Nevada Wolfpack Crack the Top 25 Ranking After Win Over BYU on the Road

The University of Nevada Wolf Pack broke in to the the top 25 today in an outcome few would have predicted just two weeks ago. After thumping Cal last week 52-31, Nevada soundly defeated BYU on the road yesterday 24-13.

The last time Nevada was ranked in the top 25 was in 1948, shortly after their star player of that era, Marion Motley, helped break the NFL color barrier. Motley went on to a stellar pro career and is enshrined in the NFL Hall of fame.

Fast-forward 62 years or so and Nevada is being led by another star in the making. Colin Kaepernick seems to have come out of nowhere. But for those who have been watching closely his talent has been evident since his first game in 2007.

With starter Nick Graziano injured, then-freshman Colin Kaepernick almost pulled off the impossible, leading Nevada to a 69-67 four-OT loss on the blue in Boise. It is the closest the Broncos have come to losing at home in a very long time.

Since then, Kaepernick has led Nevada to three consecutive winning seasons as the WAC's second best team; three close games against Boise State and three disappointing bowl games. Nevada's potent offense was never quite able to overcome their porous defense against big time opponents.

That is, until this season. With a new defensive coordinator, the Wolf Pack looks like a much different team than in recent years. Suddenly now, they have a defense and when paired with their powerful offense, the result is they are now ranked.

But buried under all the exposure Nevada is getting, there are some stats that stand out. Kaepernick for those who don't know him, is a true dual threat. Equally good at running the ball as he is at passing, this young man is poised to do something no one has ever done before, pass for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. 

With 47 rushing touchdowns in his career, Colin Kaepernick needs only 13 more to set the the all time NCAA record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. That record is 59 and was set by Nebraska's Eric Crouch.

With nine games to go, Kaepernick needs to average 1.5 rushing touchdowns per game to do it. With the heart of their conference schedule ahead of them and comfortable wins over powerful non-conference opponents behind, the odds are good he will do it.  Keep an eye on his rushing touchdowns. Thirteen touchdowns and nine games to do it.