FACTS & STATS: Site: Hughes Stadium (30,000) -- Fort Collins, Colorado. Television: The Mtn. Home Record: SDSU 2-1, CSU 2-1. Away Record: SDSU 0-3, CSU 1-3. Neutral Record: SDSU 0-0, CSU 0-0. Conference Record: SDSU 0-2, CSU 0-3. Series Record: San Diego State leads, 15-13.

GAME NOTES: A couple of programs searching for their first Mountain West Conference wins of the season square off at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins on Saturday afternoon, as the Colorado State Rams host the San Diego State Aztecs.

In the case of the Rams, they got off to a fast start in 2009 with three straight wins over the likes of Colorado, Weber State and Nevada, but since then the team has fallen in four consecutive games. The most recent of those setbacks came last Saturday in a miserable 44-6 defeat at the hands of nationally-ranked TCU in Fort Worth. With that decision, CSU is now winless in three MWC matchups, which means the team trails San Diego State in the conference standings since the Aztecs are currently only 0-2.

SDSU actually showed some considerable fight last weekend when they hosted nationally-ranked BYU and lost by just 10 points, 38-28. The loss was the third in the last four games for the Aztecs, a team that has just a single win against a member of the FBS (New Mexico State).

Last season the Rams, who finished an even 4-4 in conference and 7-6 after the postseason concluded, had a bit of a tough time with the Aztecs and only got by with a 38-34 decision on the road. With the victory, CSU moved closer to knotting the series with the Aztecs who currently lead it at 15-13.

Quarterback Ryan Lindley completed 21-of-33 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns, was intercepted only once and sacked one time last Saturday. Almost any other time those sort of numbers would be strong enough to earn a player and his team a victory, but in this case the Aztecs still came up short in their pursuit of BYU at home. Vincent Brown reeled in eight passes for 147 yards and DeMarco Sampson turned two of his five catches into touchdowns. But the real problem came from the running game which registered just 20 net yards on 16 attempts. Four times this season the Aztecs have generated less than 60 yards rushing in a game, which is why the squad is now ranked 119th in the nation with an average of just 68.3 ypg. If not for the 149 yards posted against Southern Utah in a 35-19 win in the second game of the season, there's no telling how bad the SDSU running attack would look right now. Lindley has done all he can to try and keep this group moving in the right direction with his 238.3 ypg passing, but even though he has 11 TDs to his credit, his 10 INTs have hurt the effort.

Like nearly every other team that has gone up against the Cougars this season, San Diego State found out firsthand why BYU is considered one of the top teams in the nation. The Aztecs had trouble slowing down the passing attack of the visitors as Max Hall, who was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week, converted 27 pass attempts for 346 yards and three scores and also posted a rushing touchdown when the opportunity presented itself. Jerry Milling recorded a game-high 13 tackles, of which nine were solo in the setback. Milling is the top tackler for the unit this season with his 46 stops over the course of six games. He has recorded 5.5 tackles for loss thus far, the most among SDSU defenders. As a group, the Aztecs are averaging 5.7 TFLs per game and that has them right in the middle of the pack when compared to the rest of the MWC. One aspect of the game that the defense needs to focus on more is forcing turnovers because the unit has but three recovered fumbles and that's why they are ranked 103rd in the country with a minus-0.83 turnovers per outing.

Ben DeLine booted a pair of field goals in the first quarter for the Rams in their meeting with TCU in Fort Worth last Saturday, giving the visitors an early lead, but that would be the end of the offense for CSU in the 38-point setback. Grant Stucker and Jon Eastman combined to hit just 10 passes for 112 yards, the former suffering three sacks that meant the Rams were credited with just 70 net rushing yards on the day. No one on the team had more than two receptions, which means the pass defense for the Horned Frogs was more than ready for the challenge. After seven games, Rashaun Greer is the team leader with his 23 receptions for 451 yards, yet he has not taken a single pass into the end zone as of this point. Dion Morton (19 catches and 369 yards) has a team-best four TDs to his credit as that pair stands as the most active in the passing attack for the Rams. Stucker has 11 TD passes, but also nine interceptions and yet CSU is third in the MWC and 17th in the nation in turnover margin with a plus-0.86 per game.

Obviously the Colorado State defense looked primed and ready in the first quarter of action, holding the Horned Frogs scoreless, but after that TCU burst through the line at every turn and continued to put a hurting on the Rams until it was time to call off the dogs in the fourth quarter. CSU permitted an unsightly 275 yards on the ground, leading to three touchdowns, not to mention another 224 passing yards and two aerial scores as well. Perhaps most disheartening for the defense was the fact that it failed to log a single sack and had just one tackle for loss. Tackles for loss have been a lost art for this group all season long, as they are averaging just 4.1 per contest to rank seventh in the conference and tied for 107th in the nation this week. Without that pressure in the backfield the pass defense has been on the hook much too often and is now giving up 253.9 ypg to rank second-to-last in the league and 104th nationally at this point in the campaign. Although, Elijah-Blu Smith and Nick Oppenneer have done their best to dissuade opponents from looking down field as both have recorded three interceptions.

Staying close with BYU should have given the Aztecs some confidence, even if they ended up losing by double digits. Then again, winning on the road against a competent FBS opponent, one that is struggling itself for victories these days, might not work in favor of SDSU. In fact, the Aztecs have fallen in 10 straight road games entering play this week.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Colorado State 23, San Diego State 20

Saturday, October 24th, 4:00 p.m. (et).