NEVADA WOLF PACK (5-3, 2-2 WAC) at IDAHO VANDALS (4-5, 3-2 WAC)
Saturday, Nov. 4, 2006 - 2 p.m. PT - Kibbie Dome (16,000) - Moscow, Idaho
TELEVISION: KREN (Dan Gustin and Chris Vargas); www.wac.tv.
RADIO: Wolf Pack Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno); Don Marchand (play-by-play) & Bill Daniel (analyst)
SERIES HISTORY: Nevada leads 14-9.
LAST MEETING: Nevada exploded for a season-high 62 points in a 62-14 victory over the Vandals at Mackay Stadium in Reno on Oct. 8, 2005.
STORYLINES
Nevada, co-champions of the Western Athletic Conference last season, is vying for its third straight conference win as it hits the road to face Idaho on Saturday...Nevada is coming off a two-game homestand in which it ran its home winning streak to nine straight games...The game pits two old Big Sky coaches against each other once again as Nevada’s Chris Ault and Idaho’s Dennis Erickson face off for the fifth time...Ault is 3-1 lifetime against Erickson, with wins in 1982, 1983 and 1984 and the lone loss coming in 1985...Ault is 11-4 lifetime against Idaho...Nevada does not have any players from the state of Idaho and Idaho does not have any players from Nevada...Nevada has two assistant coaches who have ties to Idaho in running backs coach Jim Mastro (Idaho assistant, 1998-99) and Kim McCloud (Idaho assistant, 1998-99)...Idaho has two coaches with ties to Nevada in defensive coordinator Jeff Mills (Nevada defensive coordinator, 2000-03) and graduate assistant Carl LaGrone (Nevada linebacker, 2000-03). LaGrone’s brother, Matt, is a freshman on Nevada’s basketball team.
IN THE SERIES WITH IDAHO
Nevada has a 14-9 lead in the all-time series between the schools and has won three of the last four meetings dating back to 1997 when both were in the Big West. Nineteen of the 23 meetings in the series have been played since 1979 with Nevada winning 13 of them. The schools also met four times prior to the end of World War II with games in 1924, 1935, 1936 and 1940.
Last year, the schools resumed the rivalry as Idaho joined the Western Athletic Conference -- the schools had both previously been members of the Big Sky and the Big West conferences. Nevada jumped all over the Vandals last year at Mackay Stadium and scored a 62-14 victory, marking the most points by Nevada since a 63-0 win over Cal Poly in 1998. B.J. Mitchell ran for 149 yards and four touchdowns and Nevada quarterback Jeff Rowe completed 21-of-30 for 251 yards and three touchdowns. Nevada had two defensive scores in the game, a 90-yard fumble return by safety Nick Hawthrone and a 47-yard interception return by cornerback De’Angelo Wilson.
THE SEASON SO FAR
Nevada has won two in a row since its bye week after last week’s 48-21 victory over New Mexico State. Nevada set a season high for points and rushing yards (236) in the game and held the nation’s top passing attack to 143 yards below its average.
Prior to that, Nevada scored its first WAC victory of the season with a 23-7 victory over San Jose State at Mackay Stadium on Oct. 21, marking Nevada’s third straight Homecoming victory. Senior quarterback Travis Moore made his first career start in place of Jeff Rowe (hamstring) and completed 20-of-28 for 178 yards and a touchdown. The Wolf Pack defense stymied San Jose State, holding the Spartans to just 239 total yards and just 77 passing yards.
Before its bye week, Nevada fell 41-34 at Hawaii despite a strong fourth-quarter comeback attempt. Nevada trailed by 20 points in the fourth quarter but got within a touchdown of the Warriors. The loss snapped the Wolf Pack’s three-game win streak, the last of which was a 31-3 routing of in-state rival UNLV that allowed Nevada to retain possession of the Fremont Cannon. It was Nevada’s first victory in Las Vegas since 1998.
After dropping its first two games against Fresno State and Arizona State - both on the road - to open the season, the Wolf Pack rebounded at home. Nevada made history at Mackay Stadium, beating Colorado State for the first time in school history before claiming its first-ever win over a Big Ten school with a 10-point victory over Northwestern. Those two victories gave Nevada momentum for its road victory at UNLV.
With 38 returning letterwinners and 14 returning starters, 22nd-year head coach Chris Ault and the Wolf Pack are coming off the team’s best season in nine years after turning in a 9-3 overall record and earning a share of the school’s first WAC title as well as an invitation to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl last season. Nevada was picked to finish third in the WAC in this year’s preseason polls.
EXPOSURE
Saturday’s game at Idaho is another opportunity for Nevada to get television exposure as the game will be carried by KREN, Nevada’s flagship television station. Eight of Nevada’s 12 games this year are on television in Northern Nevada.
The San Jose State game was broadcast regionally on ABC, the second straight season that the network has shown that game. Nevada will make a total of eight TV appearances during the regular season. Four of Nevada’s games are national television appearances as ESPN broadcast the Fresno State game and ESPN2 carried the Northwestern game. One of the ESPN networks will broadcast the Boise State game and the Wolf Pack’s win over in-state rival UNLV was on the new MTN network.
KREN also broadcast the Arizona State and Hawaii games. Dan Gustin, the “Voice of the Wolf Pack,” handles the play-by-play on KREN with Nevada Hall of Fame member and ex-quarterback Chris Vargas providing commentary.
Nevada’s flagship radio station, ESPN 630 AM, will broadcast all 12 regular-season games this year with Gustin (play-by-play) and Bill Daniel (analyst) calling the action. When Gustin is handling TV duties, Dan Marchand will handle the play-by-play on the radio. Fans can watch live video streaming of non-televised WAC games on the internet on a pay-per-view basis this season by logging on to www.WAC.tv.
SHUTOUT STREAK
Nevada has never been shutout as a member of Division I-A and has not been shutout since Sept. 27, 1980, a streak of 312 games that is the longest in the nation. The last time Nevada was blanked was at Weber State, a 10-0 loss. That is the only shutout loss ever suffered by Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault. During the streak, Nevada has shutout six opponents, the last being a 63-0 win over Cal Poly in 1998 at Mackay Stadium. Nevada nearly shutout UNLV earlier this year but the Rebels kicked a field goal late in the game to avoid the blanking.
MACKAY IS BACK
The Wolf Pack’s 48-21 victory over New Mexico State marked Nevada’s ninth consecutive win at Mackay Stadium. Nevada is 4-0 this year and turned in a 5-1 record at Mackay Stadium last year, winning its last five home games after opening the season with a loss to Washington State. Since then-quarterback Chris Ault led the the Pack to a 17-13 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 1, 1966 in Nevada’s first game in the facility, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 158-45-2 (.776) record at Mackay Stadium.
In his 21-plus years as Nevada’s head coach, Ault has led the team to a 125-25-1 record at Mackay Stadium (.831), including a 14-2 mark over the last two-plus years since returning to the helm for the third time in 2004. He has guided the Wolf Pack to 15 seasons with one loss or less at home, including four undefeated campaigns at Mackay Stadium (1976, 1985, 1990, 1994).
SILVER AND BLUE CANNON
The Fremont Cannon will stay at "home" in Cashell Fieldhouse after Nevada's 31-3 thrashing of in-state rival UNLV. The cannon is billed as one of the largest and most expensive trophies in collegiate athletics. It is a replica of the howitzer that was abandoned in a Sierra snowdrift by Gen. John C. Fremont during his expedition of Nevada, Oregon and California in 1843-44.
Nevada reclaimed the cannon last year with a 22-14 victory in Reno and retained possession this year by routing the Rebels. It was Nevada's second straight victory in the series and it gives the Wolf Pack a 17-15 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1969. Nevada coach Chris Ault is now 9-7 all-time vs. UNLV.
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