Rocky Long said it's time to "kick down another door."

The door he's talking about is the Lobos' 0-4 record in bowl games under Long, who is in his 11th season at UNM.

On Sunday, the Lobos accepted a berth in the New Mexico Bowl for the second straight season. UNM (8-4) will face Nevada (6-6) of the Western Athletic Conference in the Dec. 22 bowl game at University Stadium. The game will be televised live at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

In the inaugural New Mexico Bowl, the Lobos lost 20-12 to San Jose State, extending UNM's bowl futility.

New Mexico hasn't won a bowl game since the 1961 Aviation Bowl.

"It's time we kick down another door," Long said today. "We've been kicking down doors for awhile now."

Long last week said he expected to receive a bowl bid. When the news came after all the Bowl Championship Series games were announced on Sunday, he said: "It's exciting our team gets another chance to play. Our team was deserving to get into a bowl game."

Long said he's got mixed opinions about returning to the New Mexico Bowl and playing on national TV.

"There's pluses and minuses to both," he said. "It's a positive for the program (playing on TV) if we play well and our fans show their support and are able to fill up the stadium.

"Plus, a lot of our players have friends and family that will get to go to the game. We've got a loyal group of fans and that helps at crucial times."

Long said the team will begin practicing for Nevada on Wednesday. The NCAA allows 15 practices, but Long said UNM will probably use 11 or 12 practices to get ready for the Wolf Pack.

Long said he hasn't seen film of Nevada yet, but has seen the Wolf Pack play twice on TV in close losses to undefeated Hawaii (28-26) and bowl-bound Boise State (69-67).

"Boise State's awful good and they couldn't stop them," Long said. "Hawaii's the only undefeated team and they barely won so that tells you they (Nevada) must be pretty good."

Long said he hopes to have a couple of injured Lobos - defensive backs Clint McPeek (neck) and Jake Bowe (knee) - back in the lineup for the bowl game.

UNM and Nevada will face each other in a football game for the first time in 65 years.

The University of New Mexico was among a record five teams from the Mountain West receiving bowl invitations.

"I'm extremely happy to welcome the Lobos back to the New Mexico Bowl," said Jeff Siembieda, executive director of the New Mexico Bowl. "I have tremendous respect for Rocky Long and the program he's established at UNM."

Nevada was one of four WAC teams getting bowl invites, including Hawaii, which will play Georgia in the BCS Sugar Bowl.

Nevada became bowl eligible with a 49-10 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday. This marks the first time in Nevada history that the Wolf Pack has been invited to a bowl game three straight years.

"We are very pleased to have the chance to represent the WAC in another bowl game," Nevada coach Chris Ault said at a news conference Sunday night. "This team, especially after (Saturday's) game, is very deserving of a bowl game. The last few weeks, our defense has gotten better and our offense has continued to do well.

"New Mexico is a fine football team. I had a chance to see them on TV once this year and was impressed. They have a good running back and are sound in what they do," Ault added.

The Wolf Pack and Lobos last met in Reno in 1942, when they played to a scoreless tie. New Mexico beat Nevada 26-7 in 1941, the only other time the schools have met on the gridiron.

Nevada players said they were excited to be part of the WAC's success.

"Our season didn't turn out the way we had hoped but we get a chance to end our season and our careers with one more win," Nevada senior tight end Adam Bishop said. "I feel like this is just another road game for us against another tough opponent. They won a lot of games this year, so it's going to be a challenge."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.