Fire Chris Ault

Nevada-Oregon 3rd Quarter Thoughts

2011-09-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not posting here because I think it's time to fire Ault. If we play like this against San Jose State, we'll talk.

It's easy to forget this, but, when Oregon isn't playing NFL-level defenses fielded by SEC teams, this is precisely what they do to people. Even against LSU, they managed to score 27 points while committing four turnovers. Most teams would be fortunate to score at all under such conditions. Last year, they did what they are doing to us against just about every team on their schedule until Auburn proved that, yes, it's possible to stop Oregon's high octane offense if you field the Carolina Panther's starting defense against it.

The good news, at least from where I'm sitting, is our offense is moving the ball fairly effectively against a solid defense. Granted, there have been a few miscues, and it's clear our offensive line isn't as solid as it was last year, but Lantrip looks comfortable back there and our running game is holding its own. When we're not playing national championship contenders, it will be much more obvious that we've only lost half a step there since last year. Our defense, meanwhile... well, it's not really fair to knock them. Our secondary is about as mediocre as always, but our linebackers are doing a good job of pressuring the quarterback. Sadly, Oregon's offense is explicitly built to punish teams when they pressure the quarterback, or when they attempt to focus on coverage, or when they attempt to stop the run, or when they step on to the field at all.

The simple truth is Oregon is really, really good, and has a lot more talent on both sides of the ball than we do. They also have Nike funneling money into the program, while we have troubles filling a 30,000 seat stadium. As tempting as it might be to pin this one on Ault, it would be like blaming Belgium for not putting up a better fight against Germany in World War 2. We lost this game the instant it showed up on our schedule - the only question was whether or not Oregon would forget that. If they beat LSU, we might have had a chance. They didn't, so we didn't.

Don't feel bad - Oregon will make a lot of schools look silly. We're just their first victim of the year; we'll be in good company soon enough.

FCA 2011

2011-09-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

Suddenly it's September, and time to look forward to another season of Wolf Pack football.

This blog was created in 2007 by a couple of guys who were more than a little disappointed in the team's advancement in over the previous 3.5 seasons and felt more than a little crushed by it. More than anything it was an emotional response to a rather lackluster product; a product of men with the talents and skills to do better...much, much better. And in posts dating back nearly another four seasons we have produced ample testament backing up our stance of disappointment.

Disappointment is the recurring theme here.

But through all of that we never really wanted to see Ault terminated. He was and still is an institution in Reno and Nevada at large and should be able to maintain the dignity that goes along with that. Nevada football = Chris Ault in no uncertain terms, and none of us wanted to see him stripped of that dignity by a lackluster 3rd tenure. This, in a very simplified nutshell, became our raison d'être.

In 2010 a string of magical moments, too numerous to recount here, captivated the Wolf Pack Nation. There were ample times to doubt, but through it all Ault and the 2010 staff & athletes gave us all something truly special and for that all Wolf Pack fans are perpetually indebted.

Therefore, in honor of their collective efforts we will put a hiatus on our blogging efforts here.

Now that's not to say that we may not feel the need to pick back up even before the end of the season...time will tell for that one. We do love blogging about our beloved Wolf Pack, whether statistical analysis, post-game musings, or just plain randomness, so it may be a rather tough sabbatical. But as of September 5th, 2011 it feels like the right thing to do.

Reflections on 2010

2011-01-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

Winning cures all ills.

We just completed the best season in modern Nevada football history. We won the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, secured a share of the WAC championship, beat Boise State in a stunning thriller of a game, and finished the year 13-1. We finished the year in the top 15 for the first time... well, probably ever, though I wouldn't be terribly surprised if somebody found us ranked up there in the '40s or something. Long story short, if you're a Nevada Wolf Pack fan, there's nothing to complain about.

So I won't.

Instead, let's dish out some random thoughts to end the 2010 season and get ourselves ready for the 2011 season...

WAC Bowl Games
Our predictions for the WAC bowl season weren't exactly flawless. The Las Vegas Bowl was neither an amazing game, nor did a vengeful god make its appearance and smite both teams from the field. Instead, Boise State handily beat a mediocre Utah team that looked a lot better on paper than it did on the field. Our prediction of the uDrive Humanitarian Bowl was dead on; if Fresno State wanted anything to do with blue turf before, they certainly don't now. The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was an overwhelming win... for Tulsa. Oh yes, and the main object of our affection coached the best Wolf Pack team in history through a successful (if sloppily played) bowl game. Don't worry, we were there.

If this is what it's like to be wrong, I don't want to be right.

Ault's Letter to the Community
He wrote it, I read it. You should too.

Post-Kaepernick Life
Chris Murray at the RGJ is continuing his fantastic work this season in covering all things Wolf Pack, this time with a look at our 2011 lineup. It's an interesting read - our offense might look very different from the rush-heavy offense we've come to enjoy over the past couple of seasons. Thank goodness we start against New Mexico to get some of the early bugs out.

Thoughts on 2011
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The bad news is that our schedule is going to be much tougher - better teams than us have played in Autzen Stadium and left thoroughly embarrassed and dispirited, and I don't expect us to do much better. The good news? With Boise State leaving for the Mountain West a year before us, we have as good of a shot as we're ever going to get for an undivided conference championship. Hawaii will remain spunky, of course, but the rest of the conference is looking pretty mediocre, Fresno State included. Question is, will we have the talent and the schemes to pull it off?

Past that, attendance will be the big question mark for us. We've noted several times (as has the RGJ, frankly) that community, financial, and facility support for our football team is at or near the bottom of the Mountain West. The numbers don't lie - if we don't find some way to improve, we're going to be at the bottom of the conference far more often than not, regardless of who's coaching the program. We're not competing against Idaho or San Jose State anymore; UNLV might be the only team in the MWC with consistently worse attendance than we do. The good news is we've proven that, if there's a quality product on the field, Reno will show up to support the Wolf Pack. However, there has to be quality on both sides of the field - Reno simply isn't a city that's willing to watch a top-25 team beat the tar out of a doormat, even if that top-25 team is us.

Case in point, here were our attendance figures:
September 2 (Eastern Washington): 16313
September 11 (Colorado State): 18098
September 17 (California): 28809
October 9 (San Jose State): 20636
October 30 (Utah State): 11558
November 20 (New Mexico State): 10906
November 26 (Boise State): 30712

Realistically, assuming the Wolf Pack doesn't flop early against its schedule, we should be in better shape attendance-wise in 2011 than we were in 2010. I don't anticipate us selling out Mackay for every home game (it'd be cool if we did, mind you), but I also anticipate us averaging better than 19,576. The good news is our 2011 home schedule will be much more interesting than SJSU, Utah State, and NMSU - in fact, our most challenging conference games (Hawaii, Fresno State, and Louisiana Tech) are all at home. In short, our home conference schedule is chock full of meaningful games, which should boost attendance somewhat. Throw in UNLV and we might average over 22,000.

I can't wait!

Anyway, that's it for now. Lest anyone think we've completely swallowed the trademarked powdered fruit drink, I will note that we were still rather turnover-prone in the bowl game, but I'm willing to give Ault and his crew the benefit of the doubt and assume it was just post-finals rust.

For once, they've earned it.

Here's to next year!

Nevada vs. Boston College: Statistics at a Glance

2011-01-05T00:30:00.000-08:00

It's time for the final countdown, and with it some long overdue comparative stats.

Point spread as of 01/04/2011: Nevada minus 7.5; O/U 55.

Rushing Offense
   Nevada: 3rd (323.31 YPG)
       Also leads the nation in rushing TDs (52).
     Boston College: 88th (133.25 YPG)
       Not even close in rushing TDs (9).

Passing Offense
   Nevada: 53rd (229.62 YPG)
       A respectable 21 airborne touchdowns.
     Boston College: 94th (175.33 YPG)
       A...somewhat less spectacular 13, 5 fewer than Nevada Southern.

Total Offense
   Nevada: 2nd (535.54 YPG)
       Also second nationally with 6,962 total yards; 75 TDs ranks 3rd nationally.
         Hawai'i ranks first in total yards with 7,009 - & they've already played their bowl game.
     Boston College: 106th (308.58 YPG)
       Compare with 3,703 total yards and 24 TDs.

Scoring Offense
   Nevada: 5th (42.62 PPG)
        Also tied for 2nd with TCU in TDs scored (70).
     Boston College: 109th (18.92 PPG)
       Just edging out Nevada Southern.

Rushing Defense
     Boston College: 1st (962 for 80.17 YPG)
       This is the ACC we're talking about.
   Nevada: 23rd (1,620 for 124.62 YPG)
       The next stat will mellow that out a bit.

Pass Defense
     Boston College: 81st (229.83 YPG)
       Meh.
   Nevada: 108th (252.69 YPG)
       Somewhat shockingly, I still say this is less "meh" watching the team down the stretch.

Total Defense
     Boston College: 13th (3,720 for 310.00 YPG)
       And Boise State is 3rd, so?
   Nevada: 66th (4,905 for 377.31 YPG)
       Bend, but don't break...bend, but don't break...bend, but don't break...

Scoring Defense
     Boston College: 19th (19.50 PPG)
       More respectable than their offensive categories by a long shot.
   Nevada: 35th (22.08 PPG)
       Tied with Georga and SDSU; not bad company, I'd say.

Penalties
   Nevada: 29th (Penalties: 67 Yards: 638 PPG: 5.15 YPG: 49.08)
       Dear OL: Please keep the false starts to a minimum. Thanks in advance.
     BC: T 46th (Penalties: 68 Yards: 610 PPG: 5.67 YPG: 50.83)
       There are so many ties on this list this category is almost a draw.

Punt Returns
   Nevada: 59th (8.19 YPR)
       Meh.
     Boston College: 104th (4.64 YPR)
       It does beat out Miami (FL) and Tennessee...then again, it beats out Miami and Tenn.

Kickoff Returns
     Boston College: 120th (17.59 YPR)
       Dead...frickin'...last. I knew we'd find one sooner or later.
   Nevada: 38th (22.67 YPR)
       Mike Ball rules. And, yes, I'd be saying this regardless.

Punt Returns Against
     Boston College: 5th (90 yards, 3.75 YPR)
       Whatever, the Pack is fair catching anyway...probably
   Nevada: 57th (102 yards, 8.50 YPR)

Kickoff Returns Against
     Boston College: 20th (916 yards, 19.91 YPR)
       Not included: 4 touchbacks.
     Nevada: 113th (1929 yards, 26.07 YPR)
       Not included: 16 touchbacks.

Turnover Margin
     Boston College: T 24th (+0.58)
       It's an overrated statistic anyway.
   Nevada: 30th (+0.46)
   Not bad considering how the year started.

TOP
   Nevada: 8th (32:38)
        Higher than 112 other FBS teams.
   Boston College: 74th (29:16)
   Lower than 73 other FBS teams.

Nevada's Season Record

1.) W, at Nevada: 49 Eastern (FBS, 9-2): 24

2.) W, at Nevada: 51 Colorado State (3-9): 6

3.) W, at Nevada: 52 California (5-7): 31

4.) W, Nevada: 27 at BYU (6-6): 13

5.) W, Nevada: 44 at Nevada Southern (2-10): 26

6.) W, at Nevada: 35 San Jose State (1-11): 13

7.) L, at Hawai'i (9-3): 27 Nevada: 21

8.) Bye

9.) W, at Nevada: 56 Utah State (4-7): 42

10.) W, Nevada: 63 at Idaho (5-7): 17

11.) W, Nevada: 35 at Fresno State (7-4): 34

12.) W, at Nevada: 52 New Mexico State (2-10): 6

13.) W, at Nevada: 34 Boise State (10-1): 31

14.) W, Nevada: 35 at La Tech (5-7): 17

Boston College's Season Record

1.) W, at BC: 38 Weber State (FCS, 6-5): 20

2.) W, at BC: 26 Kent State (5-7): 13

3.) Bye

4.) L, Virginia Tech (11-3): 19 at BC: 0

5.) L, Notre Dame (8-5): 31 at BC: 13

6.) L, at North Carolina State (9-4): 44 BC: 17

7.) L, at Florida State (10-4): 24 BC: 19

8.) L, Maryland (9-4): 24 at BC: 21

9.) W, at BC: 16 Clemson (6-7): 10

10.) W, BC: 23 at Wake Forrest (3-9): 13

11.) W, BC: 21 at Duke (3-9): 16

12.) W, at BC: 17 Virginia (4-8): 13

13.) W, BC: 16 at Syracuse (8-5): 7

Bowl Season Has Begun!

2010-12-18T23:49:00.000-08:00

It's official - the first bowl games are in the books. This coincidentally included the uDrive Humanitarian Bowl. Earlier, we said this:

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl: Good news, WAC fans! The Humanitarian Bowl is no longer sponsored by a now-defunct computer manufacturer, nor is it sponsored by a regional chain of truck stops. Instead, it's now sponsored by a company that makes mobile applications to handle trucking paperwork. Seriously. As an added bonus, it's Fresno State's turn to shiver on the blue turf this winter, and they're playing a Northern Illinois team that will not only be better acclimated to the cold but is also looking for its 11th win. Don't be surprised if this turns into a laugher.

So, how did Fresno State do? How about Northern Illinois 40, Fresno State 17?

Right.

On an entirely non-football related front, if you're looking for a simple and inexpensive gift for someone, I strongly recommend the Humble Indie Bundle. It's a suite of computer games for Windows, Mac, and Linux and you get to name your own price. Want to pay $0.01? You can do that. Want to pay $100? You can do that too - heck, if you want this sort of thing to happen again, I recommend a number closer to the $100 than the $0.01. Either way, you can download the games as many times as you want. Added bonus? No DRM - this means no product keys, no "utilities" installing themselves with the games monitoring your every move, nothing. You download them, you install them, you run them. Heck, you could download the installers, put them on a USB key, and give them to your friends. Nobody will stop you.

Hey, this saves you money for Wolf Pack merchandise from Silver & Blue Outfitters. Just sayin'.

Bowling

2010-12-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

It's official - we're going to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco. If you haven't already purchased tickets, I encourage you to do it here. Prices are reasonable, relative to other bowl games ($40 for the cheap seats), the location is easy enough to get to, it's on a Sunday in January (no fighting holiday plans), and Boston College isn't a bad opponent. If you're a Nevada fan, be thankful we're playing Boston College instead of Tulsa or Northern Illinois.

How will we do? Well, according to Sagarin's rankings, we should be an 11 point favorite(!). That said, I think a close victory would be more in order - Boston College's players will be fully rested and they're no strangers to bowl games, so they'll be ready to play. As for our squad, I don't think it will take much for the team to prepare itself for this one - that last bowl loss against SMU was absolutely embarrassing for everyone involved, so motivation shouldn't be an issue.

How well do we think we'll do? Let's just say the FireChrisAult.com crew purchased tickets to this bowl and have every intention of not only showing up to it but rooting for our Wolf Pack every step of the way.

With that out of the way, let's dig into some interesting tidbits about this bowl season...

The Sun Belt has three teams in bowl games. It's true. Troy (R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl), Florida International (Little Ceasers Bowl), and Middle Tennessee State (GoDaddy.com Bowl) all received and accepted invitations. That's what happens when the major conferences aren't able to fill their bowl allocations. It's also what happens when you have 70 bowl invitations to send and only 120 teams in the FBS.

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl: The entire reason Boise State was invited to this one was because the Pac-10 couldn't fulfill the invitation (this is also why Washington is playing Nebraska again in the Holiday Bowl). Utah, meanwhile, was riding high until they fell apart against TCU a few weeks back. This has the potential to be an amazing football game between two fantastic teams. It also has the potential to be a fantastic target for a vengeful god and his asteroids of doom, assuming said god was a Wolf Pack fan and shared our hatred of Boise State, the state of Utah, and Las Vegas. Either way, it's a win-win.

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl: Good news, WAC fans! The Humanitarian Bowl is no longer sponsored by a now-defunct computer manufacturer, nor is it sponsored by a regional chain of truck stops. Instead, it's now sponsored by a company that makes mobile applications to handle trucking paperwork. Seriously. As an added bonus, it's Fresno State's turn to shiver on the blue turf this winter, and they're playing a Northern Illinois team that will not only be better acclimated to the cold but is also looking for its 11th win. Don't be surprised if this turns into a laugher.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii is good and they're playing at home. Tulsa is also good but is a little shaky on the road. Don't be surprised if Hawaii wins overwhelmingly.

This blog isn't going anywhere. If you're offended by its existence, think of it this way - at least we're reasonable and willing to give Ault credit when he does well. Imagine what would happen if we let the domain lapse and someone with less sense took over. Ever read the comment section of the RGJ?

That's it for now, though I'm sure we'll come up with more as the weeks pass.

Nevada Opponent Records through 12/04/2010

2010-12-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

Eastern Washington (10-2, 7-1 Big Sky)
Defeated S.E. Missouri State (9-3, 7-1 OVC) 37-17
(FCS Playoffs, round 2)

Nevada Southern (2-11, 2-6 MWC)
   Lost at Hawai'i (10-3, 7-1 WAC) 21-59

SJSU (1-12, 0-8 WAC)
   Lost at Idaho (6-7, 3-5 WAC) 23-26

Hawai'i (10-3, 7-1 WAC)
   Defeated Nevada Southern (2-11, 2-6 MWC) 59-21

Utah State (4-8, 2-6 WAC)
   Lost at Boizzee State (11-1, 7-1 WAC) 14-50

Idaho (6-7, 3-5 WAC)
   Defeated SJSU (1-12, 0-8 WAC) 26-23

Fresno State (8-4, 5-3 WAC)
   Defeated Illinois (6-6, 4-4 Big Ten) 25-23

Boise State (11-1, 7-1 WAC)
   Defeated Utah State (4-8, 2-6 WAC) 50-14

All others were idle.

Nevada's opponents went 5-3 for the week ending 12/04/2010, and, including Louisiana Tech and their loss to Nevada, are a combined 73-87 on the season.

Nevada at Louisiana Tech: Final Statistics

2010-12-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Rushing Offense
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 301.42 YPG
        at La Tech: 360 (+58.58)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 177.00 YPG
        vs. Nevada: 104 (-73.00)

Passing Offense
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 235.50 YPG
        at La Tech: 159 (-76.50)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 221.73 YPG
        vs. Nevada: 188 (-33.73)

Total Offense
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 536.92 YPG
        at La Tech: 519 (-17.92)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 398.73 YPG
        vs. Nevada: 292 (-106.73)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 43.25 PPG
        at La Tech: 35 (-8.25)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 27.64 PPG
        vs. Nevada: 17 (-10.64)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 126.33 YPG
        at La Tech: 104 (-22.33)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 154.82 YPG
        vs. Nevada: 360 (-205.18)

Pass Defense
   Nevada
    through 12/03/2010: 258.08 YPG
        at La Tech: 188 (-70.08)
     La Tech
through 12/03/2010: 302.09 YPG
        vs. Nevada: 159 (-143.09)

Total Defense
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 384.42 YPG
        at La Tech: 292 (-92.42)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 456.91 YPG
vs. Nevada: 519 (+62.09)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 22.50 PPG
        at La Tech: 17 (-5.50)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 30.27 PPG
        vs. Nevada: 35 (+4.73)

Penalties
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: PPG: 5.25 YPG: 49.92
        at La Tech: 3 (-2.25) for 29 yards (-20.92)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: PPG: 4.91 YPG: 43.36
        vs. Nevada: 6 (+1.09) for 55 yards (+11.64)

Punt Returns
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 8.50 YPR
        at La Tech: 2.00 YPR (-6.50)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 13.33 YPR
        vs. Nevada: 18.00 YPR (+4.67)

Kickoff Returns
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 22.80 YPR
        at La Tech: 21.30 YPR (-1.50)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 23.18 YPR
        vs. Nevada: 27.00 YPR (+3.82)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 7.64 YPR
        at La Tech: 18 YPR (+10.36)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 5.89 YPR
        vs. Nevada: 2 YPR (-3.89)

Kickoff Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 25.99 YPR
        at La Tech: 27.00 (+1.01)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 21.13 YPR
        vs. Nevada: 21.30 (+0.17)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada
          through 12/03/20010: +0.50
        at La Tech: 0 (N/C)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: -0.45
        vs. Nevada: 0 (N/C)

TOP
   Nevada
          through 12/03/2010: 32:08
        at La Tech: 38:46 (+6:38)
     La Tech
        through 12/03/2010: 27:19
        vs. Nevada: 21:14 (-6:05)

Big Picture Time

2010-12-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

It's been a bit since we looked beyond the statistics and really started digging into what this year means for the Wolf Pack and for Ault. Since we're near the end of the season and staring into the maw of a shared WAC championship, assuming we take care of business against Louisiana Tech, let's spend a moment and look at where we're at.

First, the good: Ault and the Wolf Pack have done a fantastic job this year. It's impossible to overstate this. We've won our big games, we beat the #4 team in the country, we beat a Pac-10 team for the first time in a long, long time, and we're nationally ranked for the first time since Dewey defeated Truman. We have excellent depth in the running back position. Our defensive coaching and performance has improved dramatically under Andy Buh, continuing a progression that began under Nigel Burton. Ault has displayed considerable flexibility in his offensive doctrine, switching to a running style that plays to our strengths far better than the passing attack he favored in the past. Let's give credit where credit is due - Ault has done an amazing job this year.

Honestly, we didn't know he had it in him. We're not complaining.

That said: Where do we go from here? How long will we be able to maintain success? Has Ault actually changed his stripes, humbled himself a little, and adopted a pragmatic and effective level of flexibility that will guarantee success for our program? How good will we be when we lose our NFL-caliber quarterback? How good will our defense be when our average time of possession isn't a staggering 32:45?

Will we win our next bowl game?

The good news is that, if Ault truly has learned his lesson, humbled himself a bit, and focused on creating an environment that encourages high-performing assistants to come to our program and stick around for a while, this blog is going to be incredibly pointless. Personally, I can live with that - we're Nevada football fans here first, and our love for Nevada football far transcends any grievances we might have against Ault, most of which were based on past performance. None of us on this side of the Blogger text window have any personal issues with Ault - we just didn't think he was doing a very good job when we started this thing a few years ago. If that changes, and it certainly looks like it has, our opinions will change too. There's some precedent here, of course: Bill Simmons, the incredibly popular ESPN.com columnist, had this to say about Doc Rivers before the Celtics started competing for championships:

Doc Rivers stinks as an NBA coach.

After watching him butcher my favorite team for 15 months and 134 games, I feel pretty comfortable making that assessment. On the surface, Doc seems fine. He always dresses nicely, his interviews are good, and his "Come on, guys, let's go!" clap ranks among the best in the league. When his team blows a winnable game -- which happens often, by the way -- you can always count on him to look sufficiently disappointed, almost like how Tony Almeida looks on "24" whenever Jack decides to disobey him. Doc has that look down pat. And if you weren't paying attention, you would almost think that he wasn't the problem here.

Well, I think he's the problem.

Now? Let's just say Simmons doesn't talk about Doc Rivers much anymore. Seriously - look it up. Not a single article mentioning him since the conclusion of the Celtics' 2008 championship season. Some might call that a coincidence. Some might call it a conspiracy. I'll just call it common sense. Rivers was bad, then he improved, now he's good. It happens in life, and there's no reason the same sequence of improvement can't happen to Ault. If that's what's happening before our very eyes, maybe we'll change the name of this blog to "FireChrisAultSomeLove.com" or something. I don't know. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Please note that, if we choke against Louisiana Tech or lose in the Kraft Hunger Emerald Nut Potato Bowl in New Canada, we'll keep the light on for you.

With that out of the way, let's talk long term. We're going to the MWC, though it's going to take another year and we're going to be $500,000 poorer, not including the bowl money we won't get next year since the WAC gets to keep that, too. Even if TCU leaves and even if the better parts of the WAC join the MWC with us (Utah State does improve the MWC's basketball profile significantly - considering how Boise State is almost a liability on that front and considering how we've had a fair amount of recent success in that sport, it would still be good for us if they followed Hawaii), the MWC will be a significantly better conference for us. At the very least, UNLV will be a conference game, which frees up an extra out-of-conference scheduling slot for a school that will actually improve our regional recruiting profile. Meanwhile, the only schools in the MWC that are consistently mediocre in football these days, excluding our in-state rivals, are New Mexico and Wyoming, and I guarantee you both are consistently far better programs than New Mexico State, San Jose State, and possibly Idaho. Colorado State is in a down period at the moment, but they had some success in the past, Air Force is improving, and San Diego State is going to a bowl game this year. Even if Hawaii (not a bad football program these days) and Utah State join us, it's going to be a much tougher conference than the WAC. Bear in mind that, when all is said and done, all three current top 25 teams in the WAC will be in the MWC, along with two "others receiving votes" teams (Air Force, San Diego State) and a traditionally decent football team (Fresno State). That's six nationally competitive football teams out of nine or ten possible programs, which is definitely on par with any other major conference in the country.

This brings us to a topic we've brought up here in the past, and which even the RGJ is starting to sniff out a bit. On paper, we will arguably be the weakest program in the MWC. Our football attendance, unless Utah State joins the conference, will be at the bottom of the conference. Our stadium will be the smallest in the conference; in fact, even if we sold out every single game, our average attendance would be no higher than fifth. Since attendance and revenue are closely correlated, that means we'll be dead last in football spending, with the potential to be, at best, middle of the conference. That's not a recipe for long-term success, regardless of whose at the helm, and any potential coaching or assistant coaching hire with an ounce of sense will recognize that. Clearly Groth and the rest of the athletic department have some serious work to do in order to put our program in a position where it can be consistently competitive. Given the numbers we're working with, it's frankly nothing short of miraculous that we've been able to remain competitive in the WAC, much less consistently contend for conference championships.

There is hope, though. Take Stanford, which is currently #4 in the BCS standings. It's in a large, prosperous metropolitan market with no other nationally competitive teams in its market. You would think that such a school would be able to routinely fill a 50,000 seat stadium. You would be wrong.

Harbaugh also expressed disappointment in Stanford's attendance figures this season. The school averaged just 40,042 fans at the 50,000-seat Stanford Stadium, selling out only for the game against Southern California.

Why is this encouraging for us? Simple - it shows there are no shortcuts. Truth is, attendance and success are linked, even here. As our program has become more successful, our average attendance has incrementally improved. Boise State certainly didn't start its football program averaging over 30,000 fans per game - that took time. Years worth of time. Better yet, attendance will most certainly improve as more competitive conference foes play in our stadium. The community has proven time after time that it will happily put butts in seats, even if the weather is poor, as long as the game is worth showing up for and the opponent is credible. Nobody wants to see San Jose State, New Mexico State, and the like. Colorado State, on the other hand, commands a local crowd even when they're not very good. We're in a city with plenty of entertainment options, so, if Wolf Pack football wants better attendance, it needs to be entertaining, and it needs to be consistent about it.

We're getting better on that front, both on the team level and the opponent level.

So, that's where we're at. If we can continue to build on this season, continue to remain competitive in whatever conference we play in, and beat a big time opponent once in a while, our attendance will continue to improve until it's consistently competitive with the rest of our conference. Heck, if we continue to play well, we might even build up a bit of a national following. Until then, though, we'll be playing from behind. Fortunately, we're getting pretty good at that.

Silver and blue are far more fashionable colors than blue and orange anyway.

Nevada at Louisiana Tech: Statistics at a Glance

2010-12-02T01:11:00.000-08:00

Rushing Offense
   Nevada: 4th (301.42 YPG)
       Also leads the nation in rushing TDs (47).
     La Tech: 36th (177.00 YPG)

Passing Offense
   Nevada: 47th (235.50 YPG)
     La Tech: 60th (221.73 YPG)

Total Offense
   Nevada: 3rd (536.92 YPG)
     La Tech: 47th (398.73 YPG)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada: 6th (43.25 PPG)
        Also tied for 2nd with TCU in TDs scored (70).
     La Tech: T 57th (27.64 PPG)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada: 26th (126.33 YPG)
     La Tech: 66th (154.82 YPG)

Pass Defense
   Nevada: 108th (258.08 YPG)
     La Tech: 117th (302.09 YPG)

Total Defense
   Nevada: 71th (384.42 YPG)
     La Tech: 114th (456.91 YPG)

Scoring Defense
     La Tech: 85th (30.27 PPG)
   Nevada: 39th (22.50 PPG)

Penalties
     La Tech: 13th (Penalties: 24 Yards: 477 PPG: 4.91 YPG: 43.36)
   Nevada: T 27th (Penalties: 63 Yards: 599 PPG: 5.25 YPG: 49.92)

Punt Returns
     La Tech: 14th (13.33 YPR)
   Nevada: 56th (8.50 YPR)

Kickoff Returns
     La Tech: 33rd (23.18 YPR)
   Nevada: 40th (22.80 YPR)

Punt Returns Against
     La Tech: 27th (106 yards, 5.89 YPR)
   Nevada: T 45th (84 yards, 7.64 YPR)

Kickoff Returns Against
     La Tech: 24th (1120 yards, 21.13 YPR)
     Nevada: 112th (1767 yards, 25.99 YPR)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada: T 26th (+0.50)
     La Tech: T 89th (-0.45)

TOP
   Nevada: T 14th (32:08)
        Tied with Louisiana-Monroe
   La Tech: 113th (27:19)

Stats courtesy of ncaa.org

Nevada's Season Record

1.) W, at Nevada: 49 Eastern (FBS, 9-2): 24

2.) W, at Nevada: 51 Colorado State (3-9): 6

3.) W, at Nevada: 52 California (5-7): 31

4.) W, Nevada: 27 at BYU (6-6): 13

5.) W, Nevada: 44 at Nevada Southern (2-10): 26

6.) W, at Nevada: 35 San Jose State (1-11): 13

7.) L, at Hawai'i (9-3): 27 Nevada: 21

8.) Bye

9.) W, at Nevada: 56 Utah State (4-7): 42

10.) W, Nevada: 63 at Idaho (5-7): 17

11.) W, Nevada: 35 at Fresno State (7-4): 34

12.) W, at Nevada: 52 New Mexico State (2-10): 6

13.) W, at Nevada: 34 Boise State (10-1): 31

Louisiana Tech's Season Record

1.) W, at La Tech: 20 Grambling State (FBS 9-2): 6

2.) L, at #17 Texas A&M (9-3): 48 La Tech: 16

3.) L, Navy (8-3): 37 at La Tech: 23

4.) L, Southern Miss (8-4): 13 at La Tech: 12

5.) L, at Hawai'i (9-3): 41 La Tech: 21

6.) W, at La Tech: 24 Utah State (4-7): 6

7.) W, at La Tech: 48 Idaho (5-7): 35

8.) L, at Boise State (10-1): 49 La Tech: 20

9.) Bye

10.) L, Fresno State (7-4): 40 at La Tech: 34

11.) W, La Tech: 41 at New Mexico State (2-10): 20

12.) W, La Tech: 45 at San Jose State (1-11): 35

Nevada at Louisiana Tech: All-Time Football Data

2010-11-28T16:18:00.000-08:00

The Tenth Meeting

Not too surprisingly this 'rivalry' doesn't even date back to the 20th century. Nevada took the WAC's forgotten Bulldogs down to the wire in their first meeting (the year La Tech took the conference crown), but would have to wait until their own conference championship season before earning their W in this series, and have not lost in the series since that time.

All Time (Nevada 5-4) Scoring:

Nevada: 344 [38.22222222 PPG]
La Tech: 257 [28.55555556 PPG]
Dif: Nevada +87

Ault (Nevada 5-1) Scoring:

Nevada: 221 [36.83333333 PPG]
La Tech: 120 [20.0 PPG]
Dif: Nevada +101

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

October 13, 2001
La Tech: 45 at Nevada: 42
(La Tech won WAC championship)

October 26, 2002
at La Tech: 50 Nevada: 47

October 25, 2003
La Tech: 42 at Nevada: 34

September 6, 2004
at La Tech: 38 Nevada: 21

October 15, 2005
at Nevada: 37 La Tech: 27
(Nevada shared WAC championship)

November 18, 2006
Nevada: 42 at La Tech: 0

December 1, 2007
at Nevada: 49 La Tech: 10

November 29, 2008
Nevada: 35 at La Tech: 31

October 9, 2009
at Nevada: 37 La Tech: 14

Nevada Opponent Records through 11/27/2010

2010-11-28T11:29:00.000-08:00

California (5-7, 3-6 Pac-10)
Lost to Washington (5-6, 4-4 Pac-10) 13-16

BYU (6-6, 5-3 MWC)
Lost at Utah (10-2, 7-1 MWC) 16-17

Nevada Southern (2-10, 2-6 MWC)
   Lost at San Diego State (8-4, 5-3 MWC) 14-48

SJSU (1-11, 0-7 WAC)
   Lost at La Tech (5-6, 4-3 WAC) 38-45

Hawai'i (9-3, 7-1 WAC)
   Defeated NMSU (2-10, 1-7 WAC) 59-24

Idaho (5-7, 2-5 WAC)
   Lost at Fresno State (7-4, 5-3 WAC) 20-23

Fresno State (7-4, 5-3 WAC)
Defeated Idaho (5-7, 2-5 WAC) 23-20

New Mexico State (2-10, 1-7 WAC)
Lost to Hawai'i (9-3, 7-1 WAC) 24-59

Nevada's opponents went 2-6 for the week ending 11/27/2010 (Eastern Washington, Colorado State, and Utah State were bye) and are a combined 53-76 on the season.

Nevada vs. Boise State: Final Statistics (or Oh Yeah, Boy...sie)

2010-11-27T15:48:00.000-08:00

Yes, Boise, that just happened: your uppance has come.

The Broncos have a good fan base, and some amazing fans who make it up. However every year I end up surrounded by pompous, arrogant Boise fans who seem personally affronted by my daring to root against their team on Nevada's home turf; I am thrilled that you were finally taken down a peg and excited that it happened here.

On with the game stats.

Rushing Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 304.36 YPG
          vs. BSU: 269 (-35.36)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 205.40 YPG
          at Nevada: 145 (-60.4)

Passing Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 233.36 YPG
          vs. BSU: 259 (-25.64)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 323.40 YPG
          at Nevada: 348 (-24.6)

Total Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 537.73 YPG
          vs. BSU: 528 (-9.73)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 528.80 YPG
          at Nevada: 493 (-35.80)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 44.09 PPG
          vs. BSU: 34 (-10.09)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 47.90 PPG
          at Nevada: 31 (-16.90)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 124.64 YPG
          vs. BSU: 145 (+20.36)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 72.30 YPG
          at Nevada: 269 (+196.7)

Pass Defense
   Nevada
    through 11/26/2010: 249.91 YPG
          vs. BSU: 348 (+98.09)
     Boise State
through 11/26/2010: 156.90 YPG
          at Nevada: 259 (+102.1)

Total Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 374.55 YPG
          vs. BSU: 493 (+118.45)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 229.20 YPG
at Nevada: 528 (+298.8)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 21.73 PPG
          vs BSU: 31 (+9.27)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 11.50 PPG
          at Nevada: 34 (+22.5)

Penalties
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: PPG: 5.36 YPG: 42.82
          vs. BSU: 4 (-1.36) for 29 yards (-13.82)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: PPG: 6.20 YPG: 58.20
          at Nevada: 5 (-1.20) for 70 yards (+11.80)

Punt Returns
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 8.95 YPR
          vs. BSU: 0.00 YPR (N/A)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 12.91 YPR
          at Nevada: 28.00 YPR (+15.09)

Kickoff Returns
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 23.06 YPR
          vs. BSU: 21.30 YPR (-1.76)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 23.78 YPR
          at Nevada: 26.40 YPR (+2.62)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 6.22 YPR
          vs. BSU: 28.00 (+21.78)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 12.60 YPR
          at Nevada: 0.00 YPR (N/A)

Kickoff Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 25.95 YPR
          vs. BSU: 26.40 (+0.45)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 21.18 YPR
          at Nevada: 21.30 (+0.12)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: +0.64
          vs. BSU: -1 (-0.36)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: +0.60
          at Nevada: +1 (+0.40)

TOP
   Nevada
          through 11/26/2010: 31:50
          vs. BSU: 35:21 (+3:31)
     Boise State
          through 11/26/2010: 31:12
          at Nevada: 24:39 (-6:33)

Box data courtesy of espn.com

Team Stat Comparison

	Boise St	Nevada
1st Downs	21	28
3rd down efficiency	4-10	9-17
4th down efficiency	0-0	1-1
Total Yards	493	528
Passing	348	259
Comp-Att	20-31	19-35
Yards per pass	11.2	7.4
Rushing	145	269
Rushing Attempts	30	52
Yards per rush	4.8	5.2
Penalties	5-70	4-29
Turnovers	0	1
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	0	1
Possession	24:39	35:21

Nevada vs. Boise State: Statistics at a Glance

2010-11-25T21:31:00.000-08:00

Team/National Rank/Stat

Nevada generally has slight edges on offense (except passing); BSU, on the other hand, has a HUGE advantage on defense (including the #1 rush defense in the nation).

Rushing Offense
   Nevada: 4th (304.36 YPG)
     Boise State: 20th (205.40 YPG)

Passing Offense
     Boise State: 5th (323.40 YPG)
   Nevada: 50th (233.36 YPG)

Total Offense
   Nevada: 3rd (537.73 YPG)
     Boise State: 4th (528.80 YPG)

Scoring Offense
     Boise State: 2nd (47.90 PPG)
   Nevada: 4th (44.09 PPG)

Rushing Defense
     Boise State: 1st (72.30 YPG)
   Nevada: 21st (124.64 YPG)

Pass Defense
     Boise State: 7th (156.90 YPG)
   Nevada: 103rd (249.91 YPG)

Total Defense
     Boise State: 2nd (229.20 YPG)
   Nevada: 67th (374.55 YPG)

Scoring Defense
     Boise State: 2nd (11.50 PPG)
   Nevada: 38th (21.73 PPG)

Penalties
   Nevada: T 29th (Penalties: 59 Yards: 471 PPG: 5.36 YPG: 42.82)
     BSU: 67th (Penalties: 62 Yards: 582 PPG: 6.20 YPG: 58.20)

Punt Returns
     Boise State: 18th (12.91 YPR)
   Nevada: 48th (8.95 YPR)

Kickoff Returns
     Boise State: 24th (23.78 YPR)
   Nevada: 37th (23.06 YPR)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada: 24th (56 yards, 6.22 YPR)
     Boise State: 101st (126 yards, 12.60 YPR)

Kickoff Returns Against
     Boise State: 61st (1525 yards, 21.18 YPR)
     Nevada: 114th (1635 yards, 25.95 YPR)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada: T 23rd (+0.64)
     Boise State: 28th (+0.60)

TOP
   Nevada: 19th (31:50)
   Boise State: 31st (31:12)

Stats courtesy of ncaa.org

Nevada vs. Boise State: Common Opponents

2010-11-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

San Jose State-
     Boise State: W, 58-0 MOV: 58
     Nevada: W, 35-13 MOV: 22
          MOV dif: Boise State +36

Hawai'i-
     Boise State: W, 42-7 MOV: 35
     Nevada: L, 21-27 MOV: -6
          MOV dif: N/A (or Boise State +41, depending upon your view)

Idaho-
     Boise State: W, 52-14 MOV: 38
     Nevada: W, 63-17, MOV: 46
MOV dif: Nevada +8

Fresno State-
     Boise State: W, 51-0 MOV: 51
     Nevada: W, 35-34 MOV: 1
          MOV dif: Boise State +50

New Mexico State-
     Boise State: W, 59-0 MOV: 59
     Nevada: W, 52-6 MOV: 46
          MOV dif: Boise State +13

Nevada vs. Boise State: All-Time Football Data

2010-11-21T22:22:00.000-08:00

Nevada (10-1, 7-1 WAC, T-1) at Boise State (11-0, 6-0 WAC, T-1).

Boise State leads the all-time series 24-12-0. Overall for his career, Chris Ault is 7-16 versus the Broncos; in his third term, Ault is 0-6.

The longest winning streak in this series is 10 games (Boise State 1999-present). There has also been one 4-game winning streak (Boise State, 1979-1982), three 3-game winning streaks (Boise State, 1974-1976, Nevada 1990-1992, Nevada 1996-1998), and three 2-game winning streaks (Boise State, 1971-1972, Boise State 1987-1988, Nevada 1985-1986).

Scoring:
Nevada: 945 BSU: 1200 (Boise State +255)
Nevada PPG: 26.25
BSU PPG: 33.33

Ault All-Time Scoring:
Nevada: 572 BSU: 716 (Boise State +144)
Nevada PPG: 24.86956521
BSU PPG: 31.13043478

Ault 2 was one game and is therefore not included here.

Ault 3 Scoring:
Nevada: 176 BSU: 299 (Boise State +123)
Nevada PPG: 29.33
BSU PPG: 49.83

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*

November 27, 2009*
at Boise State: 44 Nevada 33*

Nevada Opponent Records through 11/20/2010

2010-11-21T21:48:00.000-08:00

Eastern Washington (9-2, 7-1 Big Sky)
   Defeated Idaho State (1-10, 0-8 Big Sky) 34-7

Colorado State (3-9, 2-6 MWC)
   Lost at Wyoming (3-9, 1-7 MWC) 0-44

California (5-6, 3-5 Pac-10)
   Lost to Stanford (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) 14-48

BYU (6-5, 5-2 MWC)
   Defeated New Mexico (1-10, 1-6 MWC) 40-7

Nevada Southern (2-9, 2-5 MWC)
   Lost to Air Force (8-4, 5-3 MWC) 20-35

SJSU (1-10, 0-6 WAC)
   Lost at Hawai'i (8-3, 6-1 WAC) 7-41

Hawai'i (8-3, 6-1 WAC)
   Defeated SJSU (1-10, 0-6 WAC) 41-7

Utah State (4-7, 2-5 WAC)
   Lost to Idaho (5-6, 2-4 WAC) 6-28

Idaho (5-6, 2-4 WAC)
   Defeated Utah State (4-7, 2-5 WAC) 28-6

Fresno State (6-4, 4-3 WAC)
   Lost at Boise State (10-0, 6-0 WAC) 0-51

Nevada's opponents went 4-5 for the week ending 11/20/2010 and are a combined 49-61 on the season.

Nevada vs. New Mexico State: Final Statistics

2010-11-21T17:28:00.000-08:00

Rushing Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 310.50 YPG
          vs. NMSU: 243 (-67.5)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 138.10 YPG
          at Nevada: 89 (-49.1)

Passing Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 231.60 YPG
          vs. NMSU: 251 (+19.4)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 165.40 YPG
          at Nevada: 220 (+54.6)

Total Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 542.10 YPG
          vs. NMSU: 494 (-48.1)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 303.50 YPG
          at Nevada: 309 (+5.5)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 43.30 PPG
          vs. NMSU: 52 (+8.7)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 15.80 PPG
          at Nevada: 6 (-9.8)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 128.20 YPG
          vs. NMSU: 89 (-39.2)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 195.10 YPG
          at Nevada: 243 (+47.9)

Pass Defense
   Nevada
    through 11/19/2010: 122.77 YPG
          vs. NMSU: 220 (+97.23)
     New Mexico State
through 11/19/2010: 140.18 YPG
          at Nevada: 251(+110.82)

Total Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 381.10 YPG
          vs. NMSU: 309 (-72.1)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 434.00 YPG
at Nevada: 494 (+60.0)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 23.30 PPG
          vs NMSU: 6 (-17.3)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 36.30 PPG
          at Nevada: 52 (+15.7)

Penalties
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: PPG: 5.60 YPG: 53.90
          vs. NMSU: 3 (-2.50) for 31 yards (-22.90)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: PPG: 6.50 YPG: 64.20
          at Nevada: 5 (-1.50) for 54 yards (-10.2)

Punt Returns
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 9.67 YPR
          vs. NMSU: 6.3 YPR (-3.37)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 6.07 YPR
          at Nevada: 8.0 YPR (+1.93)

Kickoff Returns
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 23.13 YPR
          vs. NMSU: 22.30 YPR (-0.83)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 24.63 YPR
          at Nevada: 24.30 YPR (-0.33)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 7.60 YPR
          vs. NMSU: 8.00 (+0.40)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 9.10 YPR
          at Nevada: 6.30 YPR (-2.80)

Kickoff Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 26.12 YPR
          vs. NMSU: 24.30 (-1.82)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 25.24 YPR
          at Nevada: 22.30 (-2.94)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: +0.50
          vs. NMSU: 3 (+2.50)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: -0.30
          at Nevada: 1 (+0.70)

TOP
   Nevada
          through 11/19/2010: 32:37
          vs. NMSU: 25:07 (-7:30)
     New Mexico State
          through 11/19/2010: 30:47
          at Nevada: 34:53 (+4:06)

Box score courtesy of espn.com.

Team Stat Comparison

	New Mexico St	Nevada
1st Downs	18	26
3rd down efficiency	5-20	5-12
4th down efficiency	1-2	2-2
Total Yards	309	494
Passing	220	251
Comp-Att	19-39	15-27
Yards per pass	5.6	9.3
Rushing	89	243
Rushing Attempts	40	40
Yards per rush	2.2	6.1
Penalties	5-54	3-31
Turnovers	3	1
Fumbles lost	1	1
Interceptions thrown	2	0
Possession	34:53	25:07

Nevada vs. New Mexico State: Statistics at a Glance

2010-11-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

Team/National Rank/Stat

Rushing Offense
   Nevada: 3rd (310.50 YPG)
     NMSU: 83rd (138.10 YPG)

Passing Offense
   Nevada: 53rd (231.60 YPG)
     NMSU: 101st (165.40 YPG)

Total Offense
   Nevada: 3rd (542.10 YPG)
     NMSU: 108th (303.50 YPG)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada: 4th (43.30 PPG)
     NMSU: 116th (15.80 PPG)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada: 31st (128.20 YPG)
     NMSU: 99th (195.10 YPG)

Pass Defense
   Nevada: 45th (122.77 YPG)
     NMSU: 95th (140.18 YPG)

Total Defense
   Nevada: 69th (381.10 YPG)
     NMSU: 101st (434.00 YPG)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada: 49th (23.30 PPG)
     NMSU: 110th (36.30 PPG)

Penalties
   Nevada: T 41st (Penalties: 56 Yards: 539 PPG: 5.60 YPG: 53.90)
     NMSU: T 75th (Penalties: 65 Yards: 642 PPG: 6.50 YPG: 64.20)

Punt Returns
   Nevada: 40th (9.67 YPR)
     NMSU: 93rd (6.07 YPR)

Kickoff Returns
     NMSU: 17th (24.63 YPR)
   Nevada: 40th (23.13 YPR)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada: 16th (40 yards, 5.00 YPR)
     NMSU: T 18th (106 yards, 5.30 YPR)

Kickoff Returns Against
     NMSU: 107th (959 yards, 25.24 YPR)
     Nevada: 116th (1489 yards, 26.12 YPR)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada: T 30th (+0.50)
     NMSU: T 76th (-0.30)

TOP
   Nevada: 10th (32:37)
   NMSU: 39th (30:47)

Stats courtesy of ncaa.org

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

2010-11-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

All-time (Nevada 11-2) All-Time Scoring:
Nevada- 579 [44.53846153 PPG]
NMSU- 336 [25.84615384 PPG]
DIF: Nevada +243

Ault (Nevada 7-1) All-Time Scoring:
Nevada- 369 [46.125 PPG]
NMSU- 220 [27.5 PPG]
Dif- Nevada +149

Ault 1 (1-0) Scoring:
Nevada- 35 NMSU- 21 (Nevada +14)

Ault 2 (2-0) Scoring:
Nevada- 90 [45 PPG]
NMSU- 48 [24 PPG]
Dif- Nevada +42

Ault 3 (4-1) Scoring:
Nevada- 244 [48.8 PPG]
NMSU- 151 [30.2 PPG]
Dif- Nevada +93

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*

November 21, 2009*

Nevada: 63 at NMSU: 20*

Nevada Opponent Records through 11/14/2010

2010-11-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

Eastern Washington (8-2, 6-1 Big Sky)
   Defeated Southern Utah (6-5) 31-24

Colorado State (3-8, 2-5 MWC)
   Lost to BYU (5-5, 4-2 MWC) 10-49

California (5-5, 3-4 Pac-10)
   Lost to Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Pac-10) 13-15

BYU (5-5, 4-2 MWC)
   Defeated Colorado State (3-8, 2-5 MWC) 49-10

Nevada Southern (2-8, 2-4 MWC)
   Unfortunately defeated Wyoming (2-9, 0-7 MWC) 42-16

SJSU (1-9, 0-5 WAC)
   Lost to Utah State (4-6, 2-4 WAC) 34-38

Utah State (4-6, 2-4 WAC)
   Defeated San Jose State (1-9, 0-5 WAC) 38-34

Idaho (4-6, 1-4 WAC)
   Lost to Boise State (9-0, 5-0 WAC) 52-14

Nevada's opponents went 4-4 for the week ending 11/13/2010 (Hawai'i [7-3, 5-1 WAC] was bye) and are a combined 39-52 on the season.

Nevada at Fresno State: Final Statistics

2010-11-13T23:49:00.000-08:00

Font change of the week: trebuchet.

I guess we should expect to see a lot more red from such a gritty game.

Rushing Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 317.78 YPG
          at Fresno St: 247 (-70.78)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 171.63 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 248 (-76.37)

Passing Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 238.33 YPG
          at Fresno St: 171 (-67.33)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 222.38 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 194 (-28.38)

Total Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 556.11 YPG
          at Fresno St: 418 (-138.11)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 394.00 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 442 (-48.00)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 44.22 PPG
          at Fresno St: 35 (-9.22)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 34.75 PPG
          vs. Nevada: 34 (-0.75)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 114.67 YPG
          at Fresno St: 248 (+133.33)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 144.50 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 247 (+102.5)

Pass Defense
   Nevada
   through 11/12/2010: 120.71 YPG
          at Fresno St: 194 (+73.29)
     Fresno State
through 11/12/2010: 130.99 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 171 (+40.01)

Total Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 374.11 YPG
          at Fresno St: 442 (+67.89)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 341.25 YPG
vs. Nevada: 418 (+76.75)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 22.11 PPG
          at Fresno St: 34 (+11.89)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 27.63 PPG
          vs. Nevada: 35 (+7.37)

Penalties
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: PPG: 5.67 YPG: 55.11
          at Fresno St: 5 (-0.67) for 45 yards (-10.11)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: PPG: 6.25 YPG: 53.25
          vs. Nevada: 2 (-4.25) for 9 yards (-44.25)

Punt Returns
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 9.67 YPR
          at Fresno St: 0 (-9.67)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 11.86 YPR
          vs. Nevada: 0.70 (-11.16)

Kickoff Returns
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 22.31 YPR
          at Fresno St: 26.7 (+4.39)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 21.90 YPR
          vs. Nevada: 21.60 (-0.30)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 7.60 YPR
          at Fresno St: 0.70 (-6.90)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 9.10 YPR
          vs. Nevada: 0 (-9.10)

Kickoff Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 27.08 YPR
          at Fresno St: 21.6 (-5.48)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 23.70 YPR
          vs. Nevada: 26.70 (+3.00)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: +0.44
          at Fresno St: 1 (+0.56)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: -0.50
          vs. Nevada: 1 (+.50)

TOP
   Nevada
          through 11/12/2010: 33:04
          at Fresno St: 28:35 (-4:29)
     Fresno State
          through 11/12/2010: 33:12
          vs. Nevada: 31:25 (-1:47)

Box score courtesy of espn.com; take a look at the complete stats, they are most interesting.

Team Stat Comparison

	Nevada	Fresno St
1st Downs	18	23
3rd down efficiency	7-15	6-14
4th down efficiency	1-2	2-3
Total Yards	418	442
Passing	171	194
Comp-Att	16-26	16-26
Yards per pass	6.6	7.5
Rushing	247	248
Rushing Attempts	39	40
Yards per rush	6.3	6.2
Penalties	5-45	3-14
Turnovers	1	1
Fumbles lost	0	1
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Possession	28:35	31:25

Nevada at Fresno State: Statistics at a Glance

2010-11-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

Team/National Rank/Stat

Rushing Offense
   Nevada: 2nd (317.78 YPG)
     Fresno St: 41st (171.63 YPG)

Passing Offense
   Nevada: 49th (238.33 YPG)
     Fresno St: 60th (222.38 YPG)

Total Offense
   Nevada: 2nd (556.11 YPG)
     Fresno St: 56th (394.00 YPG)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada: 4th (44.22 PPG)
     Fresno State: 20th (34.75 PPG)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada: 19th (114.67 YPG)
     Fresno St: 52nd (144.50 YPG)

Pass Defense
   Nevada: 41st (120.71 YPG)
     Fresno St: 79th (130.99 YPG)

Total Defense
     Fresno St: 38th ( 341.25 YPG)
   Nevada: 67th (374.11 YPG)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada: 46th (22.11 PPG)
     Fresno St: 73rd (27.63 PPG)

Penalties
   Nevada: T 41st (Penalties: 51 Yards: 496 PPG: 5.67 YPG: 55.11)
     Fresno St: 68th (Penalties: 50 Yards: 426 PPG: 6.25 YPG: 53.25)

Punt Returns
     Fresno St: 24th (11.86 YPR)
   Nevada: 41st (9.67 YPR)

Kickoff Returns
   Nevada: 53rd (22.31 YPR)
     Fresno St: 58th (21.90 YPR)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada: 43rd (38 yards, 7.60 YPR)
     Fresno St: 63rd (91 yards, 9.10 YPR)

Kickoff Returns Against
     Fresno St: 95th (1090 yards, 23.70 YPR)
     Nevada: 118th (1381 yards, 27.08 YPR)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada: T 31st (+0.44)
     Fresno St: T 96th (-0.50)

TOP
   Fresno St: 5th (33:12)
   Nevada: 6th (33:04)

Stats courtesy of ncaa.org

Nevada vs. Fresno State: All-Time Football Data

2010-11-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

The forty-first meeting...

Nevada (8-1, 3-1 WAC) vs. Fresno State (6-2, 4-1 WAC).

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 consistently, playing thirty-nine times overall, with the longest break coming between 1955 and 1982 (27 years).

Fresno State has the advantage with a commanding 24-15-1 overall record. Chris Ault is 5-4 against the Bulldogs for his career, and 3-3 since his return in 2004.

All-Time (Fresno St, 24-15-1) Scoring:
    Nevada- 833 [20.825 PPG]
    Fresno St- 1034 [25.85 PPG]
    Dif- Fresno State +201

Ault All-Time (Nevada, 5-4) Scoring:
    Nevada: 332 [36.88888889 PPG]
    Fresno St: 293 [32.55555556 PPG]
    Dif- Nevada +39

Ault 3 (3-3) Scoring:
    Nevada: 208 [34.66666667 PPG]
    Fresno St: 208 [34.66666667 PPG]
Dif- N/A

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*

November 14, 2009*
at Nevada: 52 Fresno State: 14 *

Nevada Opponent Records through 11/07/2010

2010-11-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Colorado State (3-7, 2-4 MWC)
   Lost at San Diego State (7-2, 4-1 MWC) 19-24

California (5-4, 3-3 Pac-10)
   Defeated Washington State (1-9, 0-7 Pac-10) 20-13

BYU (4-5, 3-2 MWC)
   Defeated Nevada Southern (1-8, 1-4 MWC) 55-7

Nevada Southern (1-8, 1-4 MWC)
   Lost at BYU (4-5, 3-2 MWC) 7-55

Hawai'i (7-3, 5-1 WAC)
   Lost at Boise State (8-0, 4-0 WAC) 7-42

Utah State (3-6, 1-4 WAC)
   Defeated NMSU (2-7, 1-4 WAC)

Nevada's opponents went 3-3 for the week ending 11/07/2010 (Eastern Washington [7-2, 6-1 Big Sky] and SJSU [1-8, 0-4 WAC] were bye) and are a combined 31-43 on the season.

Nevada at Idaho: Final Statistics

2010-11-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

The latest Wolf Pack adventure to the North-Central Idaho Aerodrome's Zeppelin Hangar...

Nevada came within sniffing distance of another second-half defensive melt-down, replete with a kickoff nearly returned for a touchdown; but the boys displayed a certain tenacity and poise that not only averted a sore brush with mediocrity (and a profanity-riddled post-game with Coach) but was able to exploit a clearly inferior football team for their own gains (including turning that kickoff return for a touchdown into a long kickoff return for a fumble).

I kinda feel bad for Idaho: I like Robb Akey; they got screwed by alumnus Dennis Erickson; they represent the Palouse (along with Washington State and a few dozen militia); they're the only FBS program in Idaho what ISN'T Boise State. In short, to me, they're the WAC's lovable lugs.

Now onto the game stats.

Rushing Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 300.88 YPG
          at Idaho: 453 (+152.12)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 85.13
          vs. Nevada: 68 (-17.13)

Passing Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 219.25 YPG
          at Idaho: 391 (+171.75)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 338.25 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 271 (-67.25)

Total Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 520.13 YPG
          at Idaho: 844 (+323.87)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 423.38 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 339 (-84.38)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 41.88 PPG
          at Idaho: 63 (+21.12)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 30.13 PPG
          vs. Nevada: 17 (-13.13)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 120.50 YPG
          at Idaho: 68 (-52.5)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 165.88 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 453 (+287.12)

Pass Defense
   Nevada
   through 11/05/2010: 122.25 YPG
          at Idaho: 271 (+148.75)
     Idaho
through 11/05/2010: 165.88 YPG
          vs. Nevada: 391 (+225.12)

Total Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 378.50 YPG
          at Idaho: 339 (-39.5)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 385.88 YPG
vs. Nevada: 844 (+458.12)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 22.75 PPG
          at Idaho: 17 (-5.75)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 25.13 PPG
          vs. Nevada: 63 (+37.87)

Penalties
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: PPG: 6.13 YPG: 59.50
          at Idaho: 2 (-4.13) for 20 yards (-39.5)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: PPG: 7.88 YPG: 76.50
          vs. Nevada: 4 (-3.88) for 31 yards (-45.5)

Punt Returns
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 9.64 YPR
          at Idaho: 10.0 (+0.36)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 5.17 YPR
          vs. Nevada: 0 (-5.17)

Kickoff Returns
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 22.75 YPR
          at Idaho: 17.0 (-5.75)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 18.65 YPR
          vs. Nevada: 31.6 (+12.95)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 7.60 YPR
          at Idaho: 0 (-7.60)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 8.73 YPR
          vs. Nevada: 10 (+1.27)

Kickoff Returns Against
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 26.12 YPR
          at Idaho: 31.6 (+5.48)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 25.31 YPR
          vs. Nevada: 17.0 (-8.31)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 0.00
          at Idaho: +4 (+4)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: +0.25
          vs. Nevada: -4 (-3.75)

TOP
   Nevada
          through 11/05/2010: 32:22
          at Idaho: 38:42 (+6:20)
     Idaho
          through 11/05/2010: 30:33
          vs. Nevada: 21:18 (-9:15)

Box Score, courtesy of espn.com

Team Stat Comparison

	Nevada	Idaho
1st Downs	38	14
3rd down efficiency	6-12	5-14
4th down efficiency	1-2	1-3
Total Yards	844	339
Passing	391	271
Comp-Att	22-34	19-41
Yards per pass	11.5	6.6
Rushing	453	68
Rushing Attempts	57	19
Yards per rush	7.9	3.6
Penalties	2-20	4-31
Turnovers	0	4
Fumbles lost	0	4
Interceptions thrown	0	0
Possession	38:42	21:18

Nevada vs. Idaho: Statistics at a Glance

2010-11-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

Team/National Rank/Stat

Rushing Offense
   Nevada: 5th (300.88 YPG)
     Idaho: 115th (85.13 YPG)

Passing Offense
     Idaho: 4th (338.25 YPG)
   Nevada: 58th (219.25 YPG)

Total Offense
   Nevada: 3rd (520.13 YPG)
     Idaho: 33rd (423.38 YPG)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada: 7th (41.88 PPG)
     Idaho: 47th (30.13 PPG)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada: 30th (120.50 YPG)
     Idaho: 81st (165.88 YPG)

Pass Defense
   Nevada: 54th (122.25 YPG)
     Idaho: 81st (165.88 YPG)

Total Defense
   Nevada: 71st (378.50 YPG)
     Idaho: 76th ( 385.88 YPG)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada: 51st (22.75 PPG)
     Idaho: 63rd (25.13 PPG)

Penalties
   Nevada: 59th (Penalties: 49 Yards: 476 PPG: 6.13 YPG: 59.50)
     Idaho: T 108th (Penalties: 63 Yards: 612 PPG: 7.88 YPG: 76.50)

Punt Returns
   Nevada: 43rd (9.64 YPR)
     Idaho: 102nd (5.17 YPR)

Kickoff Returns
   Nevada: 44th (22.75 YPR)
     Idaho: 110th (18.65 YPR)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada: 44th (38 yards, 7.60 YPR)
     Idaho: 59th (96 yards, 8.73 YPR)

Kickoff Returns Against
     Idaho: 107th (734 yards, 25.31 YPR)
     Nevada: 114th (1097 yards, 26.12 YPR)

Turnover Margin
     Idaho: 42nd (+0.25)
   Nevada: T 55th (0.00)

TOP
   Nevada: 12th (32:22)
   Idaho: 42nd (30:33)

Stats courtesy of ncaa.org

Nevada vs. Idaho: All-Time Football Data

2010-10-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

Nevada leads the all-time series 18-9; Chris Ault is 15-4 all-time vs. the Vandals and 5-0 in his third tenure; Ault-lead teams did not face Idaho in his second tenure.

All-time (Nevada, 18-9) scoring:
   Nevada- 826 [30.59259259 PPG]
     Idaho- 586 [21.70370370 PPG]
     Dif- Nevada +240

Ault all-time (Nevada, 15-4) scoring:
   Nevada- 665 [35 PPG]
     Idaho- 413 [21.73684210 PPG]
     Dif- Nevada +252

Ault cubed (Nevada, 5-0) scoring:
     Nevada- 263 [52.6 PPG]
     Idaho- 101 [20.2 PPG]
     Dif- Nevada +162

November 27, 1924
at Idaho: 23 Nevada: 0

November 22, 1935
at Idaho: 26 Nevada: 6

October 24, 1936
at Nevada: 7 Idaho: 6

November 16, 1940
at Idaho: 6 Nevada: 0

November 3, 1979
Nevada: 38 at Idaho 26

November 22, 1980
at Nevada: 38 Idaho: 7

October 21, 1981
Nevada: 23 at Idaho: 14

November 20, 1982
at Nevada: 25 Idaho: 16

November 12, 1983
Nevada: 43 at Idaho: 24

October 6, 1984
at Nevada: 27 Idaho: 17

September 28, 1985
at Idaho: 25 Nevada: 21

October 18, 1986
at Nevada: 17 Idaho: 13

November 29, 1986 (1-AA Playoffs)
at Nevada: 27 Idaho: 7

October 17, 1987
at Idaho: 38 Nevada: 28

November 5, 1988
Idaho: 32 at Nevada: 31

October 28, 1989
at Idaho: 42 Nevada: 22

September 29, 1990
at Nevada: 31 Idaho: 28

October 5, 1991
Nevada: 31 at Idaho: 23

October 19, 1996
at Idaho: 24 Nevada: 15

October 18, 1997
at Nevada: 42 Idaho: 23

October 24, 1998
Nevada: 58 at Idaho: 23

November 6, 1999
Idaho: 42 at Nevada: 33

October 8, 2005
at Nevada: 62 Idaho: 14

November 4, 2006
Nevada: 45 at Idaho: 7

October 27, 2007
at Nevada: 37 Idaho: 21

October 4, 2008
Nevada: 49 at Idaho: 14

October 24, 2009

at Nevada: 70 Idaho: 45

Nevada Opponent Records through 10/31/2010

2010-10-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Nevada Day!

Eastern Washington (7-2, 6-1 Big Sky)
    Defeated Portland State (2-6, 1-4 Big Sky) 50-17

Colorado State (3-6, 2-3 MWC)
    Defeated New Mexico (0-8, 0-4 MWC) 38-14

California (4-4, 2-3 PAC-10)
    Lost at Oregon State (4-3, 3-1 PAC-10) 35-7

Nevada Southern (1-7, 1-3 MWC)
    Lost to TCU (9-0, 5-0 MWC) 6-48

SJSU (1-8, 0-4 WAC)
    Lost at New Mexico State (2-6, 1-3 WAC) 27-29

Hawai'i (7-2, 5-0 WAC)
     Defeated Idaho (4-4, 1-2 WAC) 45-10

Nevada opponents went 3-3 for the week ending 10/30/2010 (BYU bye), and are a combined 26-34 on the season.

Nevada vs. Utah State: Final Statistics

2010-10-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

Now I understand a clearly outmatched opponent, decimated by injuries, getting a token score (or two) at the end of a long game; getting SIX (count 'em...6)...well, I don't even know what to call that.

(Full stats available at espn.com)

Note: a RED stat is an other than desirable departure from the YTD stats entering this game. BLUE stats denote a better than YTD performance for the Wolf Pack; WHITE stats denote a better than YTD performance for the Aggies.

Rushing Offense

Nevada

through 10/29/2010: 288.57 YPG
vs. Utah State: 387 (+98.43)

Utah State

      through 10/29/2010: 156.71 YPG
      at Nevada: 91 (-65.71)

Passing Offense
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 220.71 YPG
      vs. Utah State: 209 (-11.71)

Utah State

      through 10/29/2010: 176.00 YPG
      at Nevada: 399 (+223)

Total Offense
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 509.29 YPG
      vs. Utah State: 596 (+86.71)

Utah State

through 10/29/2010: 332.71 YPG
at Nevada: 490 (+157.29)

Scoring Offense

Nevada

through 10/29/2010: 39.86 PPG
vs. Utah State: 56 (+16.14)

Utah State

through 10/29/2010: 19.57 PPG
at Nevada: 42 (+22.43)

Rushing Defense

Nevada

through 10/29/2010: 124.71 YPG
vs. Utah State: 91 yards (-33.71)

Utah State

through 10/29/2010: 168.14 YPG
at Nevada: 387 yards (+218.86)

Pass Defense

Nevada

through 10/29/2010: 237.86 YPG
vs. Utah State: 399 yards (+161.14)

Utah State

      through 10/29/2010: 252.86 YPG
      at Nevada: 209 (-43.86)

Total Defense
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 362.57 YPG
      vs. Utah State: 490 yards (+127.43)
   Utah State
through 10/29/2010: 421.00 YPG
      at Nevada: 596 yards (+175)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 20.00 PPG
      vs. Utah State: 42 (+22)
   Utah State
through 10/29/2010: 30.71 PPG
      at Nevada: 56 (+25.29)

Penalties
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: PPG 5.71 YPG 57.43
vs. Utah State: 9 for 74 yards (+3.29 and +16.57 respectively)
   Utah State
      through 10/29/2010: PPG: 7.14 YPG: 65.00
      at Nevada: 7 for 69 yards (-0.14 and -4.00, respectively)

Punt Returns
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 8.50 YPR
      vs. Utah State: 16.5 (+8)
   Utah State
      through 10/29/2010: 5.25 YPR
    at Nevada: N/A

Kick Returns
    Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 23.90 YPR
      vs. Utah State: 14.7 (-9.2)

Utah State

     through 10/29/2010: 23.22 YPR
     at Nevada: 31.6 (+8.38)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 7.60 YPR
      vs. Utah State: N/A
   Utah State
      through 10/29/2010: 9.43 YPR
      at Nevada: 16.5 (-7.07)

Kick Returns Against
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 25.38 YPR
      vs. Utah State: 31.6 (-6.22)
   Utah State
      through 10/29/2010: 21.61 YPR
      at Nevada: 14.7 (+6.91)

Turnover Margin
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: -0.14
      vs. Utah State: +1
   Utah State
      through 10/29/2010: +0.14
      at Nevada: N/A

TOP
   Nevada
      through 10/29/2010: 32:21
      vs. Utah State: 32:28 (+0:08)
   Utah State
      through 10/29/2010: 28:49
      at Nevada: 27:32 (-1:17)

Nevada vs. Utah State: Statistics at a Glance

2010-10-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

Team/National Rank/Stat

Rushing Offense
     Nevada: 6th (288.57 YPG)
     Utah State: 55th (156.71 YPG)

Passing Offense
     Nevada: 60th (220.71 YPG)
     Utah State: 93rd (176.00 YPG)

Total Offense
     Nevada: 6th (509.29 YPG)
     Utah State: 85th (332.71 YPG)

Scoring Offense
     Nevada: 8th (279 points 39.86 PPG)
     Utah State: 101st (137 points 19.57 PPG)

Rushing Defense
     Nevada: 33rd (124.71 YPG)
     Utah State: 81st (168.14)

Pass Defense
     Nevada: 90th (237.86 YPG)
     Utah State: 105th (252.86)

Total Defense
     Nevada: 59th (362.57 YPG)
     Utah State: 95th (421.00 YPG)

Scoring Defense
     Nevada: 31st (20.00 PPG)
     Utah State: 91st (30.71 PPG)

Penalties
     Nevada: T 40th (Penalties: 40 Yards: 402 PPG 5.71 YPG 57.43)
     Utah State: T 91st
        (Penalties: 50 Yards: 455 PPG: 7.14 YPG: 65.00)

Punt Returns
     Nevada: 54th (Avg. 8.50 YPR)
     Utah State: 101st (Avg. 5.25 YPR)

Kickoff Returns
     Nevada: 27th (Avg. 23.90 YPR)
     Utah State: 38th (23.22 YPR)

Punt Returns Against
     Nevada: 47th (Avg. 7.60 YPR)
     Utah State: 69th (9.43 YPR)

Kickoff Returns Against
     Utah State: 66th (21.61 YPR)
     Nevada: 109th (25.38 YPR)

Turnover Margin
     Utah State: T 49th (+.14)
     Nevada: T 68th (Margin: -.14)

TOP
     Nevada: 15th (32:21)
     Utah State: 86th (28:49)

Nevada vs. Utah State: All-Time Football Data

2010-10-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

The 20th meeting of the University of Nevada Wolf Pack, and the Utah State University Aggies.

While only having played 19 times, this series has seen some remarkably good games (particularly those played in Logan, UT).

Nevada leads this series 16-3; Chris Ault is undefeated vs. Utah State. The two most recent of the three losses came under the tutelage of Jeff Tisdel (1997, 1999), while one has to go clear back to Jack Glascock's 1915 Sagebrushers squad to find Nevada's first series loss.

All-Time (16-3) Scoring:
     Nevada- 606 [31.89473684]
     Utah State- 413 [21.73684210]
     Dif- Nevada +193

Ault All-Time (8-0) Scoring:
     Nevada- 316 [39.5]
     Utah State- 201 [25.125]
     Dif- Nevada +115

Ault 2 Scoring (5-0) Scoring:
     Nevada- 182 [36.4]
     Utah State- 101 [20.2]
     Dif- Nevada +81

The series (Ault-coached games are marked with an asterisk):
November 9, 1904
at Nevada: 24 Utah State: 5

October 16, 1915
at Utah State: 26 Nevada: 0

October 28, 1916
at Nevada: 9 Utah State: 7

November 6, 1920
at Nevada: 21 Utah State: 0

October 22, 1921
Nevada: 41 at Utah State: 0

October 21, 1944
Nevada: 13 at Utah State: 7

November 14, 1992*
at Nevada: 48 Utah State: 47

October 16, 1993
Nevada: 48 at Utah State: 44

November 12, 1994*
at Nevada: 56 Utah State: 28

November 4, 1995*
Nevada: 30 at Utah State: 25

November 9, 1996
Nevada: 54 at Utah State: 27

November 15, 1997
Utah State: 38 at Nevada: 19

November 7, 1998
Nevada: 26 at Utah State: 21

November 20, 1999
Utah State: 37 at Nevada: 35

November 19, 2005*
Nevada: 30 at Utah State: 24

November 11, 2006*
at Nevada: 42 Utah State: 0

October 20, 2007*
Nevada: 31 at Utah State: 28

October 18, 2008 (Homecoming)*
at Nevada: 44 Utah State: 17

October 17, 2009*
Nevada: 35 at Utah State: 32

Nevada Opponent Records through 10/24/2010

2010-10-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Eastern Washington (6-2, 5-1 Big Sky)
   Defeated Sacramento State (3-4, 2-3 Big Sky) 28-24

Colorado State (2-6, 1-3 MWC)
   Lost at Utah (7-0, 4-0 MWC) 6-59

California (4-3, 2-2 PAC-10)
   Defeated Arizona State (3-4, 1-3 PAC-10) 50-17

BYU (3-5, 2-2 MWC)
   Defeated Wyoming (2-6, 0-4 MWC) 25-20

SJSU (1-7, 0-3 WAC)
   Lost to Fresno State (5-2, 3-1 WAC) 18-33

Hawai'i (6-2, 4-0 WAC)
   Defeated Utah State (2-5, 0-3 WAC) 45-7

Nevada opponents went 4-2 for the week ending 10/23/2010, and are a combined 17-24 on the season.

Nevada Opponent Records through 10/17/2010

2010-10-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

Eastern Washington (5-2, 4-1 Big Sky)
   Defeated Northern Colorado (2-5, 1-4 Big Sky) 35-28

Colorado State (2-5, 1-2 MWC)
   Defeated Nevada Southern (1-6, 1-2 MWC) 43-10

California (3-3, 1-2 PAC-10)
   Lost at USC (5-2, 2-2 PAC-10) 14-48

BYU (2-5, 1-2 MWC)
   Lost at TCU (7-0, 3-0 MWC) 3-31

Nevada Southern (1-6, 1-2 MWC)
   Lost at Colorado State (2-5, 1-2 MWC) 10-43

SJSU (1-6, 0-2 WAC)
   Lost to Boise State (6-0, 2-0 WAC) 0-48

Nevada opponents went 2-4 for the week ending 10/16/2010, and are a combined 13-22 on the season.

Nevada at Hawaii: Final Statistics

2010-10-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

I'm going to change the format here a bit. In this installment of Final Statistics I am merely going to take the season stats from the previous post and align them with the game stats.

Note: RED indicates a negative differential or change in an undesirable direction; a RED stat behind Hawai'i is a GOOD figure for Nevada. Stats maintain the relative color of their respective teams when that stat is favorable to that team.

Rushing Offense-
   Nevada
      Through 10/15/2010: 314.33 YPG
      At Hawai'i: 134 (-180.33)
   Hawai'i
      Through 10/15/2010: 75 YPG
      Vs. Nevada: 59 (-16)

Passing Offense-
   Nevada
      Through 10/15/2010: 231 YPG
      At Hawai'i: 159 (-72)
   Hawai'i
      Through 10/15/2010: 421.67 YPG
      Vs. Nevada: 287 (-134.67)

Total Offense-
   Nevada
Through 10/15/2010: 545.33 YPG
      At Hawai'i: 293 (-252.33)
   Hawai'i
      Through 10/15/2010: 496.67 YPG
Vs. Nevada: 346 (-150.67)

Scoring Offense-
   Nevada
      Through 10/15/2010: 43 PPG
      At Hawai'i: 21 (-22)
   Hawai'i
      Through 10/15/2010: 39.33 PPG
      Vs. Nevada: 27 (-12.33)

Rushing Defense-
   Nevada
    Through 10/15/2010: 137.65 YPG
    At Hawai'i: 59
   Hawai'i
      Through 10/15/2010: 171.83 YPG
Vs. Nevada: 134

Passing Defense-
   Nevada
      Through 10/15/2010: 229.67 YPG
      At Hawai'i: 287 (+57.33)
   Hawai'i
      Through 10/15/2010: 196.5 YPG
      Vs. Nevada: 159 (-37.5)

Total Defense-

Nevada

Through 10/15/2010: 365.33 YPG
At Hawai'i: 346 (-19.33)

Hawai'i

Through 10/15/2010: 370.5 YPG
Vs. Nevada: 293 (-77.5)

Scoring Defense-

Nevada

Through 10/15/2010: 18.83 PPG
At Hawai'i: 27 (+8.17)

Hawai'i:

Through 10/15/2010: 27.17
Vs. Nevada: 21 (-6.17)

Punt Returns-

Nevada

      Through 10/15/2010: 6 YPR
      At Hawai'i: 21 YPR (+15)
        Thank you, Mike Ball.

Hawai'i:

Through 10/15/2010: -3 YPR
Vs. Nevada: 7.5 YPR (+10.5)

Kickoff Returns-

Nevada

Through 10/15/2010: 21.81 YPR
At Hawai'i: 30.6 YPR (+8.79)

Hawai'i:

Through 10/15/2010: 19.32 YPR
Vs. Nevada: 18 YPR (-1.32)

Punt Returns Against-

Nevada

Through 10/15/2010: 8 YPR
At Hawai'i: 7.5 YPR (-.5)

Hawai'i:

Through 10/15/2010: 17.56 YPR
Vs. Nevada: 21 YPR (+3.44)

Kickoff Returns Against-

Nevada

Through 10/15/2010: 26.03 YPR
At Hawai'i: 18 YPR (-8.03)

Hawai'i:

Through 10/15/2010: 17.68 YPR
Vs. Nevada: 30.6 (+12.92)

TOP-

Nevada

Through 10/15/2010: 32:30
At Hawai'i: 31:24 (-1:06)

Hawai'i:

Through 10/15/2010: 28:34
Vs. Nevada: 28:36 (+0:02)

Nevada at Hawaii: Statistics at a Glance

2010-10-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

Team/National Rank/Stat

Rushing Offense
   Nevada: 5th (314.33 YPG) - Hawai'i: 117 (75 YPG)

Passing Offense
   Hawai'i: 1st (421.67 YPG) - Nevada: 51st (231 YPG)

Total Offense
   Nevada: 2nd (545.33 YPG) - Hawai'i: 6th (496.67 YPG)

Scoring Offense
   Nevada: 7th (43 PPG) - Hawai'i: 11th (39.33 PPG)

Rushing Defense
   Nevada: 45th (137.65 YPG) - Hawai'i: 85th (171.83 YPG)

Pass Defense
   Hawai'i: 49th (196.5 YPG) - Nevada: 82nd (229.67 YPG)

Total Defense
   Nevada: 69th (365.33 YPG) - Hawai'i: 72nd (370.5 YPG)

Scoring Defense
   Nevada: 31st (18.83 PPG) - Hawai'i: 76th (27.17 PPG)

Penalties
   Nevada: 51st - Hawai'i: 83rd

Punt Returns
   Nevada: 95th (Avg 6 yards) Hawai'i: 120th (Avg -3 yards)

Kickoff Returns
   Nevada: 64th (Avg 21.81 yards) - Hawai'i: 100th (Avg 19.32 yards)

Punt Returns Against
   Nevada: 48th (Avg 8 yards) - Hawai'i: 113th (Avg 17.56 yards)

Kickoff Returns Against
   Hawai'i: 11th (Avg 17.68 yards) - Nevada: 110th (Avg 26.03 yards)

TOP
   Nevada: 16th (32:30) - Hawai'i: 91st (28:34)

Nevada vs. Hawai'i: All-Time Football Data (2010 Edition)

2010-10-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

Since joining the WAC in 2000, Nevada's record vs. Hawai'i is 4-6 (.400); Ault's record vs. Hawai'i is 2-4 (.333); see below for more detail.

Prior to that, the two teams had met four times (and only sporadically) prior to 2000.

Nevada has not beaten Hawai'i on "The Islands" since December 17, 1948 (62 years), although the Wolf Pack has played the Warriors pretty tough since Ault's return. Excepting the 2004 'rebuilding' campaign, Nevada's average margin of victory (all at home) has been +10 (having won both contests by exactly ten), whereas Hawai'i's margin of victory on the Islands has been +7 (again, winning both contests by exactly one touchdown [+PAT]).

If one includes the Warrior's one Mackay win (+2 in 2007, the year Hawai'i earned their BCS berth), their overall average margin of victory is +5.333 PPG; if one incorporates their 2004 victory over the 'rebuilding' Wolf Pack that average becomes 9.5.

Series tied 7-7.

All-Time (7-7) Scoring:
   Nevada- 402 [28.71428571 PPG]
   Hawai'i- 374 [26.71428571 PPG]
   Dif- Nevada +28

Ault (2-4) Scoring:
   Nevada- 186 [31 PPG]
   Hawai'i- 204 [34 PPG]
   Dif- Hawai'i +18

The Series (Ault-coached games are marked with an asterisk):
December 25, 1920
Nevada: 14 at Hawai'i: 0

December 7, 1946
Nevada: 26 at Hawai'i: 7

December 17, 1948
Nevada: 73 at Hawai'i: 12

November 23, 1968
at Hawai'i: 21 Nevada: 0

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 31, 2009*
at Nevada: 31 Hawai'i: 21

Final conference standings by year (2000- ):
2000-
Hawai'i: T-6th (3-9) [also lost to UNLV]
Nevada: 10th (2-10)
2001-
Hawai'i: T-4th (9-3)
Nevada: 7th (3-9)
2002-
Hawai'i: 2nd (10-4)
Nevada: T-4th (5-7)
2003-
Hawai'i: T-4th (9-5) [also lost to UNLV]
Nevada: 5th (6-6)
2004-
Hawai'i: T-5th (8-5)
Nevada: T-7th (5-7)
2005-
Hawai'i: 5th (5-7)
Nevada: T-1st (9-4)
2006-
Hawai'i: 2nd (11-3) [also defeated UNLV]
Nevada: T-3rd (8-5)
2007-
Hawai'i: 1st (12-1) [also defeated UNLV]
Nevada: T-4th (6-7)
2008-
Hawai'i: T-2nd (7-7)
Nevada: T-2nd (7-6)
2009-
Hawai'i: T-5th (6-7)
Nevada: 2nd (7-6)

What's Up & What's Next

2010-10-11T12:01:00.001-07:00

Let's not belabor the point here - Saturday's game was atrocious. Yes, we won, and our offensive numbers were strong, but penalties were through the roof and miscues were belligerent and numerous. Of course, none of this is breaking new ground; Ault said as much immediately following the game.

If you're wondering why we still keep this blog going, even in the face of national recognition and the first top-25 ranking since Dewey defeated Truman, that game was why. It's not just the penalties and the turnovers, it's when they happen. Against a better team, giving up six touchdowns due to penalties or turnovers through the course of a game would be a recipe for unmitigated disaster. It will be one if we approach Hawaii with the same cavalier attitude we approached San Jose State.

Let's talk about the rest of the WAC...

Boise State beat Toledo, which wasn't surprising. Interestingly, if Ohio State and Oregon both lose during conference play and Boise State and either TCU or Utah go undefeated (TCU and Utah play each other on November 6), there's a chance that the BCS national championship game will be played by two non-BCS automatic qualifiers. It's not a strong chance, mind you - I suspect voters would quickly elevate Alabama or someone similar to prevent such a thing from occurring - but it's still fun to ponder. Of course, Boise State would have to beat us in order for that to happen.

Hawaii sent the WAC a warning shot across the port bow with a strong road win against Fresno State. The key stats of the game? Hawaii rolled off 376 passing yards and seized three interceptions against Fresno State's Ryan Colburn. Oh yes, and Hawaii scored 49 points. That's a pretty key stat to consider, too.

Don't forget - Nevada was intercepted twice by San Jose State. Just imagine what Hawaii will do to us in the islands if we're not more careful with the ball.

Utah State continued its mercurial behavior with a letdown loss against Louisiana Tech. Utah State is a fairly young team this year, so it's not too surprising that they'd lose in Ruston after winning an emotional game against a rival they historically haven't had much success against. They're getting better, though. In a couple of years, Utah State might be a fairly decent mid-major football program.

Idaho took a much-deserved bye week. They'll resume play against Louisiana Tech this weekend.

New Mexico State decisively proved that they are not, in fact, the worst team in New Mexico, and, by association, the worst team in Division I-A. 21,437 brave fans watched the National Un-Championship on Saturday, each serving witness to what may be the worst college football game of the season. Stat of the game? NMSU picked up two sacks. Those, coincidentally, would be the first two sacks of the Aggies' season.

Interestingly, that would be 801 more fans we drew at Mackay Stadium for our tilt against San Jose State. C'mon, Reno - I know it wasn't the most compelling game in the world, and I know our average attendance has historically been well under 20,000, but surely we can out-draw the worst teams in college football. Heck, we're still 2,000 away from out-drawing UNLV on a regular basis.

I know, I know... we'll get there. Eventually.

Nevada Opponent Records through 10/10/2010

2010-10-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Eastern Washington (4-2, 3-1 Big Sky)
   Defeated Northern Arizona (3-2, 1-1 Big Sky) 21-14

Colorado State (1-5, 0-2 MWC)
   Lost at #25 Air Force (5-1, 3-0 MWC) 27-49

California (3-2, 1-1 PAC-10)
   Defeated UCLA (3-3, 1-2 PAC-10) 35-7

BYU (2-4, 1-1 MWC)
   Defeated SDSU (3-2, 0-1 MWC) 24-21

Nevada Southern (1-5, 1-1 MWC)
   Lost at West Virginia (4-1, 0-0 Big East) 10-49

Nevada opponents went 3-2 for the week ending 10/08/2010, and are a combined 11-18 on the season.

Nevada vs. San Jose State: Final Statistics

2010-10-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

		1	2	3	4	T
	SJSU	10	3	0	0	13
#21	NEV	14	7	7	7	35

Team Stat Comparison

	San Jose St	Nevada
1st Downs	21	30
3rd down efficiency	4-15	10-13
4th down efficiency	1-2	0-0
Total Yards	372	640
Passing	194	273
Comp-Att	16-37	20-28
Yards per pass	5.2	9.8
Rushing	178	367
Rushing Attempts	36	41
Yards per rush	4.9	9.0
Penalties	8-55	8-89
Turnovers	3	2
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	2	2
Possession	31:55	28:05

Stats courtesy of espn.com

I won't harp on the offense too much this time around, except to say that Kaep looked great once again through about the first quarter...after that he began to look a bit more ordinary.

The passing game, saving the two interceptions (both for touchbacks), was also in pretty good form with the a 71.43% completion rate.

Nevada made 30 first downs, was 10-13 on 3rd down, and raked in 640 total yards of offense. Pretty good numbers, by and by. I was rather impressed by San Jose State's scrappy defense (less impressed by the fact that it managed to take our offense to 3rd down 13 times), but the fact still remains that the Spartans were a depleted squad with a rather lack of talent and the Nevada offense played down to their level.

Nevada's defense, on the other hand, had a bit tougher time, and it took them far to long to wake up to the fact that this game, once again, wasn't going to be a complete walk-over.

Comparing stats give us a bit more insight in this area. Now granted, SJSU played two FCS and three FBS teams in their OOC schedule, and not one of the FBS teams ranked below #13 at the time - that does need to be taken into consideration just a bit; conversely Nevada is now a ranked team, therefore making a direct comparison all the more telling.

	First 5 Games (avg)	vs. Nevada
PF	9.8	13
PA	31.2	35
1st Downs/Game	11.6	21
3rd Down Efficiency	2.4-12-4 (19.35%)	4-15 (26.67%)
4th Down Efficiency	0.8-1.2 (66.67%)	1-2 (50%)
Total Yards	248.6	372
Yards Passing	166.8	194
Passing Efficiency	16-22.4 (66.12%)	16-37 (43.24%)
Yards per Pass	6.75	5.2
Yards Rushing	81.8	178
Attempts	28.8	36
Yards per Rush	2.84	4.9
Fumbles Lost	0.8	1
Interceptions Thrown	0.8	2

Along with coming up on the short end of the time of possession battle (not that it mattered in the long run) SJSU attempted 14.6 more passes than their average (mostly by La Secla, their backup QB) and 7.2 additional rushes. Likewise, along with the additional passing attempts Nevada gave up an additional 27.2 yards through the air, which more than makes up for the -22.88% completion rate. Worse yet, on only those additional 7.2 rushes the Spartans raked in an extra 96.2 yards and an extra 2.06 yards per carry over their season's average against Nevada's traditionally stout rush defense...it was also far and away SJSU's best night on the ground this season (2nd: vs. U.C. Davis - 114 yards on 33 rushes for 3.5 per rush).

And, of course our favorite topic: penalties. Normally this is a list of procedural events; at least this time around false starts and holds seemed to be kept to a (relative) minimum. THIS time around, the problem was with personal fouls. Nevada was UNLV bad for personal fouls this time around for completely undisciplined claptrap. While I have heard a number of stories floating around about the 'horrible officiating' Saturday night, there were far too many of these unnecessary acts of aggression which were both blatant and asinine.

Speaking of asinine: this is the second game in a row in which Ricky Drake sent a kickoff soaring out of bounds...ugh.

Nevada penalties vs SJSU are (were) as follows:

Ricky Drake kickoff for 67 yards out-of-bounds.

10 yard holding on John Bender accepted, no play.*

0 yard holding (off-setting) NO PLAY. accepted,*

NEVADA penalty 15 yard pass interference on Rishard Matthews accepted, no play.*

Anthony Martinez 25 yard field goal MISSED (three penalties-three TDs brought back).

15 yard personal foul on Duke Williams accepted for a 1ST down.

NEVADA penalty 15 yard personal foul on Bubba Boudreaux accepted.

15 yard pass interference on Virgil Green accepted, no play.

8 yard personal foul on Brett Roy accepted.

10 yard roughing passer on Zack Madonick accepted, no play.

penalty 1 yard delay of game accepted.

Had it not been for position against near the goal line these penalties would have totaled over 100 yards for the game...two for pass interference, THREE personal fouls, and one roughing the passer.

Maybe there was some jabbering between players out there...some retribution Nevada was seeking; be that the case the players have thus far been silent on the issue. Still a Top 25 team should be able to maintain poise (or at least not body slam a receiver after the play while the official has a front-row seat).

At the very best, Nevada looked like they were playing down to the competition (again). They had best pull their heads out and start playing with their (collective) whole a-- or else Hawai'i is going to eat the Wolf Pack alive.

Nevada-UNLV Retrospective

2010-10-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, let's take a look at what our hapless counterparts had to say about our victory. Ed Graney from the LVRJ wrote:

It's all relative, especially when you are in the infant stages of rebuilding a college football program that has been as sound lately as that Disney stock in your deteriorating portfolio.

The gap is still wide. The cannon is still blue.

UNLV still exists miles and miles behind its rival.

But this wasn't last year. This wasn't that kind of loss to UNR, despite what you might imagine a 44-26 final score suggests.

[...]

UNR is very good. I don't know if it's great. It looked at times as if merely going through the motions, as if it knew the outcome was never in doubt and it needed to score just enough to make the pollsters believe for another week.

One good thing came of this for UNLV: It will never again have to prepare to defend Colin Kaepernick. The senior quarterback rushed for 97 yards and one touchdown and threw for 124 and another, not the kind of video game numbers he put up against the Rebels in the past, but solid just the same.

Meanwhile, Ron Kantowski from the LVRJ had this to say:

Chris Ault, UNR's Hall of Fame football coach, brings to mind the Russian guy who has everything in that DirecTV commercial, only without the Cold War accent and the grammatical errors.

Opulence? He has it.

This year's Wolf Pack are an embarrassment of riches. Fantastic quarterback. Excellent running back. Novel offense that nobody seems to know how to defend. Much-improved defense. Undefeated record. National ranking.

[...]

The Wolf Pack fumbled away a punt in the shadow of their own goal line and made other niggling mistakes. Unforced errors are never a good idea, regardless of how much your defense has improved, or how much you like savings the money.

UNLV's Will Chandler made another big play, intercepting a long pass by UNR's Colin Kaepernick when there really was no reason to throw one, not when the Wolf Pack offensive line was carving giant holes in the UNLV front seven that Louie Anderson could run through.

This would also fall into the category of a niggling UNR mistake. As would another turnover, inside UNLV's 5-yard line.

[...]

UNR (5-0) looked a little bored to me. UNLV (1-4) still looked a little outmatched, but not nearly as much as at Idaho a couple of weeks ago.

I think that's about right. This game reminded me a lot of the Eastern Washington game at the beginning of the year - we knew we were infinitely more talented than the other team and, in a manner of speaking, played like it. The silly, boneheaded mistakes (fumbles, the interception, poor special teams play, and so on) all reminded me of what happens when I play checkers against my seven-year-old. When you're not taking your opponent seriously, you get sloppy.

Trouble is, once in a while, my seven-year-old wins.

Realistically, I don't think San Jose State is going to be our "trap" game. They're at least as bad and at least as banged up as UNLV was, only without a decent wide receiver on their side to expose our defense from time to time. I'm not entirely sure we'll cover the 38 point spread - we are developing the nasty habit of playing down to our level of competition, after all - but I think we have the talent to do that.

One game that makes me more than a little nervous, however, is Hawaii. It's in their field, they throw the ball, and - let's be honest here - we're just not that strong against the pass. The good news is that the only FBS team that Hawaii's kept under 4 yards per rushing attempt was Army; USC rang up 7.0 yards per carry, Colorado secured 4.8, and even lowly Louisiana Tech picked up 4.5. That's fantastic news for us since it means we can safely secure first downs on the ground, chewing up valuable clock time and keeping up against Hawaii's inevitable passing scores.

Nevada vs. San Jose State: All-Time Football Data

2010-10-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

Nevada (5-0, 0-0 WAC, T-1st) vs. San Jose State (1-4, 0-0 WAC, 6th-ish)

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 24 meetings between Nevada and San Jose State, with the Wolf Pack holding the advantage 14-8-2.

Chris Ault is 7-2 all-time in this series, and is 5-1 since his return to coaching in 2004.

All-Time Scoring 14-8-2:
   Nevada- 655 [27.29166667 PPG]
   SJSU- 501 [20.875 PPG]
   Dif: Nevada +154, or 22.14%
Ault All-Time Scoring 7-2:
   Nevada- 344 [38.222 PPG]
   SJSU- 182 [20.222 PPG]
   Dif: Nevada +162 or 47.1%
Ault Scoring Since 2004 5-1:
   Nevada- 222 [37 PPG]
   SJSU- 105 [17.5 PPG]
   Dif: Nevada +117 or 52.702703%

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: 64 Nevada: 45
(Set record for highest scoring NCAA game, at the time)

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

November 8, 2009*
Nevada: 62 at San Jose State: 7

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
2009-
   Nevada: 2nd SJSU: 9th

Nevada at UNLV Final Statistics

2010-10-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

		1	2	3	4	T
#25	NEV	7	21	10	6	44
	UNLV	7	7	3	9	26

Ok, this game could have gone much, much worse; in fact, there were plenty of times that Nevada's defense and, especially, special teams did their best to make it worse. I would like to refer to the previous post in this regard: live blogging, while having the downside of being loaded with the emotions of the moment, has the real advantage of pointing out flaws as they happen lest we forget some of the more poignant points while covering all of the statistics in analysis.

Team Stat Comparison

	Nevada	UNLV
1st Downs	29	15
3rd down efficiency	4-7	5-12
4th down efficiency	1-2	0-0
Total Yards	516	294
Passing	142	214
Comp-Att	14-19	14-23
Yards per pass	7.1	8.2
Rushing	374	80
Rushing Attempts	50	33
Yards per rush	7.5	2.4
Penalties	5-61	10-132
Turnovers	3	2
Fumbles lost	2	1
Interceptions thrown	1	1
Possession	32:35	27:25

(Stats courtesy of espn.com)

There are a lot of good figures there, really. Nevada completed 14 of 19 passes (73.68%); the Water Thieving Bas----s went 14-23 (60.87%). I like the positive differential there, and the fact that they only attempted 23 passes. Now, let's look at those passing statistics:

Nevada: 14 of 19 for 142 yards, a 7.5 yard average.
Nevada Southern: 14 of 23 for 214, a 9.3 yard average.
Phillip Payne: 8 receptions for 170 yards, a 21.3 YPC average.

UNLV went into the game ranked 96th nationally in pass offense, averaging 170 yards per game - Payne had this by himself in this game (with a long of 65 yards!). They were ranked 110th in total offense, averaging 284.5 yards per game - Nevada allowed them an additional 10. At least Nevada held their 95tth-ranked rush offense under their average (114.5 YPG, vs. Nevada: 80 yards). That's a good thing since someone needed to make up for special teams.

Speaking of:
Nevada kick returns: 4 for 81 yards, averaging 20.3 YPR with a long of 22 yards.
Nevada Southern kick returns: 6 for 228 yards, averaging 38 YPR with a long of 68. (This, of course, not mentioning Tim Cornett's 58-yard kickoff return...oops, I mentioned it.)
Nevada Southern Return Yardage: 32, 22 (before penalty), 23, 68, 10 (before penalty), 25, kick OOB (give them 40 yards!), 58.
No Nevada kickoff went for a touchback, and the only return downed behind UNLV's own 20 was negated by a trademarked holding penalty, one kickoff went out of bounds, and one extra point was missed (for the first time this season).

Other figures: Nevada Southern came into the game ranked 95th nationally in points scored per game averaging 20.8 (and that only after running up 45 against the worst team in D 1-A) - Nevada gave up 26. Nevada turned over the ball three times to UNLV's two, which isn't all that bad when you consider that turnover margin is the one thing Nevada Southern has done well this year. Nice to see Brandon Marshall's interception; it's just too bad that time expired at the half.

UNLV also entered the game ranked 57th in pass defense, allowing 197.8 YPG; I won't harp on this one, seeing as Nevada attempted 19 total passes to ornament 50 rush attempts.

One thing I will harp on, though: Nevada entered the game ranked 4th nationally in total offense, UNLV ranked 66th in total defense. UNLV's defense manhandled the Pack's Union almost all night long. There were some nice moments in there, but Nevada Southern's defense was, often enough, moving them at will and getting decent penetration more often than necessary. Watching the Union thus far this season I can only think they must have expected their opponent to be a complete push over (Punny, no? No.); only thing is they never fully recovered. Don't get me wrong, now, they got in some good licks there; however, there were far too many plays where they were molded like clay.

Some (other) good figures:
UNLV went into the game ranked 66th nationally in YPG at 359; Nevada earned 516 total yards.
UNLV went into the game ranked 75th nationally in rush defense, allowing 161.3 YPG: Nevada raked in 374 (again, on 50 attempts).

There is one important thing to remember when considering these stats: they played one of the worst teams in the nation in their house in a rivalry game the first week after becoming nationally ranked. As much as Ault and the rest of the staff drills the importance of the game, not taking their opponent for granted, and forgetting about the ranking altogether, these are college kids and there's no way all three of those factors aren't in their heads. Yes, maybe coaching could step it up a bit and do better here...maybe. First time the Wolf Pack has been ranked in 62 years? I'm willing to cut them a little slack...I mean, the cannon is still blue, after all.

With that in mind, I'm glad the whole team has a nice tune-up next week, coming home to play San Jose State for homecoming (Punny, no? No.), all three phases of the game are going to need it.

Props to Dan Hinxman who predicted an alarmingly close 41-27 Nevada victory...scary.

The Boston Molasses Disaster has NOTHING on UNLV football.

Nevada-UNLV Live Blog

2010-10-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Blogging via phone - expect several typos. New content at the bottom of the post.

8:00 - 14-14, 7:41 remaining in the 2nd. UNLV looking alarmingly lively. Nevada's offense looks okay, which is more than can be said of our error-riddled defense right now.

8:03 - Did I say the offense was looking okay? I was lying. Kaep just tossed it straight to a redshirt. Sadly, a malicious space alien didn't immediately kill the defender.

8:05 - Three and out... or was it? There's a flag... and it goes our way! Miracles never cease. We even held on to the punt and everything.

8:09 - One... two... three... first down!

8:11 - Touchdown! Looks like we finally remembered they had no run defense. About damn time.

8:13 - My compatriot just suggested that our defense should just injure UNLV's quarterbacks, with the idea that, at some point, they'd run out and we'd just suffer 45 yards in penalties. It sounds great until you remember that we kind of need Kaep to not get injured in retribution.

8:16 - Fumble! That does indeed make up for the boneheaded off-sides penalty just 15 seconds earlier.

8:22 - Thanks, Windows Mobile, for crashing. So... touchdown for us, followed by a noxiously long Rebel kick return, followed by Clayton(?) fumbling the ball and one of their running backs picking it up 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. I'm going to have a heart attack.

8:25 - Lots of UNLV injuries. That's encouraging. Sooner or later, our depth will have to kick in.

8:27 - Nevada interception! And... halftime! Okay, this game is ugly with a capital UNLV. Tons of turnovers on both sides, missed tackles, and poor play all the way around. Thank goodness this game is getting broadcast on an obscure regional network so nobody of importance will see this. Good grief.

Kaep is looking good, which is certainly encouraging, and our offense is moving the ball fairly well when it remembers to hold on to the danged thing. Defense and special teams, meanwhile, have regressed to last year's form. That's not encouraging.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say our team believed the hype, believed that their talent was good enough to beat UNLV without playing a down, and just tried to sleepwalk through the game. We'll see if Ault can wake them from their stupor.

The good news? This is the one and only game that he consistently cares about.

8:34 - Wow... "The Mtn" actually sold a product placement on their broadcast laptop. I sure hope "Simple Mac" get their money's worth.

8:38 - Good news, everyone! New Mexico still can't play football.

8:49 - Well, that answers that. Six seconds in and already a holding penalty on our special teams.

8:53 - Kaep to... who's 82? Who cares? That was a fantastic throw!

8:55 - Hold! On! To! The! Damn! Ball!

9:00 - Nobody listens to me. We just fumbled mere yards from the end zone. The good news! We're playing UNLV, which makes at least as many mistakes as we do. Example? Personal foul immediately after gaining possession.

9:03 - Defense held and we got good field position after the punt. You know what's even better field position? Not fumbling the ball on the 8 yard line.

9:09 - They're flashing the usual assortment of stats that make us look great on paper. Turnovers not mentioned. UNLV players still dropping like flies, though, which ismorbidly encouraging.

9:11 - Compatriot: "A completion for negative yardage is still a completion. It's not an interception." Ugh.

9:13 - Field goal good. Nevada 31, UNLV 14, 2:42 remaining in the 3rd. Kaep looks like he's singlehandedly trying to take over the game, for better or worse. Offensive line looking offensive, which is extremely surprising. We've got to protect him more consistently than that.

9:16 - Okay, now that was completely unnecessary. I'm glad we're pressuring Clayton, butwould it kill us to cover an open receiver! Or tackle him before the 10 yard line? Just throwing that out there.

9:18 - Looked wide left, thought I saw a ref wave it off, but it's apparently 31-17 now. Whatever. I'm just glad we're playing UNLV - if we were playing a real team, we'd be getting laughed out of the building.

9:21 - Taua reminds us that UNLV still has no run defense, runs for 72 yards for a touchdown. Nevada 38, UNLV 17.

9:22 - And then we kick the ball out of bounds and give it to UNLV on the 40. It's like last year all over again. Why have all three phases of the team work simultaneously when we can just make the offense do all the work, right?

9:31 - Nice reverse, UNLV. Next time you try it, don't hug our defensive line.

9:33 - UNLV field goal, 38-20. UNLV is trying desperately to keep the casinos in business by covering the spread.

9:35 - Oh good, UNLV's placekicker is terrible too. How refreshing.

9:42 - Touchdown with a side of unsportsmanlike conduct on UNLV. Muffed the PAT, though. 44-20. Looks like we might cover the spread after all.

9:45 - We should've just kicked it out of bounds. Good God.

9:48 - At least we're pressuring the quarterback. UNLV's getting tired. Of course, we're still not covering receivers, so it doesn't really matter, now does it?

9:53 - Wait, that was pass interference on us? I'm sorry, did his jersey interfere with the play or something?

9:54 - Touchdown UNLV. Gamblers everywhere hope we spend the remaining 4:35 of the game wisely and run up the score.

9:58 - Kaep is out, Lantrip is in. Not encouraging if you put money on Nevada. Thankfully, I didn't - Nevada's pkay is like the weather here. You just never know which team will show up.

10:00 - Huh! Lantrip completion, 4th and 1... and yes, we went for it. Got it, too! Looks like Ault's still awake.

10:03 - Less than a minute left, but we're close. Will we cover?

10:05 - Nope. It's over. Retrospective tomorrow.

Santua ardi Pedriza!

2010-10-02T00:33:00.000-07:00

That is an ancient Basque saying I just made up what means 'holy sheep poop.'

	1	2	3	4	T
BYU	0	3	7	6	16
USU	10	14	7	0	31

This was in Logan, not in Provo, but...holy sheep poop.

Now I'm for pretty much anyone beating BYU who's name and/or acronym doesn't end in 'UNLV,' but does notching their first D 1-A (aka FBS) win in 2010, along with a freakishly close game in Norman, OK to then #8 Oklahoma (followed by much more characteristic losses at home to Fresno State [24-41] and at 3-1 San Diego State [7-41]) show that Utah State can still be a WAC sleeper? Can they go all 2009 Nevada on this conference after a wretched OOC run?

Or is BYU just that bad right now?

For the record, FBS powerhouse Idaho State (1-3, 0-2 in the Big frickin' Sky) scored more points (17) than did the Cougars (16).

And BYU (1-4, 0-1 MWC) gave up more points to USU (31) than they did to Nevada (27).

Although, again, this was in Logan, not in Provo.

I'd (almost) rather BYU end up being a quality win (although I hate the idea of them winning a spelling contest), but right now they look like simaurtegia.

And now back to directing all of my energy and hatred toward that school.

Wait, school should be in quotes.

That 'school' down there.

That's better.

FUNLV!

Lest we forget...

UNLV Quote of the Day

2010-09-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

"Let's win and then we'll figure out what we're going to do with the dang thing." - Bobby Hauck

Coaches in this rivalry seldom grasp the intensity the first time 'round. John Robinson, after losing his first game in Reno 26-12 on October 2, 1999 said that he'd greatly underestimated the rivalry, but never would again (and he didn't...he never lost another game to Nevada). The following year, after losing at Nevada Southern 38-7, first-year Wolf Pack coach Chris Tormey said something very similar.

Public Enemy No. 1 seems to join the ranks; refering to my beloved Fremont Cannon as '...the dang thing' shows that he's taking the trophy and the rivalry with the same degree of ignorance and/or irreverence as so many who have come before him...an ambivalence that most certainly is not shared by anyone who will be on the opposing sideline Saturday night.

Flotsam & Jetsam

2010-09-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to come up with anything especially compelling to say about the UNLV game this weekend. Nobody, not even in "that city", are expecting this game to be close. The Rebels are banged up, they have a new coach with a new system, and, oh yeah, we have the best Wolf Pack team in... well, probably ever, frankly. Keep in mind, though, that UNLV's play bordered alarmingly close to decent against Wisconsin and Utah, and both of those programs are ranked; off course, that was several injuries ago. Even so, if our offense keeps hemorrhaging the ball every time we get tackled, don't be surprised if the Rebels somehow make things uncomfortably interesting.

In the meantime...

I know it's fashionable to complain about Mackay for a variety of good and justifiable reasons, but it could be worse. At least we don't play in this:

That, in case you were wondering, is the Kibbie Dome, which, coincidentally, is also the scene of UNLV's last loss.

Should we be ranked higher?

2010-09-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's a popular topic these days. After all, we're 4-0, we had an excellent win against Cal and we won handily on the road against BYU. Why are we only 25th, and why did it take so long to get there in the first place? The answer, as always, lies in the details - namely, who's above us? Let's go through the list and see who we're subjectively superior to.

24. Michigan State (4-0): Three wins against otherwise forgettable programs (Western Michigan, Florida Atlantic, and Northern Colorado), and an exciting win against a talented but luckless Notre Dame team, with the fake field goal at the end playing on SportsCenter for a week.

Verdict: Overrated. If it weren't for that win against Notre Dame, they probably wouldn't be here. The good news is that they're playing Wisconsin this week, so there's a very real chance they'll fall back to Earth. The bad news is that they're playing the same Wisconsin team that nearly lost to Arizona State and let San Jose State look surprisingly decent in week 2.

23. North Carolina State (4-0): Ah, the one-word Wolfpack. Their schedule looks pretty similar to ours - two victories over mediocre programs (Western Carolina and UCF), followed by two wins against somewhat better competition (Cincinnati and Georgia Tech).

Verdict: Push. You could make a credible case that our wins are a bit more impressive than theirs, but only a bit. Cincinnati's record is dismal, but they've played some excellent schools; this puts them roughly on par with BYU. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, was #15 in the country until Kansas stunned them into submission. Since then, Georgia Tech has been somewhat mercurial. Then again, Cal has proved its reputation was a little overblown once they stopped playing UC Davis and Colorado.

22. Penn State (3-1): Two wins against forgettable programs (Youngstown State and Kent State), a come-from-behind win against a halfway decent Temple team (they beat Connecticut), and an absolute pasting by Alabama.

Verdict: Overrated. Temple's better than usual, but it's still not that good. Having to come from behind to put them away, especially at home, is certainly not the sign of an excellent football program. This ranking is more of an acknowledgement of last year's successes than a reflection of this year's accomplishments. Don't be surprised if they lose in Iowa this Saturday and consequently drop out of the ratings.

21. Texas (3-1): For the record, I am not a Texas fan. In fact, if Texas played UNLV in a football game, I would root for a meteor, a stray nuclear strike, or the hand of God to come down and smite both teams before I'd voluntarily root for either of them. Having acknowledged my bias, I will note that Texas beat two mediocre teams (Rice and Wyoming), beat a halfway decent Texas Tech team on the road, then promptly bathed themselves in bruin feces and unwittingly made our Pistol-offense-originating nemesis/raison d'être look like a tactical genius of the first order.

Mixed emotions, I have decided, are the best emotions.

Verdict: Dazed and confused. Nobody, and I mean nobody, was expecting them to lose to UCLA at home. Considering how Texas was #7 in the country until that game, I'd say a fourteen point drop is about right. It would've been worse if UCLA didn't beat Houston before facing off against Texas. We'll see if Texas is actually any good this year when they play in the Red River Shootout this weekend.

20. South Carolina (3-1): The Gamecocks' win against Georgia looked impressive at the time; unfortunately, Georgia's loss to Mississippi State last week didn't add any polish to that. South Carolina also suffered a close loss to an excellent (#17) Auburn team thanks to a bit of foot-directed sharpshooting in the fourth quarter. South Carolina's other two wins against Furman and Southern Miss, meanwhile, look utterly forgettable - remember, Southern Miss is the same team that nearly lost to Louisiana Tech last week to the tune of 13-12.

Verdict: Push. Auburn is definitely better than Cal, and Georgia's three losses were to the same Arkansas team that took Alabama to the wire last week, South Carolina, and an understandable letdown game against Mississippi State. Consequently, it's pretty safe to conclude that South Carolina has played better teams than Nevada. On the other hand, they're also 3-1, so this ranking is about right.

19. Michigan (4-0): A close win against the same talented but luckless Notre Dame team that Michigan State beat a week later, a strong victory over Bowling Green and a decent win against Connecticut are the highlights of Michigan's season so far. Too bad they almost pulled an Appalachian State against UMass a few weeks ago.

Verdict: Overrated. I'm not even sure they're better than Michigan State. Connecticut isn't very good, and Bowling Green rests comfortably between Colorado State and New Mexico in talent. Yes, they had a close win against Notre Dame, but who hasn't? Let's also remember that Michigan almost forgot its lesson about properly preparing against FCS-level competition when it faced the indomitable Minutemen of Massachusetts. Granted, we didn't play much better against Eastern Washington, but play better we did, and we didn't need over 100,000 fans on our side to do it, either.

18. USC (4-0): This is where things start getting a little interesting. Is Washington State any better than Colorado State? Is Minnesota any better than the University of South Dakota (Answer: No.)? Will Virginia play any other Division I-A... err... "FBS"-level opponent other than than USC before conference play (Answer: No.)? Is Hawaii any good (Answer: I have no idea.)?

Verdict: Overrated. Is USC any good this year? It's hard to tell - they simply haven't played anyone. On the other hand, Kiffen has made it an open "secret" that he's playing for depth in the early parts of the season, so USC might be semi-intentionally playing down to their level of competition. It's just really difficult to get a good read right now. The good news is they're playing a decent Washington team this week, followed by a gut check against #9 Stanford in Palo Alto.

Trivia question: When was the last time that Stanford was ranked higher than USC when they played?
The answer: October 25, 1986 - Stanford was ranked #19 in the AP Poll while USC wasn't ranked that week. USC won 10-0, which advanced them to #18 in the rankings. Stanford's coach in that game? Jack Elway, the father of some obscure former quarterback for the Denver Broncos that nobody's ever heard of. USC, meanwhile, was in the final year of the Ted Tollner era; he would eventually finish his coaching career at San Diego State.

Back to the list...

17. Iowa (3-1): Similar story as USC, with high scoring wins against Eastern Illinois, Iowa State, and Ball State, as well as a close loss against a good Arizona team on the road.

Verdict: Overrated, but possibly not for long. The Hawkeyes' next four games are against Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, which will go a long way toward determining which of the teams on this list are for real and which ones are there out of a sense of misguided tradition. If they win all four games, they will be a top-10 team and deservedly so. If the Hawkeyes are really lucky, they'll be undefeated going into their game against Ohio State on November 20th - if they are, that will probably be an unofficial Big Ten championship game, in much the same way that our November 26th game against Boise State might turn into an unofficial WAC championship. As an added bonus for the Hawkeyes, their game against Ohio State is at home.

From here on out, it's fairly obvious that, even if the teams above Iowa are overrated (looking at you, Hurricanes), they're not overrated enough for me to make a credible argument that Nevada should be ranked higher than them. If you want to argue that we're a better team than #16 Miami (FL) or any of the rest of the list, you may do so in the comments section.

Nevada vs. UNLV: All-Time Football Data

2010-09-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

Possibly one of the most understated and under-appreciated rivalries in the NCAA. Sure, most of the rest of the world cares nothing of our ~~little~~ annual 'Dust Bowl' game we play every year...but I don't really care what the rest of the world thinks. To us (North and south), this is war, and as such brings out fiery passions and unbridled animosity. I, for one, have no problem with my unholy and inhuman hatred for all things So Nev and/or the color red; as far as I'm concerned the rest of the world would be a better place if The Meadows were reduced to an uninhabitable glass crater for the next 50,000 years.

But for this week we are focused on football and the playing of football and, in the case of this article, the history of this match-up...from a numbers standpoint.

First-year coaches, it would seem, have not fared too well in their first rivalry game; case in point: Ault has lost the first game in each of his three tenures. So, in honor of Bobby Hauck, heretofore to be known as Public Enemy No. 1, I did a little research into coaching records in this rivalry, with an emphasis on first-year results.

First-Year Head Coaching: Series History

Nevada Winning:

Jerry Scattini; Jeff Horton; Jeff Tisdel.

Nevada Southern Winning:

Tony Knap; Jeff Horton.

Nevada Losing:

Chris Ault; Chris Ault; Chris Tormey; Chris Ault.

Nevada Southern Losing:

Ron Meyer; Jim Strong; John Robinson; Mike Sanford.

So, Nevada has had THREE head coaches win their first game in the series, with, well, TWO losing, but one of those three different times - in this case we're considering all three as different administrations and therefore separate instances, so therefore FOUR instances of losses for the first series game.

Nevada Southern has had TWO coaches win their first game in the series, with FOUR coaches losing theirs.

In addition there are THREE Nevada Southern coaches administering their first game after their first year as head coach.

Bill Ireland: Northern Nevada traitor who left to assume Nevada Southern's first head football coach opening; coached them in the series' first game...and lost, 28-30.

Harvey Hide: Second-year Nevada Southern coach won his first series contest.

Wayne Nunnely: Also a second-year Nevada Southern coach who won his first series contest.

Now to take a look at all-time series coaching records.

Coaching Records: Series History

Nevada Winning:

Chris Ault (12-7, all-time); Jeff Horton (1-0); Jeff Tisdel (4-0).

Nevada Losing:

Jerry Scattini (3-4); Chris Tormey (0-5).

Nevada Southern Winning:

Ron Meyer (2-1); Tony Knap (3-1); John Robinson (5-1).

Nevada Southern Losing:

Jim Strong (0-4); Jeff Horton (1-5); Mike Sanford (0-5).

Nevada coaches with no (series) wins: Chris Tormey.

Nevada Southern coaches with no (series) wins: Jim Strong; Mike Sanford.

(Both Nevada's Chris Tormey and UNLV's Mike Sanford went 0-5 in the series; I would have paid good money to see the Tormey vs. Sanford Death Match...not much, but the money would be real.)

Statistics:

Not only have the teams competed in different conferences, but there were times where they actually competed at different divisions. Special consideration has been given to that fact where applicable, including presenting each team's division throughout the series' history.

Nevada Home Record: 12-6
Nevada Road Record: 8-9

Nevada Southern Home Record: 9-8

Nevada Southern Road Record: 6-12

Longest Run of Wins: 5 games.

Nevada, 1989-1993, 1995-1999, 2005-

Nevada Southern, 2000-2004

(Nevada is currently at 5 consecutive series wins.)

Largest Margin of Victory: +42

Nevada 1991

Victor's Highest Score: 63.

Nevada 2009.

Loser's Lowest Score: 3

Nevada Southern 1973, 2006

Nevada Southern (D 1-A) vs. Nevada (D 1-AA).

All-Time: 3-8 Home: 2-2 Road: 1-3

(Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Chris Ault All-Time:

12-7 (home: 7-2 away: 5-5)

Chris Ault-First Tenure:

6-5 (home: 3-2 away: 3-3)

Chris Ault- Second Tenure:

1-1 (home: 1-0 away: 0-1)

Chris Ault-Third Tenure:

5-1 (home: 3-0 away: 2-1)

Nevada Scoring:

All-Time

PF: 982 PA: 783 (dif. +199 or 20%)
Avg PF: 28.05714286 Avg PA: 22.37142857 (dif. +5.68571429)

Ault All-Time (19 games)

PF: 596 PA: 418 (dif +178 or 30%)
Avg PF: 31.36842105 Avg PA: 22 (dif. +9.36842105)

Ault 1 (11 games)
PF: 309 PA: 214 (dif. +95 or 31%)
Avg PF: 28.09090909 Avg PA: 19.45454545 (dif. +8.63636364)

Ault 2 (2 games)
PF: 82 PA: 64 (dif. +18 or 22%)
Avg PF: 41 Avg. PA: 32 (dif. +9)

Ault 3 (6 games)
PF: 205 PA: 140 (dif. +65 or 32%)
Avg PF: 34.16666666 Avg PA: 23.33333333 (dif +10.83333333)

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

November 22, 1969

at Nevada (D II): 30 - Nevada Southern (D II): 28

November 21, 1970
at Nevada Southern (D II): 42 Nevada (D II): 30

November 20, 1971
Nevada Southern (D II): 27 at Nevada (D II): 13

November 18, 1972
Nevada (D II): 41 at Nevada Southern (DII): 13

November 17, 1973

at Nevada (D II): 19 Nevada Southern (D II): 3

November 16, 1974
at Nevada Southern (D II): 28 Nevada (D II): 7

November 22, 1975
Nevada Southern (D II): 45 at Nevada (D II): 7

November 20, 1976*

at Nevada Southern (D II): 49 Nevada (D II): 33

November 19, 1977*
Nevada Southern (D II): 27 at Nevada (D II): 12

September 16, 1978*
Nevada (D 1-AA): 23 at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 14

September 15, 1979*
Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 26 at Nevada (D 1-AA): 21

September 3, 1983*

at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 28 Nevada (D 1-AA): 18

November 9, 1985*
at Nevada (D 1-AA): 48 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 7

October 3, 1987*
at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 24 Nevada (D 1-AA): 19

November 11, 1989*
at Nevada (D 1-AA): 45 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 7

October 20, 1990*

Nevada (D 1-AA): 26 at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 14

September 7, 1991*
at Nevada (D 1-AA): 50 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 8

October 17, 1992*
Nevada (D 1-A): 14 at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 10

October 2, 1993

at Nevada (D 1-A): 49 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 14

November 19, 1994*

at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 32 Nevada (D 1-A): 27
(The Red Defection)

October 28, 1995*
at Nevada (D 1-A): 55 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 32

October 5, 1996

Nevada (D 1-A): 54 at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 17

September 6, 1997
at Nevada (D 1-A): 31 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 14

October 3, 1998
Nevada (D 1-A): 31 at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 20

October 2, 1999

at Nevada (D 1-A): 26 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 12

October 7, 2000

at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 38 Nevada (D 1-A): 7

October 6, 2001
Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 27 at Nevada (D 1-A): 12

October 5, 2002
at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 21 Nevada (D 1-A): 17

October 4, 2003
Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 16 at Nevada (D 1-A): 12

October 2, 2004*

at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 48 Nevada (D 1-A): 13

September 17, 2005*

at Nevada (D 1-A): 22 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 14

September 30, 2006*
Nevada (D 1-A): 31 at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 3

September 29, 2007*
at Nevada (D 1-A): 27 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 20

September 27, 2008*
Nevada (D 1-A): 49 at Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 27

63 - 28 W October 3, 2009*
at Nevada (D 1-A): 63 Nevada Southern (D 1-A): 28

#25! Plus, thoughts on the WAC...

2010-09-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

After our latest win against BYU in Provo, it's becoming increasingly clear that we are staring at the face of an incredibly special season. The best part is that we're not winning with gimmicks - we're just going out there, playing solid football, and winning games. If this continues, there's an excellent chance that our Thanksgiving break game against Boise State has the chance to be extremely special.

What this means for you, my dear readers, is that, if you don't already have a ticket for the game, you better go get one. We here at FCA already have season tickets, so we're good to go.

As an added bonus, we're now ranked #25 in both polls. I'd also like to take this moment to note that, not only is Ault and his coaching staff doing an excellent job, not only is Dan Hinxman at the RGJ doing an excellent job, Ryan Radtke is still doing an outstanding job as the Wolf Pack's radio man. The only way I could be happier is if Don Marchand conveniently disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

I don't miss Marchand's radio presence. Do any of you? Didn't think so.

On that note, let's discuss the WAC...

Boise State won against Oregon State, though they didn't beat the spread. Sadly, at least for Boise fans, the Broncos needed to blow out the Beavers to gather the "style points" that they need in order to leapfrog either Alabama or Ohio State. The good news? Their margin of victory over Oregon State was greater than TCU's earlier this year. The bad news? It might not matter - TCU still has a highly ranked Utah team on their schedule, while we're the last credible opponent that remains on Boise State's schedule. This means TCU has a greater-than-zero chance of leapfrogging Boise State in both the non-BCS invite question and the national championship discussion. Of course, the latter depends on how Oregon does for the rest of the season.

Nevada won against BYU on the road and finally became ranked for the first time since the Truman administration. The bad news, such as it is, is that we're only ranked 25th, which seems a little low after blowing out Cal on national television and beating a solid BYU team on the road. The good news? Don't be surprised if we earn some sympathy points between now and Thanksgiving as voters try to talk themselves into Boise State, provided both we and Boise State do what we're both supposed to do between now and then. If we're the last hope voters have of telling themselves the Boise State is worthy of a national championship run, we'll be rewarded accordingly.

Good news, everyone! Fresno State has no run defense! Ole Miss drove that point home by pasting over 400 rushing yards on the hapless Bulldogs. That's excellent news for us, especially since we're playing Fresno on the road this year.

Utate State and Idaho have both crashed back down to Earth. Utah State and its copious injury count was heinously exploited by a surprisingly decent San Diego State team; meanwhile, Idaho became Colorado State's first victory of the season. The good news for the Vandals is that it was an incredibly close game, with Enderle throwing as strongly as always. The bad news is that it was Colorado State's first victory since beating us last year.

Louisiana Tech lost a close game against C-USA's Southern Miss in Ruston. It wasn't an offensive shoot-out by any stretch of the imagination, though Southern Miss' excellent run defense forced Louisiana Tech to develop something resembling a passing attack. The blue Bulldogs are young, so it's difficult to read the narrative behind this game - they might be improving, or this might just be a temporary glitch in an otherwise unremarkable Tech season.

San Jose State and New Mexico State are still terrible. San Jose State has one advantage, however - unlike New Mexico State, it's not located in New Mexico, which is rapidly devolving into a college football environmental catastrophe. Don't believe me? NMSU's rival lost to UNLV to the tune of 45-10.

Hawaii, meanwhile, played a much-needed tune-up game against Charleston Southern. I'm sure the hapless Buccaneers enjoyed the all expenses paid vacation to Hawaii, even if they had to get lit up like a pinball machine for a couple of hours. Here's an interesting statistic to ponder, though - Charleston Southern had a +10:16 time of possession advantage over Hawaii.

That's it for now. Here's hoping we perform as well against UNLV as we've become accustomed to over the past couple of years. Realistically, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to beat them by over 50, though our record in Las Vegas isn't particularly stellar. Meanwhile, enjoy the fact that the WAC is going out with a bang, instead of the sad whimper the Big West ended on.

Nevada at BYU Final Statistics

2010-09-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

	1	2	3	4	T
NEV	14	10	0	3	27
BYU	7	3	0	3	13

Team Stat Comparison

	Nevada	BYU
1st Downs	23	21
3rd down efficiency	9-17	5-15
4th down efficiency	3-4	1-4
Total Yards	435	320
Passing	196	229
Comp-Att	16-26	24-45
Yards per pass	7.5	5.1
Rushing	239	91
Rushing Attempts	53	25
Yards per rush	4.5	3.6
Penalties	6-65	1-5
Turnovers	2	0
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Possession	36:17	23:43

Stats courtesy of espn.com

Statistically the defense was significantly more solid than it was even against Cal. The most alarming statistic would be the 229 passing yards allowed.

However, Heaps put the ball in the air a lot on Saturday, completing 24 passes out of 45 attempts for a 53.33333333% completion rate. That is a far cry yet from the 62.162% they allowed Cal's Riley to complete. Allowing 5.1 yards per pass and 3.6 yards per rush in Provo shows how far this defense has come in such a short time.

The biggest alarms from Saturday were turnovers and penalties...again. Nevada has been solid, for the most part, holding onto the ball this season. Kaep was intercepted once and Taua lost one fumble early in the game (leading to the Cougars' only touchdown), while BYU was clean (can't believe I just wrote that), for a -2 in turnovers. While not too bad, this stat did come dangerously close to being much, much worse.

Nevada was 6 for 65 yards on penalties, marking the worst performance in that department since Nevada went 9 for 90 yards against Eastern Washington in the opener this season. Taking out a couple of pass interference calls (one of which was bogus, in my opinion), most of these fouls were procedural.

On to next week!

Nevada vs. BYU: All-Time Football Data and 2010 Comparative Statistics

2010-09-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

These teams last met in Reno in 2002; Pack fans may remember it as the game when Chance Kretschmer all but lost his career after a late hit to the knee out of bounds.

Nevada (3-0, 0-0 WAC) at BYU (1-2, 0-1 MWC)

Last games:
Nevada defeated California (2-1, 0-0 PAC 10) 52-31 in Reno, NV.

BYU lost to Florida State (2-1, 0-0 ACC) 10-34 in Tallahassee, FL.

On the Season:
Nevada (3-0 at home, 0-0 on the road)-

1, vs. Eastern Wash = W, 49-24
2, vs. Colorado State = W, 51-6
3, vs. California = W, 52-31

BYU (1-0 at home, 0-2 on the road)-

1, vs. Washington = W, 23-17
2, at Air Force = L, 14-35
3, at Florida State = L, 10-34

2010 Scoring:

BYU-

PF: 47 (avg. 15.666 PPG)
PA: 86 (avg. 28.666 PPG)
Dif: -39 (avg. -13 PPG)

Nevada-

PF: 152 (avg. 50.666 PPG)
PA: 61 (avg. 20.333 PPG)
Dif: +91 (avg. +30.333 PPG)

All-Time Series Scoring:
Nevada: 71 BYU: 127 (BYU +56)
Nevada PPG: 10.14285714
BYU PPG: 18.14285714

The series:

September 28, 1929

BYU: 10 at Nevada 7

October 4, 1930
at BYU: 6 Nevada: 6

October 3, 1931

BYU: 18 at Nevada: 14

October 21, 1939

BYU: 7 at Nevada: 0

September 28, 1940
Nevada: 6 at BYU: 6

September 1, 2001

at BYU: 52 Nevada: 7

September 14, 2002

at Nevada: 31 #24 BYU: 28

Cal at Nevada Final Statistics

2010-09-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

	1	2	3	4	T
CAL	7	7	10	7	31
NEV	7	17	14	14	52

Team Stat Comparison

	California	Nevada
1st Downs	22	26
3rd down efficiency	7-11	6-9
4th down efficiency	0-1	0-0
Total Yards	502	497
Passing	277	181
Comp-Att	23-37	10-15
Yards per pass	7.5	12.1
Rushing	225	316
Rushing Attempts	30	49
Yards per rush	7.5	6.4
Penalties	7-40	5-45
Turnovers	3	1
Fumbles lost	0	1
Interceptions thrown	3	0
Possession	23:01	36:59

I have to say, the Wolf Pack team I saw Friday night was unlike any I've seen in a good, long time: the rush offense was spectacular; the passing game was methodical and ruthless; the defense...ah, while not perfect that defense was something special in the annals of Wolf Packdom.

The Dark Side of the Defense
There are a few things that stand out in this week's statistics; given the opponent these stats could have been much, much worse.

The defense allowed an otherwise mortifying 502 total yards of offense to the Golden Bears. They allowed Cal to convert 63.63% on third down.
They allowed Riley to complete 62.162% of his passes for the game.
Cal had no fewer than 8 players with at least one reception.
Those eight combined for a respectable 277 yards.
Shane Vreen had a career night, raking in 198 yards on 19 carries (avg. 10.421).
Cal averaged 7.5 yards per reception, the highest for a Nevada opponent so far this season.
They gave up 22 first downs.

The Bright Side of the Defense
Those stats, including 502 total yards and a 62.162% completion rate, have to be taken with a grain of salt. That salt comes in the form of stats such as:

Three interceptions, including a 65-yard pick 6 that changed the course of the game.
Shane Vreen: 198 yards; their next leading rusher had 18 yards.
Kevin Riley sacked twice.
Cal scored only once through the air.
Cal was 0-1 on 4th down.

So, really, the stats for the defense don't speak well. What made the difference? They played with a soul and an aggression seldom seen by that corps. Of three interceptions, the first only prolonged the game (Nevada punted and Vreen scored on the next play from scrimmage); the second, when all was looking dark on the east sideline, swung momentum back to the Wolf Pack; the third officially iced the game.

Oh...and a time of possession of 23:01...that helps, too.

Cal's passing game should be read in two segments: the game before 7:36 in the 4th, and the game after, this being the time when the Bears began running their hurry-up offense late in the game.

Before 7:36: Riley was 13/21 (61.905%) with 2 picks, completions of 9, 1, 24, 16, 10, 16, 10, 9, 32, 8, 7, 3, & 8 respectively (152 yards, avg. 11.69).

After 7:36: Riley was 10/13 (76.923%) with 1 pick, completions of 11, 13, 9, 39, 4, 6, 18, 14, 8, & 3 respectively (125 yards, avg. 12.5).

That drive, at 7:36 led to a touchdown. Thing was, it didn't really matter at that point. Sure, Cal had a chance of scoring three touchdowns in seven-and-a-half minutes, but...they HAD TO SCORE THREE TOUCHDOWNS IN SEVEN-AND-A-HALF MINUTES. The touchdown cut the Nevada lead to 45-31. It was quickly getting to the point were those passing yards meant very little.

Besides, the sooner they score the sooner the Pack could get the ball back and take some time off the clock. Or Kaep could just rush 27 yards and erase that Cal touchdown...that would work, too.

Long story short: the defense was scrappy and came up huge when it needed to. The passing yards allowed need to be taken into context and weighed against three interceptions (two of which were crucial).

It was also nice to see the passing game come to life; some of those passes were blood-curdling, and some of those catches were breathtaking...excitement, she wrote!

And Kaep looked like I've never seen; that was just...wow.

This next game may be even bigger; BYU on their turf after a huge win? If they can build on the things they did in this game then they have a realistic shot...but that's for another story.

Good win, Pack...and thank you.

Zombie Ault springs to life?!

2010-09-18T16:46:00.001-07:00

There aren't enough good things that can be said about last night. Our team didn't just beat a ranked Pac-10 team, they beat them by three touchdowns. Our offense didn't rely on gimmicks to get past them - our offensive line flat out dominated Cal's defensive line, pushing them around like it was nobody's business. Our defense was good enough to keep the game from turning into a track meet and was near enough to opposing receivers to pick up some interceptions. Best of all, just after halftime, when it looked like we were about to do what we've always done against big time opponents, when the entire crowd knew - just knew - how this game was going to end, Marlon Johnson grabbed an interception and ran it back for a touchdown.

It was glorious.

We like to kick Ault around here, for reasons obvious and numerable. For today, though, I will personally have to give credit where credit is due. Buh's hiring was inspired. Ault's offense is finally getting into gear. Our team has enough talent to face up to a good Pac-10 team and push them around. That not only reflects well on our team but also its coaching staff.

So, for one week, I won't criticize. I won't judge. I won't apologize for anything, but I will have to admit that, if Ault keeps doing what he's doing this year, our team will be just fine.

I just hope he doesn't sleep in against BYU.

All right, all right...

2010-09-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

We'll keep him for another year.

Sue Sue Suedeo? Uh, No.

2010-09-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

The RGJ just reported that the WAC has filed a lawsuit against Nevada, Fresno State, and the MWC. Naturally, the fine and intelligent commentariat at the RGJ are carefully pondering the salient details before coming to a logical conclusion.

Here's the thing - this isn't going to court. Not really. Remember that lawsuit that Tennessee filed against Lane Kiffin about a month back? Notice how we really haven't heard much since then about it? That lawsuit was more about sending a message to Titan fans ("We love Tennessee and hate the same things you hate!") than it was about any breach of contract between USC's coaching staff and the Titans. Similarly, the WAC's lawsuit is more about Benson needing to send a message to protect his job ("Yes, I know the conference imploded on my watch, but see, I'm doing something!") while begging for money from the courts, either via a settlement or via jury award. If Benson and the WAC are lucky, the MWC, along with Fresno State and Nevada, will toss a bit of change to the WAC so it can keep the lights on, Benson can look like he did the most with a bad hand, and everybody goes their separate ways. The last thing Benson and the WAC wants is for this to go to court - if it does, the case will take far too long to settle to do the WAC or Benson any good.

Do I think the MWC and its two newest charges will pay up? It depends on how reasonable the WAC feels like being. If Benson insists on the full $10 million, it won't happen. If, on the other hand, the lawsuit can "go away" for, say, $1 million, that might be low enough for everyone to make it disappear. Realistically, the WAC needs every last dime it can get its hands on, because, once Nevada, Fresno State, and Boise State finally leave, it'll be leaner for the remaining members than it was during the Big West's heyday.