New Mexico played Michigan pretty tough in G1. That has got to bolster their confidence (if they didn't get ravaged with injuries in the process) because Michigan is considered a much better program in terms of the fundamentals (big/strong/fast, great running game, very tough D, etc.) than Ucla is.
Meanwhile, I think some of Ucla's players have a little voice in the back of their head asking, "what if we lose to UNM?" I think they know their HC won't be their HC a week from now.
This could be a major "Tank for Tua" moment. If you ever want to frag your CO, this is the chance.
We'll see what this team does.
Last year's team fought forward. They had the chance to Tank for Tua as well. But they manned up. That said, every team is different. It's gut check time.