Previewing UNLV’s Opponents: Nevada Wolfpack

The annual battle for the Fremont Cannon takes place between UNLV and Nevada-Reno.  Last year Nevada defeated UNLV 27-20 and ended the season 6-7 after losing 27-0 to New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl.  Nevada has been hovering just above .500 over the last five years, with their win totals coming in at 6, 5, 9, 8, and 6.

Nevada hopes to get into the national spotlight by playing two Big 12 teams.  At Missouri and Texas Tech at home are both very tough games, but if they can pull off one of those wins, Nevada might be considered a favorite in the WAC.

 

Offense

Nevada's offense was very impressive last year, averaging 36 points per game, but they had to outscore their opponents to get wins.  The Wolfpack does return eight starters, so the offense should have production similar to last year.  The offense that Coach Chris Ault runs is a hybrid offense and needs the quarterback to be able to run at times and be a traditional dropback quarterback as well.

They do have two capable quarterbacks, mainly because the projected 2007 starter, Nick Graziano, went down with an injury and had to be replaced.  The replacement was Colin Kaepernick, who was forced to learn on the go, and he made the most of his first year in FBS football, completing 133 of 247 passes for 2,175 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Now in 2008, Kaepernick looks to be the starter because Nick Graziano went down with a foot injury in spring practice.  That setback allowed Kaepernick to retain his starting job.  If injury were to hit him, Graziano is a capable replacement.

Nevada does return the number one returning rusher in the WAC in Luke Lippincott.  All he did as a junior was rush for 1,420 yards and 18 touchdowns in lieu of becoming first team all-conference.  This year he will be backed up by Vai Taua, who saw action in eight games and had a very good spring by the coaches' accounts.

Receiver is another strong point.  The top two returning starters are seniors Marko Mitchell and Mike McCoy in this three-pronged receiver attack.  These two combined for 750 yards and 12 touchdowns, but the impressive thing about both receivers is their yards per catch, with both averaging just about 20 yards per game.

If the Wolfpack find a possession receiver to balance out the two deep threats, the Wolfpack should have a very good offense this year.

 

Defense

This is where Nevada needs to improve the most if they want to challenge Fresno State.  Last season the Wolfpack gave up 33 per game.  The offense did outscore opponents, but if they want to be considered a threat, the defense must improve by at least 10 points per game.

The defense is changing philosophy by switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 in hopes to improve.  The defensive line only returns one starter in the front four, Mundrae Clifton.  While the down linemen have only one starter back, they do have three linebackers returning.  That will help shore up the running defense, which was less then impressive. 

The defensive back position could have three new starters, including prize high school recruit Thaddeus Brown and two other junior college transfers, Maurice Harvey and cornerback Antoine Thompson.  These players have a chance to immediately shore up the secondary, but it could take a few games for these newcomers to grasp the defense. 

 

Early Prediction

The Wolfpack offense is very potent and could be better than last year's high-powered unit.  This game is be played in Las Vegas, which gives UNLV a slight edge, but look for Nevada’s offense to be too much and win by seven points.