LAS VEGAS — Road wins in the Mountain West Conference carry a lot of weight.

Since 2001 every champion has gone undefeated in league games away from home.

With Saturday's 35-15 victory at UNLV, Utah improved to 2-0 in such contests to keep its bid to repeat as champions firmly on track.

"If you want to be in the hunt for the title then that's part of the deal," Coach Kyle Whittingham said. "You not only have to get it done at home, you've got to be able to play on the road."

It's of paramount importance in the MWC. The last eight champs are a combined 30-0 in league road games.

Only tri-champs BYU, Colorado State and Utah in 1999 and the Rams in 2000 finished on top with a blemish. All of those teams won titles with one loss in MWC games away from home.

SUPPORTING SLY: Utah linebacker Stevenson Sylvester, one of four Utes (including Eddie Wide, DeVonte Christopher and Jeremiah Tofaeono) who attended high school in Las Vegas, had some extra support at Saturday's game. His mother, Angela, organized a pregame tailgate party to back the Utes.

"She's been working on it for about a month," Sylvester said. "She's been telling me all kinds of stuff."

UNLV'S HOMECOMING: The Rebels continued a streak of homecoming futility. They haven't won one since 2001 and are now 21-21 in such games.

The latest setback was witnessed by members of UNLV's 1984 PCAA and California Bowl champions. They were honored between the first and second quarters.

Former NFL star Randall Cunningham, who quarterbacked that team, participated in the pregame coin toss.

BETTER WEATHER: What a difference a week makes. Seven days after playing in chilly Fort Collins, the Utes enjoyed the warmth in Las Vegas.

It was 24 degrees and windy when they kicked off against Colorado State on Oct. 10. On Saturday, the game-time temperature in Las Vegas was 87 degrees.

OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS: Since becoming head coaches after Urban Meyer's departure for Florida after the 2004 season, former Utah coordinators Whittingham and Mike Sanford are now on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to success. Whittingham is 42-15 overall with the Utes, while Sanford is just 13-41 at the helm of the Rebels.