Homecoming is here. Everything you need to know about New Mexico’s game against Nevada

Who: New Mexico (3-3, 0-2) vs. Nevada (1-5, 0-2).

When and where: 7:45 p.m. Saturday at University Stadium.

How to watch/listen: FS1 will carry UNM-Nevada with Dan Hellie (play-by-play) and Petros Papadakis (analyst) on the call. Robert Portnoy (play-by-play), DonTrell Moore (analyst) and Ned James (sidelines) will also broadcast the game via radio on the Lobo Radio Network (770 AM/96.3 FM).

Who’s favored: UNM is a 12.5-point favorite, per ESPN BET.

Top storyline(s): UNM has plenty it needs to work through. That much was made clear in back-to-back losses to San Jose State and Boise State, with slow offensive starts, underwhelming rushing performances and turnovers marring the Lobos in both games.

Can they fix — at least some of — those problems this week and get back on track?

“I told the team, we’re sitting here at .500, 3-3, and we have four of our last six at home,” head coach Jason Eck said in a news conference Tuesday. “We have to take advantage of that and take it one game at a time. But (if) we do a good job defending our home field and playing well, we’re gonna be in a good position to be in a bowl game.”

It’s also Homecoming, Eck’s first at UNM, and he admitted he’d like to see some more festivities before Saturday’s game.

“It’s Homecoming — you should have a parade,” he said. “We gotta make that like the traveling trophy (for the UNM-NMSU game). Let’s get a parade lined up.”

Wolf Pack players to watch: Defensive end Dylan LaBarbera has been a monster for Nevada this season, notching a team-high 51 total tackles with 5.5 sacks this season. Through six games, he’s Pro Football Focus’ highest graded edge rusher in the Mountain West and the ninth-highest nationally, but the tackles might have Eck’s attention more than anything else.

“When a team has a great player like that, you certainly don’t want to have that guy beat you,” Eck said. “You feel better (if former Chicago Bulls guard John Paxson) hits some jump shots rather than (Michael Jordan) scoring 50 — we don’t want him to destroy us. We gotta do a good job — whether we gotta chip him, whether we gotta double team him, whether we gotta run away from him — we gotta make sure he doesn’t beat us.

“Because he’s on a pretty unbelievable pace … You never see a defensive lineman lead their team in tackles.”

Nevada is also expected to start freshman quarterback Carter Jones for the second straight game after the Wolf Pack opened the season starting former Nebraska transfer Chuba Purdy. Jones completed 15 of 31 passes (48.4%) for 195 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in his first career start, a 44-10 loss to San Diego State last Saturday.

“Jones showed, certainly, some positives last week,” Eck said. “I think that’s probably going to help them; settling in on one guy rather than trying to shuffle in a few guys like they were before.”

Lobos to watch: For the first time this season, UNM is shuffling its starting offensive line: Malik Aliane will move over from left tackle to left guard, with Nevell Brown filling the vacancy left by Aliane, and freshman Jaymar Tasi is set to start at right guard in place of an injured Richard Pearce. Kaden Robnett and Tyler Lawrence will continue to start at center and left tackle, respectively.

And after back-to-back games with three turnovers, Eck said quarterback Jack Layne is still UNM’s “guy” at quarterback. The junior was not made available for his weekly media session after Tuesday’s practice. Reporters were told he has a busy week of schoolwork.

It’s unclear if he’ll be made available before Saturday’s game.

“He’s got to keep his confidence,” Eck said. “He’s got to focus on the process and how he prepares and, you know, trust his training and just get better every day this week. But he’d be the first to tell you that, ‘hey, I got to protect the ball better and do a better job.’”

What happened the last time these teams played: Former UNM quarterback Dylan Hopkins threw three interceptions and Nevada scored 21 points in the second quarter to help set up a 34-24 Wolf Pack win on Oct. 28, 2023. That loss was the first in a three-game losing streak that eliminated the Lobos from bowl contention in then-head coach Danny Gonzales’ final year with the program. Nevada did not win another game that season and head coach Ken Wilson was fired at the end of the season.

Now, the last time these teams met in Albuquerque? That was an infamous 35-26 UNM win (the program’s most recent in the series) that ended around 1 a.m. due to a near-two hour lightning delay on Nov. 5, 2016. Quarterback Austin Apodaca was the hero that night, throwing two second half touchdowns to keep the Lobos ahead of the Wolf Pack’s comeback bid.

Saturday also represents the first time Eck and Nevada head coach Jeff Choate have met in their current roles. The two previously coached against each other at the FCS level, with Eck working at South Dakota State and Choate serving as the head coach at Montana State.

“I know he’ll have his team ready,” Eck said. “He’s the kind of coach who’s good when they’re dealing with adversity and things like that. So I expect them to come out and play us well.”