Break out the banners. Pack the celebratory cigars.
It's Lobos and Aggies - an interstate battle between the University's football program and its brotherly counterpart in the heart of the south.
It's safe to say, as ESPN columnist Bill Simmons once pointed out, there is a difference between a rivalry and a feud.
What was once a rivalry has surely digressed into a feud, with UNM winning five straight games against NMSU.
UNM wide receiver Chris Hernandez compared the rivalry to his high school days when Mayfield would play Las Cruces.
"It's two teams that don't like each other and don't get along," he said. "You're basically going to put (UNM and NMSU) in a cage for 60 minutes, and the better team will come out on top. It's going to be a dogfight."
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The Lobos will be without starting quarterback Donovan Porterie, who suffered a season-ending injury against Tulsa last week.
Redshirt freshman Brad Gruner will make his first collegiate start in Porterie's place.
And he said there's no better way to start than against the Aggies.
"They look very good," Gruner told GoLobos.com. "They are a very good football team. We have to come ready to play, and I have to be ready at all times."
NMSU comes in with a 1-1 record after an impressive 34-33 win over UTEP in El Paso.
NMSU's quarterback Chase Holbrook tossed for 329 yards and five touchdowns in that game.
Gruner, however, has had success getting the ball deep.
Against TCU, Gruner hit Hernandez for an 81-yard gain, and last week against Tulsa, he hooked up again with Hernandez for 39 yards.
But Gruner's inexperience might persuade Aggies' defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn to stack the line of scrimmage and dare Gruner to throw.
Hernandez said he prays that's the case.
"I hope they will (stack the line)," he said. "(Gruner's) not just going to lay down for them. He's going to go out there and make plays."
Last week, Gruner found wide receiver Bryant Williams for a 21-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown by a Lobo receiver this season.
Since touchdowns are rare for UNM's receiving corps, Hernandez said he'd be happy to get his first career score against the Aggies.
And if he is to measure up to some of his predecessors, he said he needs to break the goal line.
"It's about putting points up," he said. "Obviously, the year before (I got here) Hank (Baskett) was here. And I know he was a great receiver. Marcus (Smith) and Travis (Brown) - they followed in his footsteps. That's what I'm trying to do is follow in their footsteps."
