, allowing a mere 55 yards on 32 attempts, but UNM permitted Mike Clausen far too much space as the signal- caller converted 17-of-24 passes for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns as regular starter Omar Clayton sat on the bench with an injury. The only sack against Clausen came courtesy of Herbert Felder who ended up with team highs of 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in the contest. Felder, who is fourth on the tackles list at UNM with 55 stops in his 11 starts, leads the program in both TFLs and sacks with 12.5 and 7.5, respectively. Zach Arnett is giving Felder a run for his money in the TFLs department with 11 but, more importantly, Arnett has been laying down heavy hits that have resulted in a team-best five forced fumbles. While the defense has been sketchy at times, New Mexico has to be proud of the fact that it is allowing only 23 ppg, fifth- best in the Mountain West this week.

Colorado State's offense went silent in the second half against the Falcons last weekend, looking extremely bleak in the fourth quarter when the squad controlled the ball for just 3:03 of the period. Quarterback Billy Farris threw for 251 yards and a touchdowns, but was also picked off twice, while Rashaun Greer reeled in a game-high seven passes for 145 yards, yet never made it into the end zone. Greer has been a huge highlight for the Rams this season, leading the team with his 52 catches for 924 yards, but the end result of all those grabs has not been as spectacular, with a mere two touchdowns at the end of those rainbows. Picking up where Greer leaves off are Dion Morton and Kory Sperry who have a combined 73 catches for 11 touchdowns from Farris. The signal-caller has completed 62.1 percent of his attempts for 220.5 ypg which is a huge part of the program being second in the MWC with 249.7 ypg passing these days. Unfortunately, it doesn't help when Farris is constantly under pressure and being taken down almost two and a half times per game.

Every Air Force opponent has found out what it means to be beaten down play after play by a strict running attack and Colorado State was no exception. The academy posted 284 yards and three touchdowns versus the Rams, but unlike most other games, the Falcons also brought out an above-average passing attack with 171 yards and two TDs on a mere six completions. Ricky Brewer tried to keep CSU close with his game-high 14 tackles but it simply was not enough as the Falcons ran away with the win in the second half. While the offensive line has had a tough time keeping opponents from getting into the backfield, the defense for the Rams has not nearly been as lucky. After 10 games Colorado State is ranked last in the Mountain West in both TFLs and sacks per game with averages of 4.1 and 0.8, respectively. On a national scale that means the Rams rank higher than just three other programs at the Football Bowl Subdivision level in both departments. That lack of pressure has resulted in opponents being allowed to score 33.2 ppg, which is seventh in the conference and 103rd in the nation at the moment.

Despite having nothing more than pride to play for at this point in the season, expect the New Mexico defense to step up for head coach Rocky Long and end the campaign on a positive note.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: New Mexico 24, Colorado State 14

Saturday, November 15th, 2:00 p.m. (et).