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The Rebel Room What Could Have Been and What Shall Be UNLV football kept things close with Boise State until it didn't, and now sports writers Case Keefer and Taylor Bern say eclipsing the 2.5 season win total very much relies on this week's game against a Hawaii team that just fired its coach. In basketball, Las Vegas Sun sports editor Ray Brewer tries to explain why he's so confident in this year's team and ends up just yelling about how a really good Utah State team isn't any good.

West Division leader San Diego State and Mountain Division co-leader Boise State are both off this week, and fellow Mountain co-leader Air Force is playing a nonconference game, so there’s not going to be any shakeup at the top this weekend.

Boise State and Air Force are tied with Utah State at 4-1 in league play, and the Aggies are in action at New Mexico. Maybe they won’t cover the 14-point spread, but they should certainly win, so Utah State will likely move a half-game ahead in the race for the Mountain’s top team.

Over in the West, the best thing that can happen, as far as entertainment value, is a UNR win tonight at Fresno State so that the Wolf Pack remain two games back of San Diego State with a game against the Aztecs still on the slate. Realistically, SDSU has that division all but sewn up, but I wouldn’t mind a setback that makes that race exciting.

Note: UNLV picks will appear in the live blog on the day of the game.

THURSDAY

UNR (minus-4) at Fresno State

7:30 p.m., ESPN2

• UNR (4-4, 2-2) was good in its first two road games this season and then laid a complete egg a couple of weeks ago at Wyoming. However, that seemed to be about the Wolf Pack completely overlooking an opponent and not about where the game was played, so I think they’ll be fine heading into Fresno State (2-6, 1-4).

Pick: UNR

FRIDAY

BYU (minus-13.5) at San Jose State

8:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network

• Three of BYU’s final four games are against the Mountain West. Two weeks after San Jose State (4-4, 3-2) it’s Fresno State and then at Utah State to finish the season. Including its 35-24 victory against Boise State earlier this year, the Cougars (6-2) will go into that Utah State game undefeated against the Mountain West.

Pick: BYU

SATURDAY

Colorado State (minus-10.5) at Wyoming

Noon, ESPN3

• This rivalry is the only game left that matters to Wyoming (1-8, 1-4) but it means even more to Colorado State (3-5, 1-3), which has a schedule that could help the Rams win out and get to 7-5.

Pick: Colorado State

Army (plus-17) at Air Force

12:30 p.m., ESPNU

• Air Force (5-3, 4-1) already lost to Navy, so the Falcons would need a three-way tie for a piece of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. Army’s not good, but they’re coming off a bye and they’ve been OK at keeping games close.

Pick: Army

Utah State (minus-14) at New Mexico

12:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network

• Utah State (5-3, 4-1) is 4-1 against the spread in league play, with its only setback being a blowout loss at San Diego State. This one at New Mexico (4-4, 2-2) will be much closer to the Aggies’ 56-14 trip to Fresno State than their 48-14 loss at SDSU

Pick: Utah State

Last week: 2-2

Season: 32-27-1

2014 record: 49-37

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.