Nevada vs. La Tech

With one game left in the season, Nevada is on pace to finish its best season in history since it’s joined the ranks of the division 1 elite. At 11-1 this Nevada team has shown that it is capable of matching up against any team out there on any given Saturday. Will we ever get that respect? Probably not, but the real fans, the coaches, and the players know it…and that’s all that matters.

Nevada has already traveled as far west as it can go this season (Hawaii), and now it will go as far east as a WAC opponent will let them (Louisiana). Much like Boise State has had Nevada’s number over the past few years; Nevada has had La Tech’s.

The only real question going into this game is how much will Colin Kaepernick play. On the verge of a few more records the question is, does Ault put him in a position to get the records and set his place in history more-so than he already has, or does he save his star quarterback for a bowl game? Either way expect him to play the first half and put up, dare I say Heisman like numbers?

Another question going into this game is what defense will show up. Will it be the defense that allowed Boise State 24 first half points, which by all means is respectable, or will it be the 2^nd half defense that held Boise State to 8 rushing yards? Either way the game should be pretty much in hand, but for ranking sake we need the 2^nd half defense to be there.

Last game we saw great defense from Duke Williams who made a great 1-on-1 tackle in the open field saving a critical first down. Brandon Marshall and James-Michael Johnson also kept their games up and have become one of the best linebacking duo’s in college football this year. But what’s more impressive is #58 Ryan Coulson and the already brilliant Dontay Moch. Both of them are defensive linemen and on every play that we give up for 20 or more yards, one of these two is down field in position to make the tackle. Coming from two “hog-mollies” that’s down right impressive. This defense is fast and outrunning them is a tough task to do, breaking tackles on the other hand might be a bit easier, evident in the Boise State game.

As far as our offense goes we showed last week why we are one of the best offenses in the nation. The pistol went in fully loaded and tore apart one of the best defenses in the country. After a slow start, it seemed like there was nothing that could be done to stop Colin Kaepernick. Unlike previous Boise State games, he took it to the air and lit up their secondary much like we have been lit up in the past. I don’t expect much of a stand from the bulldogs this weekend, if Nevada can tire out Boise State’s defense, it can put La Tech’s to sleep.

Now you might hear that this team is looking past La Tech and they feel like they can do nothing wrong but there’s really nothing to look past. Going into this game a bowl game is guaranteed, which and against whom we will know after this weekend. What’s not is a ring and that trophy. Utah State doesn’t stand a chance entering the smurf turf of Boise. Hawaii hosts UNLV which isn’t a conference opponent so they will finish the season with a ring guaranteed. If Nevada wants that ring, it will take a win against La Tech and they know that. Last week was Nevada’s shining moment, but this week is their championship moment. A win against Boise State means nothing to this team unless there’s a ring associated with it at the end.

I’m expecting a valiant effort from La Tech, but with the swag this Nevada team is walking around with, I expect it too be too little too late. Unfortunately I still don’t see us getting that shut-out. But I do think we will see Mike Ball finally run back a kick-off, unfortunately I see them doing the same thing.

Final Score Prediction

Nevada 48 – La Tech 17

Week 13 Ranking Implications

Are you excited for this game yet? It’s just a shame it’s this week because this would be a great week to move up in the rankings. Here’s what I have for this week:

#2 Auburn losing to #11 Alabama

#12 Arkansas losing to #5 LSU

#13 Oklahoma losing to #9 Oklahoma State

#17 Texas A&M losing to Texas

#21 Arizona losing to #1 Oregon

What does this mean? Well if Nevada loses we could potentially still be ranked, probably at #25. If Nevada pulls off the upset we might get the recognition we deserve but we will likely hear “I think this is proof that this Boise State team just wasn’t as good as we thought they were and truly did not deserve a chance at the national title”. Regardless I see us moving up 4 spots, and an additional 2-3 for taking down Boise. With a win we might be talking about the #13 or #12 Nevada Wolf Pack.

Regardless it’s going to be a great Friday of college football with the #’s 1, 2, and 4 teams in action, all against ranked opponents.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! Be safe and enjoy college football!

Week 12 Ranking Implications

So unfortunately this week is not the best week to move up in the BCS rankings. Why does this matter? Because next week is Boise State and it would help to be ranked as high as possible so we don’t get 86’d from the Rankings completely. Here’s what I have for this week:

#6 Stanford losing to Cal

#19 Texas A&M losing to #8 Nebraska

#20 Iowa losing to #9 Ohio State

#21 Mississippi State losing to #13 Arkansas

#16 Virginia Tech losing to #24 Miami

After last weeks poor performance by Stanford and the strong performance by Cal, I do think that Cal can beat Stanford this week. That being said I see us moving up 2 spots. I still hold my ground that this Nevada team is better than South Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Missouri. Hopefully the voters see that this week and we

Week 11 Ranking Implications

Here’s what I have for rankings this week:

#19 Mississippi State losing to #12 Alabama

#24 Kansas State losing to #17Missouri

#23 South Carolina losing to #22 Florida

#25 Texas A&M losing to Baylor

And

#9 Ohio State POSSIBLY loosing to Penn State

So what does this mean? We move up 1 spot? Here’s the thing about this game, its on ESPN, not ESPN2, or ESPN38, just plain old ESPN and its got the 7:30 time slot which means its pretty much the only game on tv at that time. Expect people to be watching especially as the one Heisman hopeful Colin Kaepernick will be breaking two records.

We will move up at least 1 spot this week, with a big win we could move up more. The way I see it right now, Nevada is better than Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Arizona, and Missouri, which is why I really believe we should be ranked #17 coming into this week. I think with a strong performance against Fresno we could finally get the recognition we deserve.

we could be ranked anywhere from #21-16 come Sunday evening when the BCS rankings are released. In all reality though I see us making a leap to the #18 spot. Now if there’s a crazy week in the top 25 like there was last week, and Nevada wins in commanding fashion, then we could see an even bigger jump, but what happened last week was rare, so lets not focus on that. With a loss this week, it will take nothing short of a win against Boise State to get back in the rankings.

Nevada vs. Fresno State

If you’ve been following my blog you know that I pointed out a few key games earlier in the season. Well this week is one of them as Nevada travels to Fresno. At the beginning of the season this Fresno team was ranked higher than us, then they hit a few speed bumps. I assure you however that they are still a good team and this will be a tough game.

Some good news is that Fresno is banged up at the offensive line position which could alter their play calls. This should also let our defensive line light up their quarterback. If they truly are dinged up and are using some reserves, I expect defensive coordinator Andy Buh to call more blitzes. Look for delayed blitzes coming from the linebacking core in this game; I would not be surprised to see us rack up 6-8 sacks in this one.

Offensively it will be interesting to see if Ault decides to showcase the passing game again or if we take it to the ground. Our rushing game is so good that I’m pretty sure we could win a game without throwing a single pass, but as we saw last week, the more Kaepernick throws the ball the more it opens up the running game, allowing us to get those 30, 40, and 50+ yard runs.

Regardless of how this game is turning out in the 4^th quarter, I expect Kaepernick to stay in for the entirety of the game as this is the best team we will face in the upcoming weeks before Boise St. It is imperative that Kaepernick gets as much practice against a good defense as possible. He will also set 2 records in this game as he only needs 1 rushing TD to become the Schools all time leader, and 1 passing TD to become the Schools all time leader.

I’m calling this a close and entertaining game. I mean ESPN has made it their Saturday night game after all! IF Nevada puts up a dominating performance under the biggest lights there is during the season, expect a big jump in the polls. Nevada is capable of completely manhandling this team but I honestly don’t see that happening, I hope I’m wrong.

Final Score Prediction

Nevada 52 – Fresno State 48

Week 9 Ranking Implications

So after a week off in the ranking pictures, Nevada is ranked again coming in at #24. Just to put that into perspective, had Nevada have beaten Hawaii, most likely they would have been sitting at #15 this week. But what happened happened and it’s time to start moving up the ladder again. I see 2 teams ahead of us losing:

#18 Iowa losing to #5 Michigan Stat

#14 Nebraska losing to #6 Missouri

This means a jump of 2 spots to #22, but it could get better. The BCS rankings take into account the AP and the coaches’ polls and right now we sit at #26 in both of those. With a quality win this weekend we could be thrust up to #24 or 23 in those rankings which means we cold leapfrog #23 Virginia Tech who is idle this week. Depending on how well the team plays, meaning we have to show that we aren’t the same team that played the last 3 games, we could even sit as high as number #20.

Look for Nevada to be sitting at #23-20 come Sunday, realistically I’m predicting #21. Without the loss to Hawaii, maybe as high as #13.

Week 7 Ranking Implications

At the end of this weekend the only rankings that matter will be released, the BCS rankings. This might come as a shocker to all of you out there who aren’t familiar with the BCS, but don’t be surprised to see Nevada drop in the rankings. I have 3 teams ahead of us losing this week.

#12 Arkansas losing to #7 Auburn

#15 Iowa losing to Michigan

#18 Wisconsin losing to #1 Ohio State.

So looking at this you might think that those teams are all within our reach of ranking so we will move up 3 spots to #16 in the AP poll and #18 in the USA today poll. This matters a little bit as the BCS system takes this into account, but the other parts of the BCS don’t favor us too well.

Our strength of schedule might be one of the worst in college football this year. Although it did not look to be that way coming into the season, reality is that we are 6-0 against teams with a combined record of 10-23. And 4 of those wins are from D2 school Eastern Washington. Take them out of the picture and our opponents are only 6-21, that’s horrid.

Realistically I’m predicting the following rankings:

AP: 18

USA Today: 19

BCS: 22

I hope I'm wrong about the BCS, but just remember that being ranked at all is an accomplishment in itself. Also remember that this is a tough game and a must-win as is every game from here on out.

Week 6 Ranking Implications

This week’s schedule is not as perfect for a Pack move in the national rankings as it was last week. In addition to that it’s week 6, and as you will soon see moving up will get harder. After looking at the matchups, I have 4 teams ranked ahead of us losing that could move us up. Here’s how I see this week playing out:

#19 South Carolina losing to #1 Alabama

#17 Michigan St. losing to #18 Michigan

#16 Stanford. losing to USC

#14 Florida losing to #12 LSU

The most important thing is that we have to look like the Nevada team that we are and WIN by 60+ points. If we do that and the 4 teams I said would lose actually do lose, we could make a jump in the polls to #16. If we do not put up an impressive showing against SJSU, we can stay at #21 or possibly even fall lower. Realistically I’m predicting Nevada sitting at #18 come next Sunday. Currently there are 7 1-loss teams ranked ahead of us in the top 25. There are 2 1-loss teams ranked below us in the Top 25, Florida St. and Air Force. If Florida State #23 beats #13 Miami, they will leapfrog us.

If you don’t believe how important it is to put up dominating performances from here on out just look at what happened to Boise St. this last week. They KILLED New Mexico State and DROPPED a spot. They’re Boise St., were Nevada. They’ve beaten 2 top 25 teams already, we’ve beaten one. Trust me when I say perfection is key from here on out. Nothing is guaranteed for a non-BCS conference team as unfair as that is.

Moving On Up

This week’s schedule is perfect for a Pack move in the national rankings. After looking at the matchups, I have #’s 21-24 all loosing. Here’s how I see this week playing out:

#21 Texas losing to #8 Oklahoma
#22 Penn St. losing to #17 Iowa
#23 N Carolina St. losing to Virginia Tech
#24 Michigan St. losing to #11 Wisconsin

I also have #16 Miami loosing to Clemson on the road.

There’s also a good possibility that #20 Michigan will lose to Indiana, once again because they are on the road and this Indiana team is good.

What does all this mean? It means if these games go as I’ve predicted Nevada will move up a minimum of 5 spots to #20. With a manhandling of that community college down south, and a poor showing by Michigan, we could be #19. A simple win like last week against BYU will not be enough to take that extra spot. Southern Nevada Community College is a horrible team and anything short of an absolute blowout wouldn’t look good. Notice how there’s 6 1-loss teams ranked ahead of us in the top 25 right now? We don’t win big and moving up will get exponentially harder after this week.

Now #19 South Carolina has a bye week this week, but its still possible to leap frog them and sit at #19 going into the SJSU game on October 9th (now on ESPNU).

There’s also some good news for Boise St. (you should be cheering here), after last week’s Alabama showing, I think there’s a good possibility that #7 Florida can knock off #1 Alabama as long as they start strong and fast. If this happens Boise St. can move up to the #2 spot.

Nevada vs. unlv

Is it too late to cancel this game and find another team to play?

Last year the unlv game was the turning point in our season. It’s when we started putting up amazing numbers, and interestingly enough, it’s been like that for a few years.

This game should have been played earlier or not at all.

Is there a chance unlv will win this game? Sure, but it’s a 0.0001% chance. Now unlv fans are going to talk about how the rebels put up 45 against a New Mexico team, the same team that lost to Oregon 72-0 in the first week of the season. Should the rebel fans feel good about this win? Of course, they need to have some confidence so that we can demoralize them more. The rebels still have no shot in this game, but you won last week, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say momentum will score you 10 in this game, ok maybe 13.

NEVADA on the other hand is coming into this game after cracking the top 25 for the first time since 1991, although a scoreboard-poor performance against BYU. And this is a rivalry game, not sure if it’s more so for the fans or the players, if this will be your first trip to one of these games you’ll soon know what I’m talking about.

Every other year, this game is played in Vegas, the ONLY time you will see UNR on the scoreboard and not NEVADA. Ault hates this, as does every NEVADA player, so does every NEVADA fan. Expect Ault to go in there and have no regard for sportsmanship. Kaepernick also needs to make up for the lack of numbers in the BYU game. Expect NEVADA to put up 73 at least, but don’t be surprised if they put up over a hundred…yes I said a hundred.

I expect this game to open in the sportsbooks with NEVADA as a 24 point favorite, which I believe we will easily cover.

Final Score Prediction:

NEVADA 87 – unlv 13

The cannon will stay blue, it's real colors. When you hear them refer to us as UNR don't question our identity, just remember the words from one of the most successful coaches in college football history:

“Our university began in 1874. We are the University of Nevada. For some reason in the mid-70s, this UNR, University of Nevada, Reno deal came in. When I came back to coach, this is the first thing we started on. In '92, we put a major campaign on. We are the Nevada Wolf Pack. That’s what we are.”
- Coach Ault

Nevada vs. BYU Recap and Ranking Implications

Congratulations on the Pack for starting 4-0. Our offense was potent as always, methodical, and unable to be stopped. Our defense stepped it up and was looking good. There are 3 things that have me a little disturbed however:

1. There were too many stupid penalties given up by our team.

2. TURN YOUR HEAD ISAIAH!!!!!!!! (read my blog breaking down the defense if you don’t know what I’m talking about here)

3. Ault…what are you doing? I’m a fan of yours and I’ve always defended you but we needed to run the score up in this game, which we easily could have done, but after going for 4 4th downs you went conservative? I’m having a hard time understanding this, but you’re the coach. Next time however, please take Kaepernick and Vai out of the game, why risk an injury when we’re not trying to pad stats?

Ranking Implications

It was a solid win for the Pack, but the scoreboard doesn’t reflect how uneven this game was. If it weren’t for a stupid fumble and taking it easy in the ENTIRE 2nd half, we could have easily scored the 66 I called, BYU however had no chance of getting the 17 I gave them credit for.

We needed some key losses from teams ranked 20-25 this week and unfortunately we only got 2. This should put us at #24, but there’s a wild card, UCLA. After loosing to #25, they went on to beat #23 and #7 (on the road). Don’t be surprised to see UCLA leap-frog us and push us back to #25. We dominated the time of possession in this game but the score just doesn’t show how one sided this game was, this will hurt us.

In all honestly look for Nevada to be ranked #23-26 (yes, I know we’re ranked #26 right now) when the rankings come out.