By Ryan Greene

Fri, Nov 21, 2008 (2:10 a.m.)

Each week during the 2008 season, the Sun will take an in-depth look at the Rebels' upcoming weekend foe, giving you a crash course on what you need to know, plus what you might not have known already.

A good, long look at ... San Diego State (Saturday, 5 p.m., PST, CBS College Sports)

The rep ... The Aztecs are in a true 'playing for pride' situation this weekend with the Rebels coming to town. While the Mountain West has bumped up its credibility on the national scene this season, San Diego State is its only team without a conference victory.

At the root of SDSU's 1-10 record is a defense that, to say the least, hasn't pulled its weight. The last time the Aztecs allowed fewer than 35 points in a game was in their lone win of the season -- a 45-17 victory over Idaho back on Sept. 27. Since then, it's been seven straight defeats, only one of which has seen them play an opponent to within 25 points.

In terms of numbers, the Aztecs rank 116th out of 119 FBS teams in total defense, allowing an average of 470.9 yards per game. Inside of that, they rank dead last in run defense, surrendering 267 yards per outing.

Offensively, the Aztecs are paced by freshman quarterback Ryan Lindley, who's kind of learned as he's gone along. He's thrown for 2,266 yards, nine touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He's aided by one of the league's most well-rounded receiving corps, headed by senior Darren Mougey.

San Diego State hasn't had a winning season since 1998, and hasn't finished a season with just one victory since 1960. Before this season, the program had never posted a 10-loss record.

Last week ... It was just another lopsided ho-hum story for the Aztecs, who were the latest victim of conference kingpin Utah. The Utes coasted to a 63-14 victory.

Utah quarterback Brian Johnson threw five touchdown passes -- all before halftime -- and the Utes pretty much stuck to the ground game after the break in an effort to escape Qualcomm Stadium sans injuries heading into their showdown with BYU this weekend.

In the fourth quarter, Utah's defense rubbed a little salt in the wound, as Deshawn Richard recorded pick-sixes from 89 and 38 yards out to make a bad outcome look even worse.

Lindley went 23-of-41 for 247 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to go with those two late interceptions. The Aztecs didn't have the luxury of establishing a ground game, as they played from behind for much of the afternoon.

Why San Diego State can beat UNLV ... Basically, pride will need to carry the Aztecs a long way for this to happen.

A couple of weeks ago it would have looked like San Diego State's passing game could have kept them afloat, but UNLV's defense is now playing with some added bounce in its step, forcing a slew of turnovers in victories over New Mexico and Wyoming.

The Aztecs also probably won't have the support of a raucous home crowd in their corner. Their best hope might be to just pull out all the stops, have Lindley attempt 50-plus passes and see what sticks.

Defensively, SDSU will have to find a way to answer Frank Summers, who UNLV surely will give the ball to on multiple occasions. Plus, blitzing early on might not be the worst idea, either, as quarterback Mike Clausen has struggled at times in the first halves of his two starts in place of Omar Clayton. If pressure could result in turnovers, the Aztecs could have early opportunities to snatch up some momentum.

Why UNLV can beat San Diego State ... If the Rebels can carbon-copy their performance from last Thursday -- a 22-14 victory over Wyoming -- they should be in good shape to attain bowl eligibility. That showing was a carbon-copy of the 27-20 triumph over New Mexico a week earlier.

The two things that factored into those wins were not turning the ball over on offense and forcing some momentum-changing plays on defense. Clausen's thrown three touchdown passes to zero interceptions in his first two shots as a starter. On defense, Quinton Pointer two weeks ago made a pick deep in UNLV territory against New Mexico with the Rebels trailing 14-3 that may have saved the season. Last week, Geoffery Howard and Daryl Forte tipped passes that were ultimately intercepted. Those both helped stem Wyoming comeback efforts.

The one thing UNLV may consider changing this week is how much Frank Summers gets the ball in his hands. The senior getting 30 touches against such a porous run defense isn't out of the question. He had 186 yards on 27 carries last season against SDSU.

He's averaged 17.6 touches per game this season.

The infirmary report ... It's not something most coaches will use as a crutch or an excuse, but the Aztecs have seen injuries pile up like few FBS teams this season. The most recent loss was freshman defensive end J.J. Autele for the season to a torn ACL three weeks ago. Also, sophomore tailback Brandon Sullivan hasn't played since Nov. 1 with a turf toe injury.

A name that could creep up for the Aztecs ... One particular piece of San Diego State's receiving corps that UNLV coach Mike Sanford is more familiar with than any other is junior Roberto Wallace. The 6-foot-4 target has 29 grabs for 372 yards and one score this season. Sanford actually was recruiting Wallace to Utah before taking the job with the Rebels. While Mougey and sophomore Vincent Brown command plenty of attention on the perimeter, Wallace could be a key target for Lindley should he draw favorable matchups.

Be sure to log onto www.lasvegassun.com both leading up to, during and after Saturday's game in San Diego. You'll find ongoing numbers and analysis in our game day blog, plus postgame analysis, reactions from the Rebels, photos, video highlights and much more.

UNLV FOOTBALL NOTES

Payne, Clayton listed as questionable

Mike Sanford said following Wednesday's practice that Clayton (knee) and freshman wideout Phillip Payne (concussion) are both listed as questionable. Clayton didn't practice Wednesday and was in sweats, while Payne has taken limited reps this week in practices after suffering two concussions in a three-week span.

Season captains named

The Rebels, who select captains on a week-by-week basis, named their 2008 season captains prior to Saturday's regular season finale. The season captains are all seniors, and one is selected from offense, defense and special teams. The captains are receiver Casey Flair, defensive back Lorenzo Bursey Jr. and punter Dack Ishii.

Annual football awards banquet set

UNLV coach Mike Sanford is inviting fans to attend the annual UNLV Football Awards Banquet, which will take place Dec. 5.

This year's event will take place inside the new Student Union Ballroom on the UNLV campus.

The reception honoring the 2008 Rebels, including 16 seniors, will begin with a 6:30 p.m. reception, followed by dinner and awards presentations at 7 p.m. The awards will include MVPs for offense, defense and special teams.

Individual tickets are available for $50 each. Banquet sponsorships are available for $500 and include a table. You can also sponsor a player table for $400. Please RSVP by Dec. 1 by calling (702) 895-1533.