NEVADA WOLF PACK (0-1, 0-1 WAC) vs. #24 ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (1-0)
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2006 - 7:05 p.m. PT - Sun Devil Stadium (71,706) - Tempe, Ariz.
TELEVISION: KREN (Dan Gustin & Chris Vargas)
RADIO: Wolf Pack Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno)
Don Marchand (play-by-play) & Bill Daniel (analyst)
SERIES HISTORY: Nevada leads 2-0.
LAST MEETING: Nevada won the last meeting between the two teams, turning in a 33-13 victory on Nov. 29, 1947 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Following a 28-19 season-opening loss last week at Fresno State, the Nevada Wolf Pack (0-1) heads to Tempe, Ariz., for its second consecutive road game, taking on the 24th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 9. Saturday’s game will kick off at 7:05 p.m. Pacific Time with Nevada’s flagship station, KREN, televising the game locally. Picked to finish third in the Western Athletic Conference this year, Nevada looks to get back to its winning ways after having a five-game overall winning streak as well as a four-game conference winning streak snapped with Friday’s loss at Fresno State. 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.
Exposure
KREN will televise Saturday night’s game at Arizona State to a local television audience with Dan Gustin (play-by-play) and Chris Vargas (analyst) calling the action. It will mark the second of at least seven televised games for the Pack in 2006, including three games on KREN (ASU, at Idaho, at La Tech). ESPN2 is scheduled to broadcast Nevada’s Sept. 22 game with Northwestern, while the Nov. 25 Boise State game will be on ESPN or ESPN2. The Wolf Pack will also appear on ABC with the network televising the Oct. 21 San Jose State contest to a regional audience.
In the Series with Arizona State
Nevada holds a 2-0 lead in the series with Arizona State, while Saturday night’s game will mark the first meeting between the two teams in 59 years. The Wolf Pack and the Sun Devils have met on the gridiron twice before with Nevada coming away with a 74-2 victory on Oct, 12, 1946 in Reno and a 33-13 win on Nov. 29, 1947 in Las Vegas. Nevada holds a 7-50-3 all-time record against teams from the Pac-10 Conference, most recently falling to Washington State 55-21 in its season opener last year. The Wolf Pack’s last win against a Pac-10 opponent came on Oct. 11, 2003 when the team downed Washington 28-17 in Seattle.
Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Dirk Koetter, Arizona State returns 15 starters and 51 letterwinners from last year’s 7-5 Insight Bowl squad. Ranked 24th in the preseason Associated Press poll, the Sun Devils are 1-0 in 2006 after opening the season with a 35-14 victory over Northern Arizona on Aug. 31 at Sun Devil Stadium. ASU has been picked to finish fourth in the Pac-10 this year after tying for fourth last year with a 4-4 mark.
Team Captains
Senior quarterback Jeff Rowe, senior tight end Anthony Pudewell, junior defensive tackle Matt Hines and senior cornerback Joe Garcia will serve as Nevada’s team captains this season as voted on by their teammates.
Who’s Back
Nevada returns 38 letterwinners from last year’s 9-3 WAC co-championship squad, including its leading passer (Jeff Rowe) and receiver (Caleb Spencer) and its second-leading rusher (Robert Hubbard) and tackler (Ezra Butler) from one year ago.
The team welcomes back 14 starters and one specialist from 2005. The seven returning starters on offense are QB Jeff Rowe, TE Anthony Pudewell, WR Caleb Spencer, WR Mike McCoy, OL Barrett Reznick, OL Dominic Green and OL Charles Manu. On defense, the seven returning starters include DE Charles Wilson, DT Matt Hines, LB Joshua Mauga, LB Jason DeMars, LB Ezra Butler, CB Joe Garcia and S Sergio Villasenor. Sophomore PK Brett Jaekle also returns after handling Nevada’s placekicking and kickoff responsibilities last year.
Valley of the Sun Connections
Nevada’s roster features nine players from the state of Arizona, including two members of it starting offensive line in senior guard Barrett Reznick (Scottsdale) and sophomore guard Greg Hall (Mesa)... other Arizona natives on the Wolf Pack roster are sophomore wide receivers Rocco Bene and Jack Darlington (Tuscon), sophomore offensive lineman Thomas Flinn (Glendale), freshman OL Mike Gallett (Phoenix), redshirt freshman OL Chris Hegge (Chandler), freshman defensive back Dontay Moch (Chandler) and freshman wide receiver Matt Smith (Scottsdale)... ASU’s starting junior safety Josh Barrett’s father, Grieg, played basketball at Nevada, lettering in 1970 and 1971... the Wolf Pack athletics department features four head coaches with ties to Arizona State, including soccer coach Terri Patraw (ASU head coach), women’s basketball coach Kim Gervasoni (ASU assistant coach), softball coach Michelle Gardner (ASU assistant coach) and women’s golf coach Jody (Niemann) Dansie (ASU student-athlete)... first-year university president Dr. Milton Glick came to the University of Nevada after spending the previous 15 years as ASU’s provost.
Hubbard Turns in Third Straight 100-Yard Game
Senior running back Robert Hubbard carried the ball 17 times for 103 yards in last week’s loss at Fresno State, marking the third consecutive game that he has gained at least 100 yards on the ground. He accomplished the feat in each of the final two contests of the 2005 season, turning in 146 yards and three touchdowns in a Nov. 26 win over then No. 16 Fresno State and 178 rushing yards and two TDs in Nevada’s victory over Central Florida in the Hawaii Bowl.
More Notes From the Fresno State Game
Sophomore wide receiver Mike McCoy caught a pair of touchdown passes against the Bulldogs after hauling in just one TD catch all of last season... sophomore running back Luke Lippincott turned in the first score of his career with a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter... with his team-leading five catches at Fresno State, senior wide receiver Caleb Spencer has now caught at least one reception in each of the last 24 games dating back to the start of the 2004 season... senior quarterback Jeff Rowe threw a pair of touchdown passes, marking the 13th time in the last 25 games that he has had at least two TD passes... junior linebacker Ezra Butler and sophomore linebacker Joshua Mauga shared the team lead with eight tackles apiece... for Mauga, the eight tackles (seven solo) marked a career high, while two of his stops were for a loss... after going just 2-of-6 on third-down opportunities in the first half, Nevada converted on 7-of-9 in the second half.
Ault Moving Up Career Victories Lists
After leading his team to a 9-3 record last season, College Football Hall of Fame inductee Chris Ault has moved into 15th among active Division I-A coaches in winning percentage (.704). Among active coaches with five years of Division I-A experience, he also ranks fifth in career victories with 177. In his third stint as the head coach of the Wolf Pack, Ault now holds a 177-74-1 record in 21-plus years as a head coach, all at Nevada.
The winningest coach in school history, Ault was named the WAC Coach of the Year in 2005 for his efforts in leading the Wolf Pack to a share of the league title and the school’s first bowl appearance in nine years. During his tenure, Ault has won eight conference championships and taken Nevada to postseason play nine times (three bowl games).
Nevada Picked Third in the WAC Preseason Polls
Nevada has been picked to finish third in the WAC this year by both the league’s media and coaches in the preseason polls. The Wolf Pack received 349 points and four first-place votes from the media voters, while the team received 48 points in the coaches’ poll. In 2005, Nevada was picked to finish fourth and fifth in the preseason polls but exceeded all outside expectations by finishing in a tie for first. That marked Nevada’s first WAC title in football and the 13th conference championship in school history (eighth for Chris Ault).
Nevada in Season Openers
Following its 28-19 loss at Fresno State, Nevada now holds a 56-41-3 all-time in season openers, while head coach Chris Ault is 14-8 in the first game of his 22 seasons at the helm of the Wolf Pack football program. The Wolf Pack has lost its last three season openers with the last victory coming in 2003 when Nevada turned in a 24-23 win over Southern Utah on Aug. 30 at Mackay Stadium. Prior to Fresno State, the Wolf Pack had last opened the season with a conference game two years ago, falling at Louisiana Tech 38-21 on Sept. 6, 2004.
Rowe Continues to Climb Career Passing Charts
After throwing for 183 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-34 passing in last week’s season opener at Fresno State, senior quarterback Jeff Rowe continues to climb Nevada’s career passing charts. He has now thrown for 6,138 yards in his career, which has moved him into seventh in the Nevada record book and 29th in the WAC annals, while his 39 passing touchdowns put him ninth. Rowe also ranks sixth in career completions (528) and fifth in attempts (890).
A 2005 second-team All-WAC selection, Rowe has thrown for over 2,500 yards in each of the last two seasons, including 2,925 yards last year. He ranked second in the league and 21st in the nation in total offense with 264.1 yards per game and was third in the WAC and 30th in the NCAA in passing efficiency at 137.8. Rowe tallied at least 200 passing yards in all but two games in 2005, including two 300-yard outings with a season-best 324 yards against Colorado State. Rowe also tossed at least one touchdown pass in all but one game last year, including three contests with three scoring strikes.
Rowe Named to Davey O’Brien Award Watch List
Nevada senior quarterback Jeff Rowe is one of 34 candidates on the preseason watch list for the 2006 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced Monday. The 2006 watch list for the award, which is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback, is made up of 34 candidates, including 19 seniors, 12 juniors and three sophomores representing 11 conferences.
Celebrating 30 years, the O’Brien Award is the oldest and most prestigious award in the country for college quarterbacks and is named in honor of the late Davey O’Brien. O’Brien led the TCU Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship and was the first player to win the Heisman, Walter Camp and Maxwell awards in one season.
Semifinalists will be announced in early November as voted on by the O’Brien Selection Committee, made up of a nationwide panel of sportswriters, commentators and former O’Brien Award winners. The committee will then narrow the field to three finalists before announcing a winner on ESPN’s Home Depot College Football Awards Show scheduled for Dec. 7, 2006, at 7 p.m. EST. The winner will then be honored on Feb. 19, 2007, at the 30th annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Last year’s winner was Vince Young from the University of Texas.
Garcia on Watch Lists for Nagurski & Lott Awards
Senior cornerback Joe Garcia has been named to the preseason watch lists for two of the most prestigious honors in college football: the Bronko Nagurski Award and the Lott Trophy.
Garcia, who hails from Westminster, Calif., had 72 tackles and four interceptions last year en route to earning first-team All-WAC honors.
He is one of 56 players on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is presented each year by the Charlotte Touchdown Club to the best defensive player in college football as voted on by the Football Writers Association of America. This year’s award will be presented on Dec. 4 at the Westin Hotel-Charlotte.
Garcia was also one of the 42 players named to the 2006 Lott Trophy Watch List. Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is awarded to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its third year, the Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player and is sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation. Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation and Master Coaches, a distinguished group of former head college coaches. The winner will be announced at a gala black-tie banquet at The Pacific Club Dec. 10.
Mackay is Back!
The Wolf Pack turned in a 5-1 record at Mackay Stadium last year and brings a four-game home winning streak into the 2006 season. 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 154-45-2 (.771) record at Mackay Stadium.
In his 21 years as Nevada’s head coach, Ault has led the team to a 121-25-1 record at Mackay Stadium (.827), including a 10-2 mark in the last two years. 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).
1,000-Yard Rushers & Receivers
Nevada has produced a 1,000-yard rusher or receiver in each of the last five years, including WAC Offensive Player of the Year B.J. Mitchell who rushed for 1,399 yards last season. Here is a list of the Wolf Pack’s 1,000-yard efforts over the last five years:
2005 B.J. Mitchell 1,399 rushing yards
2004 Nichiren Flowers 1,126 receiving yards
2003 Chance Kretchmer 1,162 rushing yards
2002 Matt Milton 1,108 rushing yards
Nate Burleson 1,629 receiving yards
2001 Chance Kretchmer 1,732 rushing yards
Challenging Slate
Nevada has lined up one of the most challenging schedules in the country this season. The Wolf Pack will take on five teams that earned a bowl appearance one year ago (Fresno State, Arizona State, Colorado State, Northwestern and Boise State). Nevada, which received three votes of its own in the preseason USA Today Coaches’ poll, will also take on four opponents ranked or receiving votes in the preseason rankings (FSU, ASU, NU, BSU).
The 2006 schedules starts off with a pair of road games against bowl teams as Nevada travels to Fresno State and No. 24 Arizona State. Fresno State ranked as high as 16th in the country a year ago and earned a Liberty Bowl appearance, while ASU climbed as high as 14th in the national polls a year ago and played in the Insight Bowl.
The Wolf Pack will take on three of those five bowl teams at Mackay Stadium, playing host to Colorado State (Poinsettia Bowl) Sept. 16 and Northwestern (Sun Bowl) Sept. 22. Boise State, which earned an invitation to the MPC Computers Bowl last year, will travel to Reno on Nov. 25.
Preseason Honors
Members of the Wolf Pack squad have been recognized in a number of the preseason college football annuals:
LB Ezra Butler
Sporting News Preseason All-WAC
20th-best outside linebacker in the nation by the Sporting News
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason Second-Team All-WAC
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Second-Team All-WAC
DB Joe Garcia
Street & Smith’s Preseason All-WAC
Sporting News Preseason All-WAC
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason Second-Team All-WAC
Blue Ribbon Preseason All-WAC
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview First-Team All-WAC
DT Matt Hines
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Second-Team All-WAC
TB Robert Hubbard
Sporting News Preseason All-WAC
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason First-Team All-WAC
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Second-Team All-WAC
OL Charles Manu
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason Second-Team All-WAC
DE J.J. Milan
Street & Smith’s Preseason All-WAC
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason Second-Team All-WAC
TE Anthony Pudewell
Street & Smith’s Preseason All-WAC
Sporting News Preseason All-WAC
20th-best tight end in the nation by the Sporting News
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason First-Team All-WAC
Blue Ribbon Preseason All-WAC
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview First-Team All-WAC
OL Barrett Reznick
Street & Smith’s Preseason All-WAC
Sporting News Preseason All-WAC
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason First-Team All-WAC
Blue Ribbon Preseason All-WAC
QB Jeff Rowe
Street & Smith’s Honorable-Mention All-American
Street & Smith’s Preseason All-WAC
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason Second-Team All-WAC
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Second-Team All-WAC
WR Caleb Spencer
Street & Smith’s Honorable-Mention All-American
Street & Smith’s Preseason All-WAC
Blue Ribbon Preseason All-WAC
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Second-Team All-WAC
DE Charles Wilson
CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason Second-Team All-WAC
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Second-Team All-WAC
All-Conference Honors
Nevada had 10 players named to the WAC All-Conference team and claimed two of the four individual honors in 2005. Nevada placed five student-athletes on the first team (second only to Fresno State's eight), including RB B.J. Mitchell, OT Tony Moll, P Justin Bergendahl, WR Caleb Spencer and CB Joe Garcia. Second-team honorees included DE Craig Bailey, LB Roosevelt Cooks, QB Jeff Rowe, TE Anthony Pudewell and OG Barrett Reznick.
Mitchell was also named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the WAC in rushing at 116.6 yards per game. Head coach Chris Ault was named the 2005 WAC Coach of the Year, the sixth such honor of his Hall of Fame career.
Sophomore linebacker Joshua Mauga and placekicker Brett Jaekle also earned honorable-mention Freshman All-America honors from the Sporting News in 2005. Mauga played in all 12 games with nine starts, recording 32 tackles (16 solo) and 2.5 sacks. Jaekle converted 50-of-53 PATs and made 80 percent of his field goal attempts (12-15).
Nevada in the 2005 WAC & NCAA Statistics
Running back B.J. Mitchell led the WAC and ranked 11th in the nation in rushing in 2005 at 116.6 yards per game (1,399 yards)...fellow running back Robert Hubbard ranked sixth at 59.9 rushing yards per contest (719 yards)...Caleb Spencer and Nichiren Flowers were fifth and sixth, respectively, in receptions per game with 6.09 and 4.58 catches per game...Spencer's 6.09 receptions per game were good for 30th in the NCAA stats, while he was also ranked 35th in the country in receiving yards per game (80.02)...quarterback Jeff Rowe ranked second in the league and 21st in the nation in total offense with 264.1 yards per game and was third in the WAC and 30th in the NCAA in passing efficiency at 137.8...Brett Jaekle ranked third in scoring with 7.2 points per game...Mitchell and Hubbard both tied for fifth with 6.5 points per contest...linebacker Roosevelt Cooks ranked eighth in tackles, recording an average of 8.2 stops per game...Justin Bergendahl ended the season 44th in the nation at 41.28 yards per punt...Kevin Stanley ranked 37th in the NCAA, averaging 9.95 yards per punt return.
As a team, Nevada led the nation and the WAC in time of possession (33:12)...the Wolf Pack also ranked among the league's & national leaders in scoring offense (3rd in the WAC, 34.2 ppg), total offense (2nd in the WAC and 14th in the nation, 449.3 ypg), rushing offense (2nd in the WAC and 22nd in the nation, 199.5 ypg), passing efficiency (3rd, 135.0), rushing defense (3rd, 141.2 ypg), turnover margin (3rd, 0.00), first downs (2nd, 301), third-down conversion (2nd, 48.9%), sacks (3rd, 29), and field goals (3rd, .800). Nevada also ranked 30th in the NCAA in passing offense with 249.8 yards per game and tied for 28th in fumbles recovered with 12.
Up Next
Following Saturday night’s game at Arizona State, Nevada returns to Mackay Stadium for a two-game homestand with Colorado State and Northwestern. The Wolf Pack will play host to the CSU Rams on Saturday, Sept. 16 in the team’s home opener, while the NU Wildcats travel to Reno on Friday, Sept. 22 for a nationally televised contest on ESPN2.
The Colorado State game will mark Heroes Day at Mackay Stadium with the Wolf Pack honoring local police officers, firefighters and service men and women. Heroes presenting a military ID or coming to the Legacy Hall Ticket Office in military, law enforcement or fire department uniform can purchase up to four tickets at $10 each.
