It's never too early to start thinking about November. At least that's the way Louisiana Tech looks at it.

The Bulldogs (2-2, 2-0) know they must face Boise State later this season in Western Athletic Conference play. The Broncos have a national-best 27-game conference winning streak.

That makes Saturday's game against Nevada (3-2, 2-0) important to the Bulldogs' chances of contending for the WAC title and qualifying for one of the conference's two bowl bids.

Louisiana Tech doesn't want to get caught scoreboard-watching come November.

"You have to take care of business when you have the opportunity, or else you're going to have to rely on someone else," Louisiana Tech coach Jack Bicknell said. "I tell the players, ‘Nevada will be one of the top teams in the WAC and we have to take care of that, or in late November we'll be wishing we had.'"

Louisiana Tech is 2-0 in WAC action for the second straight year, and they're aiming for their second straight 3-0 start. But after that things went south last year, as they lost three of their final five conference games, finishing 6-6 and missing out on a bowl game for the third straight year.

This isn't your typical La. Tech team, known for slinging the ball around in Bicknell's pass-first offense. This year the Bulldogs have turned the tables. They actually rank eighth out of nine teams in the WAC in pass offense, as quarterback Matt Kubik is just 53 of 98 for 564 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. That's a far cry from the days of Tim Rattay and Luke McCown, both of whom parlayed their exposure in Bicknell's offense into a pro career.

These days, the Bulldogs run the football. They rank fourth in rushing offense with 146.8 yards per game, led by sophomore Mark Dillard, who averages 5.8 yards per carry and has three touchdowns. He's coming off a 155-yard performance against Hawai'i, the best of any WAC running back this year.

The backfield as a group had 314 yards against the Warriors.

"Dillard was outstanding last week, but they have two other backs that can run right with him" Nevada coach Chris Ault said, the only active head coach in the College Football Hall of Fame. "They have three backs that they alternate in there. All three are big, strong, explosive kids and they have a big offensive front that does a nice job."

Defensively, Tech has the second-best defense overall and the best run defense in the conference.

"We are (confident)," Bicknell said. "We should be on both sides of the ball. This is the most complete team we've had through four games so far."

That No. 1 run defense will come in handy this week as the Bulldogs face the league's No. 1 rusher — B.J. Mitchell.

He's coming off his own stellar performance, as he rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns against Idaho last week, a 62-14 victory. He had 460 yards and six touchdowns this season, and just seems to be coming into his own.

The Wolfpack is trying to accomplish the same thing as the Bulldogs — a 3-0 start. Their last 3-0 start came in 2003, and Louisiana Tech was the team that ended it, as the Bulldogs won, 42-34.

That was Nevada's only win over Louisiana Tech, and while the Bulldogs lead 4-1, the series is a lively one. Last year La. Tech won 38-21, and Nevada's only win came in 1995, a 49-45 win.

That's what gives Bicknell pause. It never seems to be easy against Nevada.

"It's not like we blow them out every year," Bicknell said. "Two years ago we were down 21-3 and came back. One year it was 49-45. Four years ago we had the last minute drive (to win)."

Western Athletic Conference

Louisiana Tech (2-2, 2-0) at Nevada (3-2, 2-0), 1 p.m. PT, Mackay Stadium, Reno, Nev. TV: None.

San Jose State (1-4, 0-2) at Boise State (3-2, 1-0), 6 p.m. MT, Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho. TV: KTVB (Boise).

Utah State (2-2, 1-1) at Fresno State (3-1, 1-0), 7 p.m. MT, Bulldog Stadium, Fresno, Calif. TV: None.

New Mexico State (0-6, 0-2) at Hawai'i (1-4, 1-2), 6 p.m. MT, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawai'i. TV: Oceanic PPV.

Mountain West Conference

UNLV (2-4, 1-2) at Air Force (2-4, 1-3), 10 a.m. MT, Falcon Stadium, Colorado Spring, Colo. TV: SportsWest.

New Mexico (3-3, 1-2) at Wyoming (4-2, 2-1), 1 p.m. MT, War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wy. TV: ESPN plus, ESPN Game Plan.

San Diego State (2-4, 1-2) at Utah (3-3, 1-2), 5 p.m. MT, Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah. TV: ABC/ESPN Game Plan.

Army (0-5) at No. 25 Texas Christian (5-1, 4-0), 6 p.m. CT, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas. TV: None.

Colorado State (3-2, 2-0) at Brigham Young (2-3, 1-2), 8 p.m. MT, LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah. TV: Fox Sports Rocky Mountain/SportsWest.

Mid-American Conference

No. 7 Miami (4-1, 1-1 ACC) at Temple (0-6, Independent), 1 p.m. ET, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia. TV: Fox Sports Net.

Ohio (2-3, 1-1) at Central Michigan (3-3, 2-1), 1 p.m. ET, Kelly Shorts Stadium, Mount Pleasant Mich. TV: None.

Bowling Green (3-2, 2-0) at Buffalo (0-5, 0-2), 1:30 p.m. ET, Buffalo, N.Y. TV: None.

Kent State (1-4, 0-3) at Navy (2-2, Independent), 1:30 p.m. ET, Navy-Marine Corp Stadium, Annapolis, Md. TV: None.

Akron (3-2, 2-1) at Miami (Ohio) (2-3, 1-2), 2 p.m. ET, Yager Stadium, Oxford, Ohio. TV: Time Warner Television.

Toledo (4-1, 2-0) at Ball State (1-4, 1-1), 2 p.m. ET, Ball State Stadium, Muncie, Ind. TV: None.

Eastern Michigan (3-3, 2-1) at Northern Illinois (2-3, 1-1), 3:05 p.m. CT, Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, Ill. TV: Comcast Chicago and Comcast Local.

Conference USA

UT-El Paso (3-1, 1-1) at Tulane (2-2, 1-1), 7 p.m. CT, Joe Aillet Stadium, Ruston, La. TV: ESPN.

East Carolina (2-3, 1-1) at Southern Methodist (2-4, 1-2), 2 p.m. ET, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas. TV: None.

Tulsa (3-3, 2-1) at Rice (0-4. 0-2), 3 p.m. CT, Rice Stadium, Houston. TV: None.

Alabama-Birmingham (3-2, 1-1) at Marshall (2-3, 1-1), 5 p.m. ET, Joan C. Edwards Field, Huntington, W. Va. TV: i Network.

Memphis (2-3, 1-2) at Houston (3-2, 2-1), 4 p.m. CT, John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium, Houston. TV: CSTV.

Central Florida (3-2, 2-0) at Southern Miss (2-2, 1-1), 6 p.m. CT, M.M Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, Miss. TV: None.

Sun Belt Conference

Louisiana-Lafayette (1-4, 0-1) at Arkansas State (2-3, 1-1), played Thursday in Jonesboro, Ark.

Troy (2-3, 1-0) at Louisiana-Monroe (2-4, 2-0), 2:30 p.m. CT, Indians Stadium, Monroe, La. TV: ESPNU.

Middle Tennessee (1-3, 0-1) at Florida Atlantic (1-5, 1-1), 3 p.m. ET, Lockhart Field, Boca Raton, Fla. TV: None.

North Texas (1-3, 1-1) at Florida International (1-3, 0-1), 5 p.m. ET, FIU Stadium, Miami. TV: None.