It's the beginning of Rivalry Week Part I. The Aggies take on I-10 rival UTEP on Saturday in the Sun Bowl in El Paso. The last time NMSU played UTEP in the Sun Bowl it was Chase Holbrook first season as the Aggie starting quarterback and he did not disappoint. Chase threw for 506 yards on 48 attempts with four touchdowns against just one interception (although the INT resulted in the end of the game). In fact, in his two games against UTEP combined with his games against UNM, Chase has thrown for 1,885 yards and a whopping 15 touchdowns and just six interceptions. We think it's safe to assume that Chase enjoys playing against his rivals.

Speaking of Chase, don't forget to log in and vote for him in the Davey O'Brien Fan Voting. Chase has narrowed the gap between himself and third place to just 12 votes as of this post. Remember that the Top 3 vote recipients are automatically advanced to the semifinal round of voting. You can vote once per day every day until voting closes.

On an unrelated note, Nebraska is now 28th in the USA Today Coaches poll and 33rd in the AP poll, Boise State is 28th in the AP Poll and 29th in the Coaches poll and Fresno State is 25th in the AP Poll and 26th in the Coaches poll.

The Aggie volleyball team has ended their early non-conference schedule (they still have three non-conference games left, UTEP, UNM and Virginia Commonwealth) and now turn their attention to winning the WAC. The Aggies host Fresno State and Nevada this week and will be looking to get out to a 2-0 start in conference before heading on the road next week to play Idaho on the 25th and then returning to Las Cruces for the big showdown with Hawai'i on the 27th. Last year's Nevada/NMSU tilt in Las Cruces was perhaps one of the most exciting finishes of the season. The Aggies had jumped out to a quick 2-0 and looked well on their way to a sweep before Nevada came storming back to take the third and fourth sets. The Wolf Pack got NMSU down 14-8 before NMSU staved off seven set points to pull out the 17-15 victory. That match may have shaved a few seasons off Coach Jordan's career and a few years off the lives of Aggie fans. The Aggies are coming off of a 3-1 victory over UC-Santa Barbara in the Stanford Invitational where they fell to #7 Stanford and Santa Clara in the previous two matches leaving the Aggies with a 5-6 record heading into conference play.

On to today's links...

The Associated Press has more on Nebraska's victory over the Aggies

Samuel McKewon of the Nebraska State Paper has his Monday review of Saturday night's game between the Aggies and Huskers.

The NMSU athletic website recaps the men's tennis team's Aggie Fall Invitational. The Aggies were unable to secure the doubles championship but did end the tournament with the singles title they won on Saturday.

Bret Bloomquist of the El Paso Times writes that the Miner defense will be relying on some younger players to help out.

Bret Bloomquist also writes that UTEP's schedule, while tough, doesn't lack excitement. "It's always fun to play your rival," linebacker Adam Vincent said. "We treat it like any other opponent, but there's extra excitement."

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