University of Nevada Athletics

TV: None. Live streaming at NevadaWolfPack.com
RADIO:  University of Nevada Sports Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno) with Ryan Radtke (PxP) and Chris Vargas (analyst). Pre-game at 12 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: Nevada 19-15
LAST MEETING: Nevada won the last meeting 49-27 in Las Vegas last season.

 

THE SKINNY
Coming of a home-opening loss to Missouri, the 103rd season of Nevada football continues Saturday with the annual rivalry game – the Battle for the Fremont Cannon against UNLV ... UNLV is 2-2 on the year with wins against Sacramento State and Hawai`i and losses to Oregon State and Wyoming ... This is the 35th meeting all-time between the teams and Nevada holds a 19-15 advantage in the series ... The Wolf Pack has won the last four straight and is looking to tie the series record for most consecutive wins in the rivalry, which is 5 (Nevada 1989-1993; Nevada 1995-1999; UNLV 2000-2004) ... UNLV is one of just five opponents on Nevada’s schedule that did not play in a bowl game in 2008 ... This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first game in the rivalry – a 30-28 Nevada victory in Reno in 1969.

“BLUE-OUT” AT MACKAY
Saturday’s game is being billed as a Blue-Out at Mackay Stadium. Fans are asked to wear their favorite blue Wolf Pack shirt and make sure that Mackay is filled with blue against the Rebels. Also, the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive Thunderstix (sponsored by Jiffy Lube).
At halftime, the 1969 Nevada team will be honored on the field. That team played the first game in the rivalry and beat the Rebels, 30-28.
Gameday shirts from Silver & Blue Outfitters will also be available at Wolf Pack Alley and inside the stadium.

LAST TIME OUT
RENO, Nev. (AP) – Blaine Gabbert passed for 414 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring tosses of 74 and 31 yards to Danario Alexander, to help Missouri beat Nevada 31-21 on Friday night.
Alexander finished with nine catches for a career-high 170 yards, and Grant Resel made all four of his field-goal attempts to run his streak to 10 for 10 this season for the Tigers (4-0), who have won a school-record 14 consecutive nonconference games.
Luke Lippincott ran for 114 yards for the Wolf Pack (0-3), who took a 13-7 lead on the first series of the second half on Colin Kaepernick's 11-yard touchdown run and had a chance to regain the lead early in the fourth quarter before Lippincott fumbled on Missouri's 4.
Turnovers and penalties cost both teams in the first half.
Trailing 12-7, Nevada had a chance to cut into the lead just before the half when Burnett Kaelin forced Derrick Washington to fumble and Jonathan Amaya recovered it at the Tigers 27 with 23 seconds left. But the Wolf Pack's Nate Agaiava was whistled for a personal foul after the recovery and they had burned all their time outs in the first quarter so were unable to get close enough for a field-goal attempt.
Nevada squandered another chance to score on Lippincott's fumble on the 4 when Aldon Smith stripped the ball loose and Brian Coulter recovered with 14:29 left in the game.

NOTABLE FROM LAST WEEK’S GAME
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick moved into ninth place on a pair of Nevada career passing lists as he now has 395 completions (passed John Dutton) and 719 attemps (passed Jeff Tisdel) ... He also moved out of tie with Dutton in career passing touchdowns as the 43rd of his career was a 6-yarder to Brandon Wimberly ... Running back Luke Lippincott ran for 114 yards against Missouri, marking the 11th time in his career that he passed the 100-yard mark ... Lippincott upped his career rushing yards total to 2,146, passing Earnie O’Leary for ninth all-time at Nevada.

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (Sept. 27, 2008)
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Colin Kaepernick accounted for five touchdowns and 416 yards of offense Saturday night, and Nevada erased an early double-digit deficit to beat UNLV 49-27.
It was Nevada's fourth straight victory over UNLV in the annual Fremont Cannon game. The victor paints the cannon its school colors. It was last UNLV scarlet in 2004.
Kaepernick rushed for 240 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns, including a 66-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half to give the Wolf Pack (2-2) a 35-20 lead. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
Vai Taua added 123 rushing yards on 19 carries and a 4-yard touchdown run with 11:37 to play to extend Nevada's lead to 42-27.
After scoring 17 points in the first 10 minutes, UNLV (3-2) was limited to 10 points the rest of the game.
UNLV's Omar Clayton threw three touchdown passes, including a 7-yarder to Ryan Wolfe at the 7:25 mark of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 35-27. But the Rebels didn't score again and Clayton was intercepted for the first time in 145 attempts this year.
Nevada trailed 17-7 with five minutes to play in the first quarter, but scored 21 unanswered points and limited UNLV to three points the rest of the half.

BLACKSHIRTS
Each week, the Wolf Pack coaching staff awards a black jersey to those excelled on special teams during the previous game. The winners:
Notre Dame: Brad Langley.
Colorado State: Mike Ball, Brad Langley, Ahmad Wood.
Missouri: Mike Ball.

WIMBERLY ARRIVES
Prior to this season, Brandon Wimberly last played in a competitive football game in 2006 while in high school in Gardena, Calif. He grayshirted the 2007 season and redshirted the 2008 year. After catching two passes for 36 yards in his collegiate debut at Notre Dame, Wimberly has emerged the last two weeks at Colorado State and at home against Missouri
At CSU, Wimberly caught seven passes for 104 yards – the first 100-yard game of the season by a Pack receiver. He also hauled in his first collegiate touchdown – a 13-yard strike from Colin Kaepernick – in the fourth quarter.
Last week against Missouri, Wimberly led the Pack in receiving, catching six passes for 76 yards and another touchdown – this one a 6-yard pass from Kaepernick.

KICK IT TO BALL
A point of emphasis for the Pack in the offseason was on improved special teams play and, for the most part, the results are evident early in the 2009 season.
Nevada ranks 24th in the nation in kick returns, led by WAC leader Mike Ball, who is averaging 33.5 yards per return. The freshman ranks 12th in the nation in kick returns.
Three times in the last two games, it appeared as though Ball might take a kickoff all the way back. He had returns of 48 and 50 yards at Colorado State and then had a 52-yarder against Missouri. That 52-yard return was the longest by a Nevada player since 2006.

SELF-INFLICTED DAMAGE
Many of the Wolf Pack’s struggles early this season can be attributed to some of its own mistakes. The Wolf Pack has turned the ball over 10 times this season – including five at Colorado State two weeks ago. On the other end of the spectrum, the Pack has only forced one turnover and the minus-3.0 turnover margin per game is second-to-last in the nation.
Those 10 turnovers have led to 38 points for opponents this season. And the damage inflicted was never more evident than the Missouri game. The Pack forced a fumble but was unable to convert it into points. On the other hand, Nevada’s two turnovers led directly to 10 Missouri points. The margin of victory for the Tigers? 10 points.
Penalties have also been an issue as Nevada has committed 24 in three games, including 12 at Colorado State two weeks ago. That was the most in a game by the Pack since 12 at Nebraska in 2007. On the year, Nevada is 96th in the nation in fewest penalties per game.

COUNT ON ZO
Senior tackle Alonzo Durham has been a mainstay in the Wolf Pack starting lineup all the way back to the 2006 MPC Computers Bowl game. Durham, then a redshirt freshman, started that game against Miami and has started every game since, a streak of 30 consecutive starts that is the longest stretch on the team.
After Durham, the second-longest consecutive starts streak is on the other side of the offensive line as junior tackle Mike Gallett has started 23 straight games. Senior safety Jonathon Amaya is third with 20 straight starts.

SACK MEN
Junior defensive ends Dontay Moch and Kevin Basped form perhaps the most productive duos in the country when it comes to the pass rush and disrupting offensive backfields. Moch (11.5) and Basped (10) each recorded double-digits sack totals in 2008 and Nevada is the only school in the country to return two players with double-digit sacks. The pair also combined last year for 35.5 tackles for a loss and each is among the nation’s returning leaders in that category as well.
This year, Moch is off to a blazing start in terms of causing disruption behind the line of scrimmage. The junior has just once sack on the year but is tied for fourth in the nation in tackles for loss per game at 2.17 as he has 6.5 TFLs for a loss of 35 yards in three games.

For the complete notes package, click on the link above.