Nevada Post-Game Notes
vs. Louisiana Tech, Dec. 1, 2007
Nevada is now bowl eligible for the third straight season
Nevada finished the regular season with a record of .500 or better for the third straight season.
The series between Nevada and Louisiana Tech is now tied 4-4.
Nevada has now won three straight games against Louisiana Tech.
Nevada coach Chris Ault is now 4-1 all-time against Louisiana Tech.
Receiver Kyle Sammons had a career day with 8 receptions for 199 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs. This marks his first career multi-touchdown game and his third career 100-yard receiving game.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw for a career-high 404 yards on 18-of-28 passing. He had three touchdown passes and now has 19 on the season in seven starts.
Kaepernick hit Sammons for a 74-yard pass play, the longest pass of Kaepernick’s career and the longest reception of Sammons’ career. It is Nevada’s longest pass play since Nick Graziano hit Mike McCoy for a 90-yard play against UNLV this year.
Nevada running back Luke Lippincott entered the top 10 on a few Nevada record book lists and improved his position on others. He now ranks:
-7th in career scoring with 162 points.
-2nd in single-season scoring with 108 points, tied with Charvez Foger in 1985.
-2nd in single-game scoring with 30 points, tied with Johnny Gordon (1984 v. Texas A&M Kingsville) and Anthony Corley (v. Central Arkansas, 1982)
-7th in career touchdowns with 27.
-2nd in single-season touchdowns with 18, tied with Charvez Foger in 1985.
-5th in single-season rushing with 1,380 yards.
-7th in single-season carries with 257
-6th in career rushing touchdowns with 24.
-2nd in single-season rushing touchdowns with 15, tied with Chance Kretschmer (2001) and Frank Hawkins (1978).
Lippincott now has eight career touchdowns in two games against Louisiana Tech.
Lippincott caught four passes for 105 yards, the first 100-yard receiving game of his career.
Kicker Brett Jaekle saw his streak of 12 straight games with a field goal come to and end.
Jaekle now ranks:
-4th in career kick scoring with 256 points.
-7th in single-season kick scoring with 99 points.
-3rd in career PATs with 148-of-158
-2nd in single-season PATs with 58-of-61
Marko Mitchell caught two passes for 40 yards and now has 1,033 receiving yards on the season. This marks the 18th time in Nevada history that a receiver topped the 1,000-yard mark in a single season and Mitchell’s 1,033 yards is 18th on Nevada’s single-season charts.
Nevada has never been shutout as a member of Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) and has not been shutout since Sept. 27, 1980, a streak of 329 games that is the longest in the nation and the second-longest all-time in college football.
Louisiana Tech’s 20-yard field goal with 1:42 left in the second quarter marked the Bulldogs’ first points against Nevada since the fourth quarter of the 2005 matchup between the teams, a stretch of 102 minutes, 13 seconds. Nevada shutout Louisiana Tech last season, 42-0.
Sophomore center Kenny Ackerman made his first career start in place of the injured Dominic Green.
Today’s game marks Nevada’s first regular-season game played in December in school history.
Post-Game Quotes
Nevada-Louisiana Tech
Dec. 1, 2007
Nevada head coach Chris Ault
"They played well. Defensively I'm really pleased because that offense has been consistent all year long. Offensively, we were able to control the football.
Ault on Louisiana Tech:
"There are a lot of different ways teams can go like this. They are a good football team. We just played very well today."
Ault on Nevada's defense:
"They played well. They played with energy. The offense kept them off the field. We've been hitting and missing all year."
Ault on the second half:
"No. 1 is we got the football. We did not have the football at San Jose. That's the difference: our defense got the ball for us ... no question about it."
Ault on Nevada wide receiver Kyle Sammons:
"That's the read. Kyle's been a terrific route runner for us."
Ault on Nevada running back Luke Lippincott:
"He played very well. That's pretty good day's work (five touchdowns). He's done this all year for us. There's not a more deserving guy for us. He had some nice receptions and has been that way for us."
Ault on Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick's management:
"Kaep played real well for us. He managed the offense. He made the right audible."
Ault on Kaepernick's overall performance:
"He was very, very accurate with the ball, especially in that wind. The beauty of Kaep is that he has not thrown interceptions. He's thrown a few, but he's protected the ball."
Ault on Nevada's bowl future:
"We have no control over that. The obligation of this football team was not go out with a losing record. We're disappointed with some of the things this year. The attention and focus on detail was beating La. Tech.
Ault on the seniors' final regular season game:
"All 15 of them have played an intricate role this season. Usually you have some seniors who don't, but this group is unusual. They've paid their dues to the company. I'm real proud of them.
Nevada defense coordinator Ken Wilson on the defense:
"We stopped the run well today. That helped us and we got some turnovers. Our seniors did a good job getting ready. They really performed."
Wilson on rating this game's defense:
"Yards wise, they're all about the same. Effort wise and pressure wise, this is the best game they've played.
It shows what these guys can do."
Nevada linebacker Ezra Butler on the game:
"You have to have fun playing football. I just told myself that you have to show up for your last game. Everyone believed in what we're doing. Most importantly, there's a lot riding on this game. We weren't going to back down and we were going to stand up and fight. "
Butler on the younger players stepping up after San Jose State:
"The program's based on tradition and legacy. We wanted to leave our mark and our stand. We told them that this was it and it comes once in a lifetime."
Butler on watching the Hawaii-Washington game:
"We haven't spoken about that. We're just trying to soak it in."
Nevada wide receiver Kyle Sammons on his 199-yard performance:
"During practice, I caught a fair amount of balls. I wasn't surprised. I was so happy that I did so well on senior day. It felt like no one could stop you. We were having fun pretty much, like playing backyard football.
Sammons on Nevada's bowl chances:
"I kind of wanted to know. It's uncertainty right now. It will all play out and see what happens tomorrow."
Nevada defensive tackle Matt Hines:
"It was a good feeling, the last game at Mackay Stadium."
Hines on Nevada's defense:
"Coach had a good scheme for us. We wanted to come out and have a good game. We played with emotion and everything worked out. Unfortunately, it was the last game of the season, and we finally put a good game together.
Hines on being consistent defensively:
"We have to play four quarters of football. We can't just turn the switch on and off."
Hines on senior day:
"We didn't' want to be that senior class that messed up or had a losing record."
Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick on the game:
"Our offense came out, and the offensive line did a good job again."
Kaepernick on the wind:
"It wasn't too bad. Every once in a while my hands would get dry and I can't get feel for the ball."
Kaepernick on Kyle Sammons:
"One more yard would have been the perfect way for him to go out. He did great job today."
Kaepernick on Nevada's bowl chances:
"It's definitely a possibility. We're just hoping for the best and it works out in our favor."
Nevada running back Luke Lippincott on the game:
"Last year, it was the same type of game against La. Tech. Being senior day, we wanted to send the seniors out with a good win."
Lippincott on his five-touchdown performance:
"It feels good. The first time I've ever done that in my life."
Lippincott on the final regular season game:
"We said it was a one-game season for us. It meant everything - a bowl berth and Hawaii going against Washington."
Louisiana Tech Quotes
Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley on the game
“My hat is off to Nevada, they whipped our tail from start to finish. [Nevada] whipped our tail on every position on the field. We start in the first quarter and we have a couple of fumbles, a couple of penalties. I don’t think we handled the conditions very well and you know when you get behind a team like that early in the game. So my hat’s off to Nevada they did a great job, they out-hit us, they out-toughed us and that’s how good they are.”
Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley on the team’s performance
“We weren’t doing a very good job at slowing them down and playing base defense. We thought bringing some pressure would help and it helps us on some things and they hit some big passes when we did. Once the game got kind of out of hand, you kind of throw most of the game play out on the wind, that’s just how it is.”
Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley on Nevada possibly going to a bowl
“They are a good football team and they are bowl eligible and are certainly deserving of a bowl game.”
