by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
There are many scenarios that could determine if the UNM football team will go to a bowl game this season.
All the Lobos can do is take care of business Saturday against UNLV at University Stadium and hope for the best.
"It's kind of a bad feeling, because we could have taken control of this into our own hands," UNM linebacker George Carter said. "We could have pretty much finished all this bowl stuff last week if we would have gotten a win."
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But after last week's 28-10 loss at Utah, the bowl possibilities became a lot more muddled for the Lobos.
UNM head coach Rocky Long said the Lobos could lose Saturday and get a bowl bid, or it can beat UNLV and not get invited - and neither scenario would be shocking.
With the way the college football season has played out across the board, the number of at-large bowl bids available will not be determined until this weekend.
"We're bowl-eligible right now," Long said. "If things work out, we don't have to win to go to a bowl game. If it works the other way and we win, we still might not go."
Whether UNM goes to a bowl, winning this weekend would mean the Lobos accomplished something few teams in school history have.
UNM is 7-4 on the season and would become the ninth team in the 109-year program history to win eight games. The last time the Lobos accomplished this was in 2003 when they finished 8-5.
As far as this week's contest, UNM is going up against a 2-9 UNLV squad, which hasn't won a game since Sept. 22 against Utah. The Runnin' Rebels have lost seven straight since then.
The Lobos have won three in a row against UNLV and five of the last six meetings.
However, tight end Chris Mark said UNM cannot take the Runnin' Rebels lightly.
"They're pretty hungry to win the last game, maybe get some momentum going into the offseason," he said.
There might be an eerie feeling for some UNM veterans heading into Saturday's season finale. Two years ago, the bowl-eligible Lobos lost the last game of the season at home against Air Force and then failed to get a bowl bid.
Mark said the players who remember that game want to make sure it doesn't happen again.
"We still have a bunch of the guys from that team," he said. "I think that's kind of in the back of their heads, like, 'We have to win this to go to a bowl game.'"
Saturday marks the final regular season game for the 21 seniors on the UNM roster and possibly the last game of their college careers.
Carter said the Lobos are trying to give the seniors a chance to extend their college careers.
"We have to get this done on Saturday in order to keep playing," he said. "I know a lot of the seniors - we want to play one more game. I just think there's kind of a sense of urgency around everybody."
Football vs. UNLV
Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
University Stadium
Fans who attend Saturday's UNLV game will receive a coupon for a free ticket to a UNM men's or women's basketball game in December. This excludes the men's basketball games against Texas Tech on Dec. 15 or NMSU on Dec. 19. Coupons will be distributed at University Stadium upon entering the game.
