University of Nevada Athletics

Nevada Game Notes

Week #8 - Nevada (3-4, 1-2 MW) vs. Wyoming (4-2, 2-0 MW)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 22
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
Stadium: Mackay Stadium
Location: Reno, Nev.
Television: ESPN2
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM/630 AM)
Series: Series tied 3-3
Last Meeting: L, 28-21 - Oct. 17, 2015

LAST TIME OUT
Despite 186 all-purpose yards from James Butler, the Nevada football team fell on the road to San Jose State, 14-10, last Saturday.

A slugfest for three quarters - San Jose State led 7-3 going into the fourth quarter - turned into a back-and-forth affair down the stretch. Nevada took a 10-7 lead when Butler scored on a brilliant play, a 46-yard screen pass from Tyler Stewart with 6:52 left.

But the Spartans took it down 85 yards on 12 plays and 5:55 to scored on a three-year quarterback keeper with just 50 seconds left. The Wolf Pack got the ball out near midfield with a few seconds left but Stewart's Hail Mary fell incomplete.

With rain falling on and off through the night at CEFCU Stadium, the Pack and Spartans both turned to their ground games. Butler racked up 94 yards on 20 carries and he also had 92 yards receiving on just three catches. He accounted for 186 of Nevada's 257 yards of total offense in the game.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wolf Pack and Cowboys have met previously just six times with each team owning three wins in the all-time series. The series began a while ago with the first game played in 1937, a 9-7 win in Reno for the Pack. These two teams did meet last year with Wyoming sneaking out with a 28-21 home win, which snapped a two-game losing streak to Nevada.

BALL SECURITY
A hallmark in the Polian era has been ball security and the same has been true so far in 2016. Entering this week, Nevada is 24th in the nation in turnover margin at +0.71 per game. That mark puts the Pack second in the conference. The Pack is one of just eight teams nationally that has lost one fumble and it ranks second nationally in turnovers lost with just four. Last year, Nevada was 15th in the nation in turnover margin (21-12, +0.69). In 2014, Nevada was 11th in that category (27-16, +0.85) and also led the conference. In Polian's first season in 2013, Nevada was 23rd nationally in turnover margin (18-11, +0,58).

GET IT TO JERICO
It has been quite sometime since senior WR Jerico Richardson did not catch a pass in a game. To be exact it was Oct. 18, 2014 at BYU when Richardson did not register a reception. That is a string of 26 consecutive games with at least one reception, which is tied for 23rd-longest in the nation. Excluding his freshman season there have only been two games where Richardson did not record a reception (Oct. 18, 2014 at BYU and Sept. 5, 2014 vs. Washington State). Richardson is currently third on the team with 19 receptions on the year and is fourth with 198 receiving yards.

BLITZ LUNCHEON RETURNS
The Blitz luncheons are back! Nevada head coach Brian Polian will be available at the Wolf Pack's Blitz luncheon next week for the third luncheon of four. The next luncheon will be held on Monday, Oct. 24 at the Carson Valley Inn. The final luncheon will be held Monday, Nov. 14 at the ElDorado. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the cost is $20. This luncheon is open
to the media and general public.

FIRSTS ARE GOOD
Sophomore DE Jarid Joseph had quite the game last week against San Jose State. The California native tied his career-high with three total tackles but added 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble, both of which were career firsts for him.

BUTLER KEEPS CLIMBING
During Nevada's 27-22 win over Fresno State, junior RB James Butler entered the top 10 in career rushing yards at Nevada. He passed both John Vicari and Anthony Corley and is currently ninth all-time with 2,799 yards. Butler finished the game with 175 rushing yards on a career-high 37 carries. He will have some work to do now to get up to eighth as he needs 215 yards to tie Luke Lippincott and 201 to reach 3,000 for his career.

THE SILVA LINING
For sophomore DE Jordan Silva, joining the starting defensive lineup has been a blessing in disguise. Silva has started the last two contests and has totaled 10 tackles, two of which were for a loss and a pass break up. His six tackles last week at San Jose State and 2.0 TFL were both career-high marks.

THE RUFUS ON FIRE
Sophomore FS Asauni Rufus may not have the flashy interception stats to his credit thus far, but he has been quietly wreaking havoc on opposing offenses. Rufus got in on 10 tackles during the win over Fresno State, a season-high, and recovered a fumble for a second straight game. Rufus was the cause of two fumbles by the Purdue offense in week four. He now ranks in the top 30 in the nation in solo tackles, averaging 5.4 per game, which is third in the conference. More impressive are his three forced fumbles this season, 16-most in the country. His two recoverd fumbles has him seventh in the nation.

OPPOSING OFFENSES, MEET Malik Reed
Sophomore DE Malik Reed is on a tear the last three games and is not making it easy for opposing offenses. Reed forced a fumble for a second straight game against Fresno State and has recorded a sack in three straight games now. He now ranks in the top 20 in the nation with teammate Asauni Rufus in forced fumbles. In the past three games, Reed has recorded 22 total tackles, 17 of which were unassisted, 5.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and forced three fumbles.

FUMBLE!
The Nevada defense is quickly becoming one of the most potent in terms of causing fumbles and recovering them. The Wolf Pack has caused 13 fumbles through seven games, which is the most by a Mountain West team this season. With those 13 causes, the Pack has recovered seven of them which is tied for the most in the league.

GET AHEAD EARLY
In all of Nevada's wins this season, the Pack has won the scoring battle in the first quarter. The team is outscoring its opponent 42-16 in the opening 15 minutes. Week six vs. Fresno State was the first time during a win that Nevada had not scored first as Fresno State got ahead with a field goal, but the Pack won the quarter, 7-6.

LINEBACKING CORE
The linebacking core for Nevada went through many changes in the offseason with the departure of Jordan Dobrich, Matthew Lyons and Bryan Lane Jr. It seems like the new crop of starters at linebacker haven't missed a beat however. Senior LB Alex Bertrando currently leads the team and ranks in the top 25 in the nation with 9.6 total tackles per game. He established a new career-high with 14 total tackles against Fresno State. Additionally Bertrando's 5.1 solo tackles per game is 50th-best in the nation and ranks eighth in the Mountain West.

BOY OH BOY
Senior punter Alex Boy launched a career-long punt during the Cal Poly game, a 71-yard punt in the third quarter that started the next Cal Poly drive from the 20. For the year he has punted 32 times and is averaging 44.7 yards per punt, which ranks 15th in the nation and is third in the Mountain West.

• Boy's 2, 732 punting yards last season is the third-most in a single season in Nevada program history. The all-time best single season mark for punting yards is 3,331, captured by Tom Kolesar in 1974.

• For his career, Boy now has 6,777 career punting yards, passing David Heppe (6,649) for third all-time. He trails Bret Dales for second by 1,190 yards. The all-time mark in career punting yards is 10,652 set by Derek Jones (2000-03).

MITCHELL BACK AT IT
Senior CB Elijah Mitchell did not play in week one but with starts in six straight games, he is back in the mix. Not only is he back in the defensive backfield, but he's back as the team's top kickoff returner. Mitchell totaled 34 kickoff return yards against Fresno State, which gave him 1,198 career kickoff return yards for his career. That total allowed him to pass Dwayne Sanders for fourth all-time. He is currently at 1,220 for his career and needs 120 to pass Paul Williams for third.

OH BABER!
When you rank second in the nation in anything, that's pretty good. Nevada's starting sophomore SS Dameon Baber is near the top of the list in fumbles recovered, scooping up three. He shot to the top following the Purdue weekend after recovering two fumbles during that game. He has also forced two fumbles this year, stripping his second against Fresno State. Baber is the team's fourth-best tackler, averaging 5.5 tackles per game.

PACK'S TOP FIVE MARKS IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Nevada ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in the following statistical categories; 3rd down conversion percentage (2nd, 46.2), 4th down conversion percentage (3rd, 62.5), completion percentage (3rd, 59.7), fewest penalties (5th, 36), fewest penalty yards per game (4th, 48.2), first downs offense (3rd, 143), fumbles lost (1st, 1), fumbles recovered (1st, 7), net punting (4th, 39.1), passes had intercepted (2nd, 3), passing yards allowed (2nd, 179.7), red zone defense (5th, 86.2), scoring defense (5th, 25.4), tackles for loss allowed (5th, 6.0), turnover margin (2nd, +0.71), turnovers gained (4th, 9), turnovers lost (1st, 4).

ZUZO AMONG NEVADA'S BEST
Senior PK Brent Zuzo's career at Nevada has been one of the best. He is ranked in the top five in a couple of all-time categories and continues to climb the list.

• Zuzo's 49 made field goals rank fifth in Pack history. Zuzo is one made FGs away from matching Damon Fine (2001-04) for fourth in program history.

• Zuzo passed Damon Shea for fourth in career kick scoring at Nevada in week six against Fresno State. His three extra points gave him 277 points in his career. He needs 23 points to tie Tony Zendejas for third.

YOUTHFUL DEFENSE
At the heart of the Wolf Pack defense is a fairly young lineup. Between the front seven lie two seniors and the other four consist of one junior, three sophomores and one redshirt freshman. The defensive backfield starters include one senior, one junior and two sophomores. Aside from Alex Bertrando, the team's leading tackler and a senior, the following three leading tacklers on the team are Gabe Sewell, a redshirt freshman, Dameon Baber and Asauni Rufus, both sophomores.

HENDERSON APPROACHING 2,000 CAREER YARDS RECEIVING
Senior WR Hasaan Henderson is closing in on eclipsing 2,000 receiving yards for his career. With a 15-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter at Purdue, he went over 1,700 yards for his career. At Hawai'i, Henderson caught two passes for 23 yards which gave him enough to pass Tim Fleming for 18th in career receiving yards at Nevada. He needs just 249 receiving yards, which he has gotten in each of the past two seasons, to reach 2,000 for his Wolf Pack career. In addition, he needs 95 yards receiving to pass Treamelle Taylor for 17th all-time.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS
Nevada's offense posted four explosive plays (20+ yard passes, 15+ yard rushes) during the loss to San Jose State last week. The team registered three pass plays of 20 or more yards and one run play of more than 15 yards. The long run of the game came on Nevada's first possession of the second half, an 18-yard rush by junior RB James Butler up the middle. The long pass play also had Butler involved as senior QB Tyler Stewart dumped off a screen pass to him and with good blocking Butler raced 46 yards up the sideline and into the endzone for the team's lone touchdown.