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Senior linebacker Cody Kase will say without hesitation what his head coach grudgingly acknowledges.

A victory for the University of New Mexico football team in the New Mexico Bowl is a big deal.

Really.

"We're trying to leave a legacy behind," Kase said at Monday's news conference at the Tow Diehm Facility where UNM officially accepted its invitation to the New Mexico Bowl.

The Lobos (8-4 overall and 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference) face Nevada (6-6 and 4-4 in the Western Athletic Conference) in the nationally televised game at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 22 on ESPN.

It is the second straight year the Lobos will play in the New Mexico Bowl, having lost 20-12 to San Jose State in the inaugural event.

UNM is 0-4 under 11th-year head coach Rocky Long, a number that has become a sore spot for Long and a rallying point for his players.

A bowl victory for their coach would put a special stamp on an 8-4 regular season. It also would end a bowl drought that pre-dates Long's tenure at UNM and before any of the current Lobos were born. UNM's last postseason win came in the 1961 Aviation Bowl.

"This could be the team that started it all," Kase said.

Added Lobos receiver Travis Brown: "There's added incentive to go out and get one (bowl victory)."

Long, after some poking and prodding about the importance of erasing the goose egg from his bowl record, finally gave in.

Sort of.

"I love how you guys (media) do that," he said. "The big one is the bowl game. This is the big one only because it's our next game."

Although earlier in the day he told The Tribune that it's time to "kick another door down."

Of course, after piling up four bowl losses, the door is starting to resemble a brick wall.

Still, Long isn't fretting any stigma that he can't win the big one.

"I don't feel any more pressure," Long said. "You guys want me to. I'm sure you'll keep asking me about it over the next three weeks."

But Long did say he's altered the bowl preparation for his players from year's past. He won't use the 11 or 12 extra bowl practices as he's done before to get a look at younger players who might figure into next year's plans.

"We'll be preparing the players who will play on Saturday," Long said. "It's time we make that a priority."

UNM Athletics Director Paul Krebs watched Long field questions about his bowl record. He was quick to support his football coach afterward.

"I think coach Long has had a certain level of sustained success," Krebs said.

UNM is the only MWC school to have been bowl eligible in each of the past seven seasons. The Lobos will be making their fifth bowl appearance in the past six seasons.

The eight victories tied for the most under Long with the 2003 team (8-5).

Krebs said a bowl victory is the "next hurdle" for Long's Lobos.

"You're always trying to better yourself, strengthen the program," Krebs said. "If you're not getting better then you're falling behind.

"There's a number of things we'd like to continue to improve upon. That's not a criticism. That's the goal of the program."

But Krebs said a bowl loss wouldn't be a disaster, either.

"The goal is to get your team to a bowl game and put yourself in position to win," Krebs said.

Krebs said other goals - like winning a league title and stuffing 40,000-plus fans into the stadium on a regular basis - are as important to the evolution of the program.

"That's not just on the coach," Krebs said. "It's on me as an athletic director to find more resources for the program. It's on the fans to come out and support the team. We all share a role in achieving those goals."