Introducing: All-New Fire Chris Ault WEBMAIL!

That's right, we've finally added e-mail capability.  Yay!

Our collective e-mail is...

webkaiser@firechrisault.com

This may be a blessing or a curse, but at the very least it will help us to become even more interactive and that's a good thing, I think.  We will try to respond, except to death threats, as long as we can remember to check yet another e-mail account.

As seen here.

No, Virginia, there is no Santa Clause

Ault...refused to blame the loss on anything but poor football...

"They out-played us. They out-coached us. They did an excellent job."

The Pack also flat out gave up.

Neither the team, the staff, nor Ault himself (least of all), showed any tenacity in this game.  As is now famous in all of Wolf Packdom, on November 2, 1991 the Ault and the Wolf Pack lead the fans on the wild ride what would become the greatest comeback in NCAA history...midway through the third quarter.  In Hawai'i on Thursday it was clear that nobody believed, nobody cared, nobody was willing to try...after just the first drive of the second half.

Eventually Nevada found itself poised to score, and facing 4th down on the SMU 4 yard line the Pack elected to kick for 3 rather than attempt one last push.  This does not show the grit and/or tenacity of a champion or champions: this was desperation; desperation to save any kind of face, however small it may be.

And the buck stops with Ault.

This proves that Ault-cubed is not in the right place at the right time; he does not have the proper instrument at exactly the right point in history; and the Wolf Pack does not have the leader for the 21st century.  They gave up the game early, never finding the heart or the swagger to do anything about it, and when they finally had an opportunity to show some mettle they responded by 'backing out as gentlemen,' taking the easy road.

Throughout the season a number of us in fandom almost started to believe again through the 8-0 run that was the middle of the season.  There were some hiccups, but by and large it began to appear that the Pack was getting its proverbial 'stuff' together; that Nevada had yet a chance to make some real noise.  Now we know that, like a school-yard bully, the Pack was able to pick on and pound the smaller and weaker of the playground mercilessly (it was also nice of the Pat Hill Choke Train to arrive right on schedule this season...that helped, too), but can't keep up with the 6th graders at all.  This time they ran into the bathroom and hid until the bell rang.

Ault is a much older man now: this may not have been where he was ten, fifteen, twenty years ago, but it is where he is now.

Ault sees himself as...

but really he's more of a...

except in big games where he turns into...

The Almost End-Game...whatever, does anyone have any scotch?

I'm just taking a moment to say that I am so blind with agony that I have very little to say that wouldn't be littered with language that would shame the devil.

This game is a joke.

SMU is NOT GOOD!  C-USA is mediocre at best, and the Western Division was about as good at football as Grandma's beef gravy.  They're not Nevada Southern bad, but even if they played in the WAC it's doubtful that they'd be .500 this season.  They lost to Washington State, for the love of God!

AND NEVADA MADE THEM LOOK LIKE THE SECOND COMING!!!

The sad part is that SMU didn't beat the Wolf Pack with a superior game plan: they beat Nevada by just showing up and playing football.

Homer: Fffffffff.....
(loud organ blast)
Ned Flanders (next door): Well, that was the loudest profanity I've ever heard.

IT'S IN REVELATION, PEOPLE!!!

I'll try to put up post-game thoughts to-morrow, but I can't guarantee my sanity even by then.

Wow...

If Ault led the Army of the Potomac at Fredricksburg

The Almost Halftime Report

I'll get right to the point...this is a travesty.

I will point out that the officiating has definately had an effect in this game.  Jonathan Amaya was flagged for a facemask when he grabbed jersey; Brandon Wimberly was blocked about 20 yards past the line of scrimmage - no call.  And holding? you bet!  It's bad...really bad.

But it is obvious that this team is completely unprepared or just flat out not ready for this game.  They appear as if they're trying to run drills and expect that to stop a team who was obviously prepared for the game and ravenous for the attack.

They look like lemmings.

Now there is no denying where the buck stops (AULT), but there is actually someone else whos thurough incompetence would dumbfound even Alexander Samsonov: Ken Willson.

If SMU is Germany and Nevada is Czarist Russia.

I forgot to mention this in the last post; I completely forgot that, of all the losses the Pack has felt in the past few weeks, losing Nigel Burton and re-inserting Wilson as DC was, possibly, THE difference maker in this game.

There was a reason why Wilson was promoted out of the DC role before: he is a complete failure.

What is it with you and failure?

But the good-ol'-boy system is alive and well, and rather than eliminating an egregiously weak link Wilson was made the assistant head coach, drawing a salary while having little if any real influence.

Now there's no excuse: Wilson needs to be run out of town blindfolded and tied backwards to a horse while we season ticket holders get to throw blunt objects and rotten fruit, mostly blunt objects...and spit.  Lots and lots of spit.

But the buck does stop with Ault, and he should have known better; for that matter, he should have done the right thing and cast off Wilson two years ago.

Ault is no Harry Truman, though.

Thanks, guys, you've ruined Christmas.

And you've made SMU look like frickin' Texas.

Eat 'em up, eat 'em up...

Here we go; with kickoff just twenty two hours away, or thereabouts, it's last pre-game posting time.  I thought my comrade would add just one, but...c'est la vie.

So far everything I've heard from everywhere and anywhere about this game is that it should be one high-scoring sockfest, and there really is no evidence to the contrary.  But there seems to be nearly unanimous concord amongst would-be prognosticators: Mustangs goin' down.  Reading the ESPN Bottom Line a few moments ago Nevada was shown to be the favorite of 91% of the replying pollsters.

Although the story of the game, for some reason, is June Jones returning to Hawai'i; not Ault, not Kaep, a little of the prolific, Flanders-style rushing attack, but mostly Jones returning to face his former fans.  Not that it's not a nice footnote, but it really is something of an aside in the issue: an SMU team, once glorious, long hapless, tastes some success for the first time since 1986 (6-5-0), 1985 (6-5-0), and 1984 (10-2-0) not including the 6-6 season in 2006 or the no-team years 1987-1988; Nevada's historic year of sorts; Ault being Ault, good or bad; &c. &c.

But the Pack is the universal favorite in spite of recent setbacks faced by the Wolf Pack, many of which most people haven't seemed to notice or care about.  The announcement regarding Taua and his incredulous accademic record came out this past weekend, but those happy few discussing this game continue to include him in their synopses.  Now the suspension/expulsion of Messrs. Willson and Davis...the lumps seem to keep coming; almost like a Higher Power exerting influence in order to beleaguer the beloved Wolf Pack; I'm pretty sure that this sort of smiting is what happened to men's basketball vs. Nevada Southern last month.

Yet, regardless of the influence of a few bad eggs, mistakes, injuries, or Vinz Clortho, I believe that it will take Ault harnessing every ounce of his storied bowl-choking powers to blow this game.  Not because Nevada can be that dominating, which I believe it can, but, really, what can SMU do about it?

The "bend but don't break" pass defence worked well enough against Fresno State (who is a better team then SMU, might I add), allbeit with a little fairy dust from the officials.  I think that SMUs passing game should be similar: fairly gaudy numbers, but with a disproportionately small showing of points.

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but it deserves a refresher:
SMU-
PF: 335 PA: 349 Dif: -14
Nevada-
PF: 487 PA: 326 Dif: +161
Dif-
PF: Nevada +152 PA: Nevada -23

And at running back, the Pack has Mark getting the start, backed up by fan favorite Mike Ball and Courtney Randall:

Lampford Mark-
Carries: 44 Yards: 286 YPC: 6.5 Long: 23 (TD) TD: 3
Mike Ball-
Carries: 19 Yards: 201 YPC: 10.6 Long: 89 (TD) TD: 5
Courtney Randall-
Carries: 20 Yards: 149 YPC: 7.5 Long: 57 TD: 3

Ball definately has the capability of rushing for 100+; the other two probably would if presented with the opportunity.  These three on their own will account for the offense being able to dust off and open up the old Air Wolf.  Not saying that Kaep will pass for gaudy numbers, but he can, and we actually have receivers who can, you know, CATCH THE BALL!

Long story short, Nevada can't 'stop' SMU anymore than France can 'stop' the German Empire, but they sure can slow them down.  On the open field Nevada should be able to win; if this game goes down into the trenches then the Wolf Pack has the decided advantage.

Let's go, Pack!  Despite the indicators, though, Pack fans everywhere should knock on every piece of wood they can find to help dispel lingering bowl tradition.

Upcoming articles for the off-season:
Season Statistical Review
Introducing Ourselves to the New Public Enemy #1 (can HE translate 1-AA success into FBS winnage?)
A Look at California-Nevada All-time Series

Just for Google:  Bobby Hauck is Public Enemy #1, may he suffer horrific indignity.

Nevada vs. SMU: All-Time Football Data

Nevada (8-4, 7-1 WAC) vs. Southern Methodist (7-5, 6-2 C-USA), Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, December 24, 2009.

These two teams had no history with one another prior to Nevada joining forces with the Western Athletic Conference for the 2000 season, and have not played one another since the Mustangs jumped ship for Conference USA (how's that workin' out?!).  The Wolf Pack leads this series with three wins sandwiched between two losses; Chris Ault is 0-1 vs. SMU.

For the record, Nevada is 3-6 and Chris Ault is 1-4 all-time vs. June Jones, all while Jones served as the head coach at Hawai'i.

Scoring vs. SMU:
Nevada: 98 SMU: 88 (Nevada +10)
Nevada PPG: 19.6
SMU PPG: 17.6

Scoring vs. Jones:
Nevada: 258 Jones: 313 (Jones +55)
Nevada PPG: 28.666666666666666666666666666667
Jones PPG: 37.777777777777777777777777777778

Scoring Ault-led Nevada vs. Jones-led Hawai'i:
Ault-Nevada: 155 Jones-Hawai'i: 183 (Jones-Hawai'i +28)
Ault-Nevada PPG: 31
Jones-Hawai'i PPG: 36.6

The Series:

October 28, 2000
Southern Methodist: 21 vs. Nevada: 7

November 3, 2001
Nevada: 35 vs. Southern Methodist: 14

November 2, 2002
Nevada: 24 at Southern Methodist: 6

September 27, 2003
Nevada: 12 vs. Southern Methodist: 9

November 13, 2004
Southern Methodist: 38 vs. Nevada: 20

The series vs. Jones (Ault-coached games denoted with an asterisk):

November 11, 2000
at Jones-Hawai'i: 37 Nevada: 17

September 22, 2001
at Nevada: 28 Hawai'i: 20

October 12, 2002
at Jones-Hawai'i: 59 Nevada: 34

November 15, 2003
at Nevada: 24: Hawai'i 14

October 9, 2004*
at Jones-Hawai'i: 48 Nevada: 26

November 5, 2005*
at Nevada: 38 Hawai'i: 28

October 7, 2006*
at Jones-Hawai'i: 41 Nevada: 34

November 16, 2007*
Jones-Hawai'i: 28 at Nevada: 26

October 25, 2008*
at Jones-Hawai'i: 38 Nevada: 31

By the way, this is Stalin; non sequitur? Fire Chris Ault? NEVER!

Opponent Comparisons

Nevada and SMU have no common opponents...wah!  There are, however, FIVE SMU opponents with the Nevada connection in 2009, so we do have that going for us around here.

Washington State:
Defeated SMU 30-27 in overtime at home on September 19, 2009 for their only win of the season.
Lost to Hawai'i 20-38 at home on September 12, 2009.

Texas Christian:
Defeated SMU 39-14 at home on October 3, 2009.
Defeated Colorado State 44-6 at home on October 17, 2009.
Defeated UNLV 41-0 at home on October 31, 2009; happy Nevada Day, Nevada Southern!?
Will play Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on January 4th, 2010.

Navy:
Defeated SMU 38-35 in overtime at SMU on October 17, 2009.
Defeated Louisiana Tech 32-14 at home on September 12, 2009.
Defeated Notre Dame 23-21 at Notre Dame on November 7, 2009.
Lost to Hawai'i 24-17 at Hawai'i on November 28, 2009.
Will play Missouri in the Texas Bowl on December 31, 2009.

Tulsa:
Lost to SMU 13-27 at SMU on October 31, 2009.
Lost to Boise State 21-28 at home on October 14, 2009.

UTEP:
Lost to SMU 31-35 at SMU on November 14, 2009.
Defeated New Mexico State at NMSU 38-12 on September 19, 2009.

Southern Methodist went 2-3 versus these teams, and these teams collectively went 5-3 against 2009 Nevada opponents.

SMU vs. these teams:
PF: 138 PA: 151 Dif: -13

More to come...hoo-ray; 12 days 'til game day!

We meet again, Dr. Jones.

Boy, having this much time away from Wolf Pack football makes things somewhat more difficult when you have to get back into the swing of things, but here goes nuthin'.  Prepare for the Mustangs!

I hope everyone is having a very safe Pearl Harbor Day; while I was traveling down Virginia Street this morning I was almost hit head on by an elderly gentleman, who possibly served at Cantigny although I can't be certain, driving a behemoth of a truck who, when he tired of traveling behind a car driving a sane speed, swung out into the oncoming traffic in order to pass, nearly hit me, and in the process was nearly plowed out of life by a bus.  It's not often we get a snow like this one, so please drive safe for my sake and yours.

I guess we have plenty of time to delve into most of this SMU business, so we won't hit it all at once.  Besides, we want people to keep checking in, right...am I right!?

*cough*

Anyway, let's look at SMU.  The Mustangs finished second in their division (West) of Conference USA with a 6-2 conference record; overall Jones and crew went 7-5.  Their season record is as follows:

September 9, 2009 (W)
SMU: 31 vs. Stephen F. Austin: 23
(SFA is out of the FCS Southland Conference, where they finished 6-1, 10-3 overall.)

September 12, 2009 (W)
SMU: 35 at UAB: 33
(UAB finished 5-7, 4-4 in CUSA, for 5th place in the East Division.)

September 19, 2009 (L)
Washington State: 30 vs. SMU: 27 (OT)
(Washington State finished 1-11 and only scored more than 20 points twice [once vs. Hawai'i]; here's that single win.)

October 3, 2009 (L)
TCU: 39 vs. SMU: 14
(TCU, from the MWC, finished undefeated and is facing Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.  Need I say more?)

October 10, 2009 (W)
SMU: 28 vs. East Carolina: 21
(East Carolina finished 9-4, 7-1 in CUSA, and defeated Houston for the conference crown; here is that once conference loss.)

October 17, 2009 (L)
Navy: 38 at SMU: 35 (OT)
(Navy is 8-4 with their game vs. Army still pending, including wins over Notre Dame, Delaware, and, well, SMU, and a losses to Ohio State [27-31], Pitt, Temple, and Hawai'i.)

October 24, 2009 (L)
Houston: 38 vs. SMU: 15
(Houston finished 7-5, 6-2 in CUSA, first place in the West Division, and losing to East Carolina 32-38 in the conference championship game.)

October 31, 2009 (W)
SMU: 27 at Tulsa: 13
(Tulsa finished 5-7, 3-5 CUSA, 4th place in the West Division; the Golden Hurricane blew [and I really mean that] through most of October and November accumulating 6 consecutive losses before defeating a really bad Memphis team 33-30 in OT to close out the season.)

November 7, 2009 (W)
SMU: 31 vs. Rice: 28
(Rice finished 2-10, 2-6 in CUSA, 5th place in the West Division.)

November 14, 2009 (W)
SMU: 35 vs. UTEP: 31
(UTEP finished 4-8 overall, 3-5 in CUSA for third place in the hapless West Division.)

November 21, 2009 (W)
Marshall: 34 vs. SMU: 31
(Marshall finished 6-6 overall, 4-4 in CUSA for fourth place in the East Division and a bowl bid.)

November 28, 2009 (W)
SMU: 26 vs. Tulane: 21
(Tulane is really, really bad.  They finished 3-9 overall, 1-7 in CUSA for dead last in the West Division.)

SMU-
PF: 335 PA: 349 Dif: -14
Nevada-
PF: 487 PA: 326 Dif: +161
Dif-
PF: Nevada +152 PA: Nevada -23

What Sagarin has to say:

56 Nevada     A = 73.61 W- 8 L-4 Schedule=66.95(82) vs. Top 10: 0-1 vs. Top 30: 0-1
ELO CHESS=71.98  61
PREDICTOR=74.82  53

88 SMU         A = 66.24 W-7 L-5 Schedule=65.91(90) vs. Top 10: 0-1 vs. Top 30: 0-1
ELO CHESS=70.19 69
PREDICTOR=62.19 103

By Conference
9 WESTERN ATHLETIC (FBS) Mean = 66.35 Simple = 66.74 Average = ( 9)  Teams = 9
10 CONFERENCE USA (FBS) Mean = 64.83 Simple = 64.69 Average = ( 10) Teams = 12

More on this later.

Nevada Wolf Pack Opponent Scores/Records through November 29th, 2009

This week's results, sans the smart-aleckery:

Notre Dame (6-6) lost to Stanford (8-4, 6-3 PAC 10) 38-45 on the road.

Colorado State (3-9, 0-8 MWC) lost to Wyoming (6-6, 4-4 MWC) 16-17 at home.

Missouri (8-4, 4-4 Big XII) defeated Kansas (5-7, 1-7 Big XII) 41-39 at home.

UNLV (5-7, 3-5 MWC) defeated San Diego State (4-8, 2-6 MWC) 28-24 at home.

Utah State (4-8, 3-5 WAC) defeated Idaho (7-5, 4-4 WAC) 52-49 on the road.

Idaho (7-5, 4-4 WAC) lost to Utah State (4-8, 3-5 WAC) 49-52 at home.

Hawai'i (6-6, 3-5 WAC) defeated Navy (8-4) 24-17 at home.

San Jose State (2-9, 1-6 WAC) defeated New Mexico State (3-9, 1-6 WAC) 13-10 at home.

New Mexico State (3-9, 1-6 WAC) lost to San Jose State (2-9, 1-6 WAC) 10-13 on the road.

Not including the Nevada-Boise State game, Nevada opponents are 5-4 for the week ending November 28th, 2009 while two teams, LaTech and Fresno State, remained idle.  I can't remember the last time that the teams had a winning record for the week, and I really don't feel like doing the research right now to see if and/or when it happened.  Four teams played each other, Utah State at Idaho, and New Mexico State at San Jose State.

Overall, Nevada opponents are 35-48; out of conference opponents are 22-26.

One more week!

December

The twelfth month is nigh upon us; with it comes the end of the belovéd Wolf Pack's regular football season, and it with no small degree of melancholy, although there is the bowl game forthcoming.

I think we'll wait until Sunday to write in any depth about the Boise State game; it goes without saying that the first quarter was a dissapointment.

An even bigger dissapointment, by my reckoning, was watching the Broncos go for two on their second touchdown; statement made, Peterson.

Come-uppance next year?  I sure hope so, someone has to step up and take Boise State down a peg.

Good luck to the Pack in the post season!

For the record, the new banner is meant to commemorate the 1914 Christmas Truce.

He went for two...against Belgium!

Nevada vs. Boise State Common Opponents 2009

Louisiana Tech:
     Nevada vs. Louisiana Tech, October 9, 2009
                  1   2   3   4   T
     NEV:     14   3  13  7  37
     LaTech: 7    0   7   0  14

     Boise State at Louisiana Tech, November 6, 2009
                  1   2   3   4   T
     BSU:     13  14  3  15  45
     LaTech: 7   0  14  14  35

Utah State:
     Nevada at Utah State, October 17, 2009
                  1    2   3   4   T
     NEV        0  14  7  14  35
     USU        7  14  3   8   32

     Boise State at Utah State, November 21, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     BSU        7  28  10  7  52
     USU        7   7   7   0  21

Idaho:
     Nevada vs. Idaho, October 24, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     NEV        14 14  21 21 70
     IDHO       0  24  14 7  45

     Boise State vs. Idaho, November 14, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     BSU       21  21 14  7  63
     IDHO      7  10   0  8  25

Hawai'i:
     Nevada vs. Hawai'i, October 31, 2009
                  1   2   3   4   T
     NEV:      7  14  7   3   31
     HAW:    14  0  0   7   21

     Boise State at Hawai'i, October 24, 2009I
                  1   2   3   4   T
     BSU:     10  24 10 10  54
     HAW:    0    0   2   7   9

San Jose State:
     Nevada at San Jose State, November 8, 2009
                  1   2   3   4   T
     NEV:      6  28  14 14  62
     SJSU:     0   0   0   7   7

     Boise State vs. San Jose State, October 31, 2009
                  1   2   3   4   T
     BSU:      7  17  14  7  45
     SJSU:     0   7   0   0   7

Fresno State:
     Nevada vs. Fresno State, November 14, 2009
                  1   2   3   4   T
     NEV:     10  14 14 14  52
     FSU:     14   0   0   0  14

     Boise State at Fresno State, September 18, 2009
                  1   2   3   4   T
     BSU:      10 14 10 17  51
     FSU:       0  17 10  7  34

In those six games:
     Nevada:
          PF-287 PA-133 (dif. +154 )
     Boise State:
          PF-310 PA-131 (dif. +179)
     Dif. between the two:
          PF-BSU +23
          PA-BSU -2
          Dif.-BSU +25

Data courtesy of espn.com.

Nevada Wolf Pack Opponent Scores/Records through November 21th, 2009

Almost forgot this week...sorry.

Notre Dame (6-5) lost to Connecticut (5-5) 30-33 in OT at home.
Wow.  Just...wow.

Colorado State (3-8) lost to New Mexico! (1-10) 27-29 on the road.
CSU's last win...yep, still Nevada at home; this was also UNMs ONLY win so far this season!!!

Missouri (7-4) defeated Iowa State (6-6) 34-24 at home.
The Tigers achieve bowl eligibility by getting their proverbial stuff together against some mediocre Big XII competition.

Louisiana Tech (3-8) lost to Fresno State (7-4) 28-30 on the road.
LaTech is just bad enough to help Pat Hill avoid his patented late-season choke maneuver...this time.

Utah State (3-8) lost to Boise State (11-0) 21-52 at home.
At least the Broncos did what they were supposed to in Logan.

Hawai'i (5-6) defeated San Jose State (1-9) 17-10 in OT on the road.
Can you believe that Hawai'i can still screw one WAC bowl contender?  Although with home games against Navy and Wisconsin that chance is spotty at best.

San Jose State (1-9) lost to Hawai'i (5-6) 10-17 at home.
I still say Dick Tomey deserves better.

Fresno State (7-4) defeated Louisiana Tech (3-8) 30-28 at home.
Meh.

So, not including the Nevada-NMSU sleepover down at the Aggie Playpen, Nevada opponents are 3-5 for the week ending November 21, 2009; two former opponents played each other, and two were bye (UNLV and Idaho).

Overall, Nevada opponents are 30-44; OOC opponents are 20-24.

Earning His Comp Car?

So says Pat Forde at ESPN:

Coach Who Earned His Comp Car This Week
Nevada's Chris Ault (36), whose team was 0-3 heading into October -- and a pretty bad 0-3 at that, outscored by 60 points. Since then the Wolfpack is 8-0, having scored 50 or more points five times. Nevada will pose a worthy test for unbeaten Boise State on Friday night on the blue turf.

That said... we're not North Carolina State, Mr. Forde. It's "Wolf Pack" here. Just don't ask why that's the case, seeing as there are, far as I know, no wolves in Nevada. There was, however, a former NC State coach by the name of Buck Shaw who briefly served as a line coach at Nevada; considering how small Nevada was at the time, it wouldn't be terribly surprising if Shaw was able to convince people to change the team's name from the original "Sagebrushers" to something that sounded a little tougher.

Not Quite As Topical As It Was Two Months Ago

Bronco Nation says we're "not quite as topical as [we were] two months ago". Frankly, I have to agree. To Ault's credit, the Wolf Pack has really come alive over the past month and a half. The question on our minds, however, is this:

Is it because our team is that good, or is it because the WAC is that bad?

The answer to that question, of course, is YES. Our team is getting better. The offense is playing to our personnel strengths by focusing on the running game, which is a development I already spoke in favor of not too long ago. On the other hand, outside of us, Fresno State and Boise State, the WAC is bad. How bad? According to Sagarin's latest computer rankings, the WAC is ranked behind the Mountain West and ahead of Conference USA. This doesn't sound too bad until you remember that Boise State tilts the average substantially in the WAC's favor.

To help drive the point home, here are the team-by-team rankings for us, Conference USA, and the MAC:

Western Athletic Conference
8 Boise State
52 Fresno State
56 Nevada
78 Idaho
89 Louisiana Tech
109 Hawaii
110 Utah State
137 San Jose State
157 New Mexico State

Conference USA
41 Houston
54 East Carolina
62 Central Florida
65 Southern Miss
72 Marshall
80 SMU
96 UAB
97 Tulsa
125 UTEP
129 Memphis
140 Rice
141 Tulane

Mid-American Conference
45 Central Michigan
58 Temple
83 Ohio University
85 Bowling Green
87 Northern Illinois
107 Buffalo
112 Kent State
114 Western Michigan
116 Toledo
132 Akron
146 Miami-Ohio
164 Ball State
184 Eastern Michigan

Look at the numbers for a second. If you take Boise State out of the equation, our Sagarin ranking drops from 65.78 down to 63.84, which puts us several points below Conference USA (65.21) and just above the MAC (61.19). In other words, Nevada has been chewing up yardage and securing several NCAA rushing records against one of the weakest conferences in college football.

That said, we have been chewing up yardage. If we were as bad as the rest of the conference, we wouldn't be blowing them out 52-14 or 63-20. If our defense wasn't improving, we wouldn't have kept our opponents under 21 points in each game in November. Folks, yes, this team is putting up impressive scores against some truly awful teams, but they are putting up impressive scores. You don't do that unless you're actually halfway decent.

So, how do I think we'll do against Boise State? Good question, and it's one that's keeping some Bronco fans up at night, too. Boise State is, in many respects, in the same position we're in, only without the ugly non-conference losses that we suffered. Are they any good? Are we? Nobody really knows because neither team has played anyone that couldn't pass for a Sun Belt team in months. I mean, Buffalo would help either of our team's strengths of schedule more than the bottom third of the WAC. Think about that for a minute.

Personally, I think this game will be close. Ault fired Tormey so many years ago because Tormey's Pack didn't perform against Boise State; consequently, Ault has made it his personal mission to prove that, unlike Tormey, his teams won't quit when facing the Broncos. This approach has paid off pretty well - the past two Nevada-Boise State games were rather close, with Kaepernick's coming out party occurring in Boise in quadruple-overtime two years ago. That said, I think this game is going to provide somebody with a reality check. Since this is FireChrisAult.com, and since Boise State is not afraid to throw the ball, guess who I think will receive it?

Boise State 49, Nevada 35

NEVADA vs. BOIZZZEEE STATE: All-Time Football Data

Nevada (8-3, 7-0 WAC, T-1) at Boise State (11-0, 6-0 WAC, T-1).

Not ancient, but definately a storied rivalry.  Boise State leads the all-time series 23-12-0.  Overall for his career, Chris Ault is 7-15 versus the Broncos; in his third term, Ault is 0-5.  Nevada has won at BSU only twice out of sixteen tries; Ault has won once in ten tries.

Scoring:
Nevada: 912 BSU: 1156 (Boise State +244)
Nevada PPG: 26.05714285
BSU PPG: 33.02857142
Nevada has scored 21.11% fewer points than Boise State overall.

Ault Scoring:
Nevada: 539 BSU: 672 (Boise State +133)
Nevada PPG: 24.5
BSU PPG: 30.54545454
Ault-led Nevada teams have scored 19.79% fewer points than Boise State overall.

Ault 2 Scoring:
Nevada: 143 BSU: 255  (Boise State +112)
Nevada PPG: 28.6
BSU PPG: 51
Third term Ault-led Nevada teams have scored 43.92% fewer points than Boise State (since 2004).

This is the final game of the season for Nevada, whereas Boise State is taking advantage of the Hawai'i clause and adding a thirteenth game (U. C. Davis earlier this season); the Broncos will play New Mexico State on December 5th.

The series (as always, Ault-coached games appear with an asterisk or two):

September 25, 1971
Boise State: 17 at Nevada: 10

October 14, 1972
at Boise State: 56 Nevada: 19

November 3, 1973
at Nevada: 23 Boise State: 21

October 5, 1974
at Boise State: 36 Nevada: 16

November 8, 1975
Boise State: 49 at Nevada: 6

October 23, 1976*
at Boise State: 26 Nevada: 8*

October 15, 1977*
at Nevada: 28 Boise State: 10*

November 10, 1979*
Boise State: 28 at Nevada: 27*

November 8, 1980*
at Boise State: 14 Nevada: 3*

October 31, 1981*
Boise State: 13 at Nevada: 3*

September 18, 1982*
at Boise State: 20 Nevada: 13*

September 24, 1983*
at Nevada: 38 Boise State: 20*

September 22, 1984*
at Boise State: 37 Nevada: 12*

September 21, 1985*
at Nevada: 37 Boise State: 10*

November 8, 1986*
Nevada: 21 at Boise State: 16*

November 7, 1987*
Boise State: 36 at Nevada: 31*

October 29, 1988*
at Boise State: 40 Nevada: 28*

November 4, 1989*
at Nevada: 30 Boise State: 14*

November 10, 1990*
at Boise State: 30 Nevada: 14*

December 8, 1990*
at Nevada: 59 Boise State: 52*

October 26, 1991*
at Nevada: 17 Boise State: 14*

September 11, 1993
at Nevada: 38 Boise State: 10

September 17, 1994*
at Boise State: 37 Nevada: 27*

October 12, 1996
at Nevada: 66 Boise State: 28

November 8, 1997
Nevada: 56 at Boise State: 42

October 31, 1998
at Nevada: 52 Boise State: 24

October 23, 1999
at Boise State: 52 Nevada: 17

October 27, 2001
at Boise State: 49 Nevada: 7

November 23, 2002
Boise State: 44 at Nevada: 7

November 29, 2003
at Boise State: 56 Nevada: 3

November 27, 2004*
Boise State: 58 at Nevada: 21*

October 29, 2005*
at Boise State: 49 Nevada: 14*

November 25, 2006*
Boise State: 38 at Nevada: 7*

October 14, 2007*
at Boise State: 69 Nevada: 67 (4OT)*

November 22, 2008*
Boise State: 41 at Nevada: 34*

Las Vegas Football At Its Finest

It's always good to see that a tradition of excellence is being cultivated by our southern rivals. Take this fine example of proper special teams execution, for example:



I sure hope that Defensive Tackle gets a scholarship with UNLV when he graduates!

Nevada vs. New Mexico State: All-Time Football Data

Nevada (7-3, 6-0 WAC, T-1) vs. New Mexico State (3-7, 1-4 WAC 8th).

Truly an ancient and storied rivalry here.  Nevada leads the all-time series 10-2-0, with both losses coming at Mackay Stadium by the exact same score exactly ten years and one day apart.  Chris Ault is 6-1 vs. the Aggies, and his teams have scored fewer than 40 only once in the series (1992).

Scoring:
Nevada: 516 NMSU: 316 (Nevada +200)
Nevada PPG: 43
NMSU PPG: 26.33333333

Ault Scoring:
Nevada: 306 NMSU: 200 (Nevada + 106)
Nevada PPG: 43.71428571
NMSU PPG: 28.57142857

Ault 2 Scoring:
Nevada: 181 NMSU: 131 (Nevada +50)
Nevada PPG: 45.25
NMSU PPG: 32.75

The series (Ault-coached games are marked with an asterisk):
October 24, 1992*
at Nevada: 35 NMSU: 21*

November 13, 1993
Nevada: 34 at NMSU: 14

October 15, 1994*
at Nevada: 45 NMSU: 24*

September 9, 1995*
Nevada: 45 at NMSU: 24*

November 2, 1996
at Nevada: 63 NMSU: 14

November 1, 1997
Nevada: 45 at NMSU: 24

October 10, 1998
NMSU: 48 at Nevada: 45

October 9, 1999
Nevada: 23 at NMSU: 16

November 12, 2005*
Nevada: 48 at NMSU: 24*

October 28, 2006*
at Nevada: 48 NMSU: 21*

November 2, 2007*
Nevada: 40 NMSU: 38*
(This site was created that evening.)

October 11, 2008*
NMSU: 48 at Nevada: 45*

A Dark Day in Nevada

It is with great sadness that I pass on the news that Mike Sanford has been fired from his head coaching job with UNLV. This is truly a bleak day for Nevada Wolf Pack fans everywhere. I mean, who are we going to beat the ever-loving tar out of now?! If something isn't done, there's a faint but statistically significant chance that UNLV might - just might! - hire a coach that can actually face the tactical and recruiting brilliance that is embodied in the Aulternator himself!

Of course, in order to pull off that minor feat, UNLV needs to find themselves an athletic director. As the article succinctly put it:

Smatresk says he expects a new UNLV athletic director will pick a new head football coach. No athletic director has been named.

Now that's a well-run program down there. On behalf of Nevada fans everywhere, I'd like to offer my effusive praise to the well-run UNLV Rebel athletic program down there, and I sincerely and truly hope that they continue running their program in the vein that they've pursued thus far.

Keep up the good work!

Nevada Wolf Pack Opponent Scores/Records through November 14th, 2009

#23 Notre Dame (6-4) lost to #12 Pittsburgh (9-1) 22-27on the road.

Missouri (6-4) defeated Kansas State (6-5) 38-12 on the road.

UNLV (4-7) lost to Air Force Academy (7-4) 17-45 on the road.

Louisiana Tech (3-8) lost to #8 LSU (8-2) 16-24 on the road.

Utah State (3-7) defeated San Jose State (1-8) 24-9 at home.

Idaho (7-4) lost to #7 Boise State (10-0) 63-25 on the road.

Hawai'i (4-6) defeated New Mexico State (3-7) 24-6 at home.

San Jose State (1-8) lost to Utah State (3-7) 9-24 on the road.

So, not including the Nevada-Fresno State drubbing, Nevada opponents are 3-5 for the week ending November 24th, 2009; only two former opponents played each other this week.

Overall, Nevada opponents are 27-39; OOC opponents are 19-22.

Editorial Postscript: My second greatest sports thrill of the weekend was knowing that Stanford vanquished USC with such a resounding decision that all of preppydom will languish for months...on the road.

Winning Cures All Ills

In my last post, I said that this week's game would state definitively what kind of team we really are since Fresno State is the first decent team we've played since the beginning of October. After today's game, the verdict is in:

We can run the ball really well!

Considering the name of the blog, I really hate to admit this, but I have to be honest - Ault and his staff have been doing an excellent job of playing to our offense's strengths as of late. It took a bit longer than I would have liked for Ault to admit that we're not a pass-first offense, but it's quite apparent now that he did figure it out. Letting the ground game run the offense has given Kaepernick the confidence he needed to develop his passing game, which has reduced turnovers substantially. It's much easier to change your throwing motion and improve your timing with your receivers when you know you can just hand it off to one of three other people in the backfield or run it yourself whenever things aren't clicking through the air.

The genius of the run-first offense doesn't stop there, though.

Since we run the ball, we consume a ton of clock. This is good since our defense is, at best, mediocre. We're solid against the run, sure, but we're also nearly heart attack-inducing against the pass. When it comes to our secondary, time is most certianly not on our side - the longer the game goes on, the higher the chances that our opponents will be able torch us through the air. Consequently, burning as much time as possible on the offensive side of the ball is absolutely paramount; fortunately, a run-first offense is precisely what you need in a situation like this. Of course, it should go without saying that clock consumption becomes far less important when your running backs can routinely get over 10 yards a rush behind an offensive line that's pushing big enough holes to drive a moving truck through, but you get the idea.

So... what now? We just guaranteed that we're getting 3rd place in the WAC at worst, and, assuming we take care of business against NMSU, we're guaranteed 2nd. That means we're going to a bowl game. Heck, it might mean we're going to Hawaii instead of Albuquerque, which I'm sure our players won't mind. Question is, do we have what it takes to derail Boise State's increasingly remote shot at a BCS bowl?

I can't believe I'm typing this, but I'm beginning to think that maybe - just maybe - we might. For the sake of appearances, however, I'll still say that we're doomed as long as Ault has a chance to work his clock management "magic".

We are FireChrisAult.com, after all. We have a reputation to maintain.

I Don't Think Anyone Saw THAT Coming

In the history of Nevada victories over Fresno State, last year was fairly lopsided; 1992 was fairly lopsided; but the Pack earned the greatest margin of victory in the series since a 53-7 victory in 1948.  The most lopsided game in the history of the series was a 48-0 Nevada victory in 1929, with the 2001 Fresno State 61-14 victory coming just short.  (Most points scored by the victor?  Nevada scored 62 in 1994.)

The stat of the game: the Wolf Pack did it with 45 passing yards.

Kaep was 6/12 for 45 yards, averaging 3.8 yards.

And, no, the loss of Mathews late in the second quarter was not a huge difference maker.  Mathews was averaging 4 yards per carry on eight touches with 32 yards overall; that's on pace for just a twig under 74 yards for the game.

Lippincott had a Senior Day to remember, rushing for 149 yards and THREE touchdowns averaging 14.9 yards per carry.

The analysis will come up sometime tomorrow (preview: Fresno State's 362 passing yards).

Tuscarora, NV

Nevada vs. Fresno State Common Opponents 2009

To gear up for, arguably, the biggest conference game of the 2009 season for the beloved Wolf Pack, it seems natural to do a head-to-head comparison of scores between the two teams' common opponents.

There are four of them.

Utah State:
     Nevada at Utah State, October 17, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     NEV        0  14  7  14 35
     USU        7  14  3   8  32
     Fresno State vs. Utah State, October 31, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     FSU        17  3   7  7  31  
     USU       10  17  0  0  27

Idaho:
     Nevada vs. Idaho, October 24, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     NEV      14  14 21 21 70
     IDHO      0   24 14  7 45
     Fresno State at Idaho, November 7, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     FSU       17  7   7   0  31
     IDA         0   0   7 14  21

Hawai'i:
     Nevada vs. Hawai'i, October 31, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     NEV        7  14  7   3  31
     HAW      14  0   0   7  21
     Fresno State at Hawai'i, October 10, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     FSU        14 14 14  0  42
     HAW       0   3   0  14 17

San Jose State:
     Nevada at San Jose State, November 8, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     NEV        6  28 14 14 62
     SJSU       0   0   0   7   7
     Fresno State vs. San Jose State, October 17, 2009
                   1   2   3   4   T
     FSU         7  24  0  10 41
     SJSU      14  0   0   7  21

(Note: Nevada and Fresno State play opposites; that is to say, whomever the one team plays at home, the other team plays them on the road.  Neat, huh?)

In those four games:
     Nevada:
          PF-198 PA-105 (dif. +93)
     Fresno State:
          PF-145 PA-86  (dif. +59)

Of those four teams, only Idaho is not currently one of the bottom three.

Fresno State: has won five in a row; did what they should have against Hawai'i; at least had an interesting game versus San Jose State; did about as well as the Pack did against Utah State (only at home, though); and didn't really have much trouble at Idaho.

Nevada: has won six in a row; looked as though they didn't give Hawai'i much thought; made a statement against San Jose State while gearing up for the two toughies, Fresno State on only six days rest; did about as well as Fresno State versus Utah State (on the road); and made a BIG offensive statement at home against Idaho (made a big defensive statement, too, only for all the wrong reasons).

Black and white analysis gives a slim edge to the Pack at home...very slim, and very black and white.  The same black and white analysis going into the Boise State game in 2006 would have said something similar: Nevada managed to score 42 while holding scoreless BOTH Utah State at home and LaTech on the road going into that game, a bit better than Boise State had done against both of those teams; the Broncos would go on to beat Nevada 38-7 on the Pack's own Field Turf.

Prognostications anyone?

Patsville, near Mountain City.

Data courtesy of espn.com.

Don't Start Celebrating Just Yet

So, you just watched the SJSU game on ESPN a couple of days ago and thought, "Wow, our team is pretty good!" You looked at our record, noticed we have a winning streak going, and thought, "Hey, our team has finally turned the corner!" You took a look at the WAC standings and saw that we have a 1/2 game lead on Boise State for the WAC championship, thus making us #1 in our conference. You took a look at all of this, smiled, and said, "Ah, those FireChrisAult guys, they don't know what they're talking about."

You also thought Fox News and Rush Limbaugh would stop broadcasting after Obama won in November, didn't you? Oh, you sad, naive fool...

In all seriousness, we're pretty happy here with the Wolf Pack's performance since the beginning of October. We are Wolf Pack fans, after all, and, though we're obviously not big fans of the Aulternator, even we'll agree that a broken clock can be right twice a day. However, we're also a little more realistic about where we are. To help illustrate our current state of affairs, let's compare a couple of teams:

• One team has a half game lead in its conference. The other team is only a half game behind the leader.
• Both teams have six wins.
• Both teams have scored more than 40 points twice in their last three games.
• Both teams have only played one team with a winning record since October 1st.
  
• Neither team has played the two most powerful teams in their conference.
• Both teams will play one of their traditional conference powerhouses at home, but will have to play the traditional top dog on the road.
  

One of those teams is, of course, us. The other is Arizona, which still has Oregon (at home) and USC (on the road) on their schedule. How do you think Arizona fans are feeling right now? Heck, Arizona's #17 in the country this week, so I imagine they're pretty happy. Now, what do you think Arizona's chances really are against Oregon and USC? Do you think the Wildcats are going to the Rose Bowl?

Right.

The good news, of course, is that Fresno State is no Oregon and Boise State is no USC, though Boise State has been doing a pretty decent impression these days. However, Fresno State's only loss in the WAC was against Boise State, and its other two losses this year were to a freakishly good Cincinnati team and to a Wisconsin team that always plays tough at home. In other words, this isn't San Jose State we're playing. These guys are good and they're used to playing tough, physically demanding teams. We're not going to push forward with 8-10 yard runs without contact like we did on Sunday.

Thankfully, the rest of the WAC is absolutely pitiful this year, so the worst we'll finish is 7-5, assuming we take care of business against New Mexico State. Assuming Boise State beats Idaho, that would put us third in the conference with all of the tiebreakers in our favor, which means we'd either be going to New Mexico or Hawaii again. For fairly obvious reasons, the Humanitarian Bowl would either take Boise State or Idaho, depending on whether Boise State gets a bid somewhere else or not. So, provided we take care of business in a couple of weeks against NMSU, we'll still go to a bowl game, Ault and his fans will pat each other on their backs, and everybody will sit back, relax, and pretend our program is right where it should be.

That said, if we lose to Fresno State at home, we're not where we should be. It just means we're the best of the worst of the WAC. The WAC is a three horse race every single year. Which horse will we be this time around?

We'll find out on Saturday.

Nevada vs. Fresno State: All-Time Football Data

The Fortieth Meeting...

Nevada (6-3, 5-0 WAC, T-1st) vs. Fresno State (6-3, 5-1 WAC, 2nd).

Not as old as the San Jose State vs. Nevada rivalry, but a good rivalry and still plenty old and storied, with the first game dating back to October 9, 1926, a 26-7 Wolf Pack victory.  They have also met much more consistantly, playing thirty-nine times overall, with the longest break coming between 1955 and 1982 (27 years).

Fresno State has the advantage with a commanding 24-14-1 overall record.  Chris Ault is 4-4 against the Bulldogs for his career, and 2-3 since his return in 2004.

Scoring:
Nevada: 781 Fresno St: 1020 (Fresno St. +239)
Nevada PPG: 20.55263158
Fresno St. PPG: 26.15384615

Ault Scoring: (8 games)
Nevada: 280 Fresno St: 279 (Nevada +1)
Nevada PPG: 35
Fresno St. PPG: 34.875

Ault Scoring Since 2004: (5 games)
Nevada: 156 Fresno St: 194 (Fresno St. +38)
Nevada PPG: 31.2
Fresno St. PPG: 38.8

The Series (Ault-coached games appear with the usual asterisk):
October 9, 1926
Nevada: 26 at Fresno State: 7

October 15, 1927
at Fresno State: 10 Nevada: 7

November 10, 1928
at Nevada: 12 Fresno State: 12

October 19, 1929
at Nevada: 48 Fresno State: 0

November 27, 1930
at Fresno State: 6 Nevada: 0

October 24, 1931
at Nevada: 31 Fresno State: 13

November 24, 1932
Nevada: 7 at Fresno State: 0

November 29, 1934
at Fresno State: 33 Nevada: 0

November 11, 1935
Fresno State: 27 at Nevada: 6

November 26, 1936
at Fresno State: 13 Nevada: 6

November 6, 1937
Fresno State: 46 at Nevada: 8

October 22, 1938
Fresno State: 27 at Nevada: 0

October 14, 1939
at Fresno State: 45 Nevada: 0

November 2, 1940
at Fresno State: 7 Nevada: 6

October 18, 1941
Fresno State:6 at Nevada: 3

November 7, 1942
at Fresno State: 33 Nevada: 0

November 3, 1945
at Nevada: 7 Fresno State: 4
(Talk about an ugly win...)

November 11, 1948
Nevada: 53 at Fresno State 7

October 22, 1949
Nevada: 34: at Fresno State: 13

November 8, 1952
Fresno State: 59 at Nevada: 22

October 17, 1953
at Fresno State: 47 Nevada: 7

October 16, 1954
Fresno State: 21 at Nevada: 7

October 15, 1955
at Fresno State: 42 Nevada: 9

October 16, 1982*
at Nevada: 40 Fresno State: 26*

September 17, 1983*
at Fresno State: 24 Nevada: 22*

November 5, 1994*
Nevada: 62 at Fresno State: 35*

September 26, 1998
Nevada: 27 at Fresno State: 24

September 25, 1999
Fresno State: 49 at Nevada: 24

October 14, 2000
at Fresno State: 58 Nevada: 21

November 17, 2001
Fresno State:61 at Nevada: 14

November 16, 2002
at Fresno State: 38 Nevada: 30

November 8, 2003
Fresno State: 27 at Nevada: 10

November 20, 2004*
at Fresno State: 54 Nevada: 17*

November 26, 2005*
at Nevada: 38 Fresno State: 35*

September 1, 2006*
at Fresno State: 28 Nevada: 19*

October 6, 2007*
Fresno State: 49 at Nevada: 41*

November 7, 2008*
Nevada: 41 at Fresno State: 28*

Get Ready for Fresno State!

There really isn't a whole lot to say about the San Jose State game this week, so I won't go into analysis...thank God, those take me hours to do.  Instead, just a few quick blurbs.

Nevada proved that they can win on the road.  Granted, the five or so SJSU fans in attendance plus Krazy George weren't able to produce a game-affecting din (more of a squeaky hush?), but the Pack's showing against the last last-place team was not altogether convincing...this game they looked like they were getting ready for the next three games, two of which are far and away the biggest conference games of the year.

Fresno State is going to be one tough cookie, so Nevada is going to need as much help as possible.  Get out and back like you've never backed before!

Near Montague, CA.

Nevada Wolf Pack Opponent Scores/Records through November 7th, 2009

Notre Dame (6-3) lost to Navy (7-3) 21-23 at home.

Colorado State (3-7) lost to UNLV (4-6) 16-35 on the road.
Once again we have to mention that their last win was September 19th vs. Nevada.

Missouri (5-4) lost to Baylor (4-5) 32-40 at home.
That's right - Baylor...sheesh.

UNLV (4-6) defeated Colorado State (3-7) 35-16 at home.
Someone had to win.

Louisiana Tech (3-6) lost to Boise State (9-0) 35-45 at home.
November 27th on the Smurf Turf is starting to look REALLY interesting.

Utah State (2-7) lost to Hawai'i (3-6) 36-49 on the road.
Two weeks in a row the Pack gets to play the last-ranked WAC team.

Idaho (7-3) lost to Fresno State (6-3) 21-31 at home.
November 14th in Reno is looking pretty good, too.

Hawai'i (3-6) defeated Utah State (2-7) 49-36 at home.
Again, someone had to win this game.

So, not including the Nevada-SJSU game, Pack opponents are 2-6 for the week ending November 7th (8th), 2009, and those two wins are, in both cases, opponents playing other opponents so, as I said above, someone had to win those games.  That doesn't really send a good message to Jeff Sagarin.

Overall, Wolf Pack opponents are 24-34 to-date, and OOC opponents are 18-20 (the tie is finally broken).

Editorial postscript: how does the 4th-ranked Pac-10 team get to be ranked 10th in the nation, even above the team who just demolished and demoralized them the prior week?  Oregon was humbled by Stanford, a classic Fresno State-style let-down, but for comparison's sake, USC has yet to play Stanford.

Our thoughts go out to Jahvid Best.

Nevada vs. San Jose State: All Time Football Data

Nevada (5-3, 4-0 WAC, T-1st) at San Jose State (1-6, 0-3 WAC, 8th)

This really is an historic rivalry...at least it should be.  The first meeting between "Nevada State University" and the "San Jose Normal School" was November 30, 1899 at the original Mackay Stadium, and to date is the longest-standing continuing series, the only other colleges the Sagebrushers (as Nevada was known at the time) had played were Santa Clara, Pacific, California JV, & Stanford JV in 1898, and Stanford & California varsity each of the two games prior to the first San Jose State meeting in 1899.

The teams have lost touch several times along the journey, but maintained scheduling through much of the 1930s and some of the 1940s.  After 1948, though, it would take Nevada moving into D1-A in 1992 to renew this rivalry.  From 1931 through 1948 (and including the 1992 meeting) all games were played in San Jose.

There have been 23 meetings between Nevada and San Jose State, with the Wolf Pack holding the advantage 13-8-2.  Chris Ault is 6-2 all-time in this series, and is 4-1 since his return to coaching in 2004.

All-Time Scoring:

   Nevada- 593 [25.782608695 PPG] (Nevada +99)

   SJSU- 494 [21.478260869 PPG]

Ault All-Time Scoring:

   Nevada- 282 [35.25 PPG] (Nevada +107)

   SJSU- 175 [21.875 PPG]

Ault Scoring Since 2004:

   Nevada- 160 [32 PPG] (Nevada +62)

   SJSU- 98 [19.6 PPG]

The Series (Ault-coached games appear with an asterisk):

November 30, 1899

at Nevada: 6 San Jose State: 0

November 4, 1900
at Nevada: 0 San Jose State: 0

October 31, 1931
Nevada: 18 at San Jose State: 0

November 5, 1932
Nevada: 0 at San Jose State: 0

October 27, 1934
at San Jose State: 10 Nevada: 0

November 16, 1935
at San Jose State: 20 Nevada: 6

October 7, 1939
at San Jose State: 28 Nevada: 0

November 29, 1940
at San Jose State: 30 Nevada: 7

November 8, 1941
Nevada: 20 at San Jose State: 19

September 24, 1948
Nevada: 39 at San Jose State: 0

November 7, 1992*
at San Jose State: 39 Nevada: 35

November 6, 1993
at Nevada: 46 San Jose State: 45

October 22, 1994*
Nevada: 42 at San Jose State: 10

November 18, 1995*
at Nevada: 45 San Jose State: 28

October 21, 2000
San Jose State: 49 at Nevada: 30

November 10, 2001
at San Jose State L 45 - 64
 
October 19, 2002
at Nevada: 52 San Jose State: 24
 
September 18, 2003
Nevada: 42 at San Jose State: 30
 
November 6, 2004*
at Nevada: 42 San Jose State: 24
 
October 1, 2005*
Nevada: 30 at San Jose State: 23
 
October 21, 2006*
at Nevada: 23 San Jose State: 7
 
November 24, 2007*
at San Jose State: 27 Nevada: 24
 
November 15, 2008*
at Nevada: 41 San Jose State: 17
 
Final conference standings since 2002:
2002-
   Nevada: T-4th SJSU: T-4th
2003-
   Nevada: 5th SJSU: 8th
2004-
   Nevada: T-7th SJSU: 10th
2005-
   Nevada: T-1st SJSU: T-6th
2006-
   Nevada: T-3rd SJSU: T-3rd
2007-
   Nevada: T-4th SJSU: T-4th
2008-
   Nevada: T-2nd SJSU: T-5th