Nevada vs. Idaho: Statistics at a Glance

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

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

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

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

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

 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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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.