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UNLV (3-1, 0-0 MWC)vs.UNR (3-1, 0-0 WAC)
DATE:    Saturday, Oct. 4, 2003KICKOFF: 7:05 pm PDTSITE:    Mackay Stadium (31,545/Artificial-FieldTurf)TV:  ESPN+/KFBT in Las Vegas only         (Rich Waltz & Charles Arbuckle)RADIO:   ESPN 920 AM         (Tim Neverett, Mitch Roberts & Paige Snyder)

BATTLE FOR THE FREMONT CANNON

UNLV (3-1) will conclude its 2003 non-conference schedule by traveling to rival Nevada, Reno (3-1) Saturday in the 29th Battle for the Fremont Cannon ... The game, which will be the first-ever night game between the two in Reno, will be televised only in Las Vegas on KFBT-TV (Gold 33/Cable 5) ... The Rebels won two straight before enjoying their first bye week while the Wolf Pack is coming off a 12-9 conference victory over SMU Saturday ... The Rebels are 3-1 for the first time since 1992 and for only the second time since 1986 ... UNLV's 33-22 victory over Hawaii gave it consecutive victories in a season for the first time since Oct. 6 & 13, 2001 ... Counting the 2002 finale, the Rebels have now won four of their last five games ... UNLV last won four of five games at the end of 2000, which included a victory in the Las Vegas Bowl ... The Rebels look to go 4-1 to open a season for the first time since QB Randall Cunningham led the 1984 squad to an 11-2 mark ... UNLV looks to win its fourth straight over UNR for only the second time ever and first since winning four consecutive games from 1974-77 ... UNLV head coach John Robinson is 3-1 all-time vs. UNR ... Including a 3-0 record vs. UNR, the Rebels are 5-0 vs. WAC teams since leaving the conference after the 1998 season ... UNLV, which was 1-3 a year ago when it took on the Pack, has not sported a winning record heading into the UNR game since Jeff Horton's squad was 5-4 in 1994 and upset UNR 32-27 ... The four opponents UNLV has played this season boast a combined record of 13-6 and a sparkling 12-3 without the Rebel games included ... UNLV has scored 11 times in 14 trips to the red zone this fall and two of the three failures came when taking a knee to wrap up a victory ... Three Rebels have led at halftime in all four games this season ... Even without playing, UNLV picked up votes in this week's coaches' poll, moving up five spots from a tie at 40th to 35th in the USA TODAY/ESPN rankings with 15 points. Despite losing a vote in the Associated Press poll, UNLV jumped three spots from 41st into a tie with Oregon State at 38th with five points.

SERIES NOTES

UNR leads the series 15-13 overall, including having won 10 of last 14 ... The 28 meetings, which include 14 straight in the now-annual rivalry, are by far the most UNLV has had with any opponent ... The Rebels' last trip north (2001) produced their first win at Mackay Stadium since 1979 ... UNLV has not won back-to-back games in Reno since 1977 & '79 and is only 5-9 in the city all-time ... Since being outscored 197-85 in the five-game skid to the Pack from 1995-99, UNLV has won the points battle by a combined 86-36 the last three seasons ... While both schools have been members of both the Big West and Western Athletic conferences, the teams met each other only four times as league rivals (1992-95) ... For the first time in many years, UNLV does not have a player from the Reno area on its roster ... UNR lists only one Las Vegan on its roster: freshman OL Jimmy Wadhams out of Bishop Gorman HS.