Sept. 19, 2016
Nevada Game Notes 
Purdue Game Notes
Week #4 - Nevada (2-1) at Purdue (1-1)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 24
Kickoff: 9 a.m. PT
Stadium: Ross-Ade Stadium
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
Television: ESPNews
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM/630 AM)
Satellite Radio: Sirius XM, Ch. 81
Series: Inaugural meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
LAST TIME OUT
Nevada turned the corner on Saturday and defeated visiting Buffalo in convincing fashion, 38-14. The Wolf Pack totaled 521 yards of total offense, including 352 rushing yards, both of which are the most in the Brian Polian era. Junior RB James Butler ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns, while true freshman Jaxson Kincaide complimented Butler very well, rushing for 99 yards on 18 carries. Senior QB Tyler Stewart bounced back from a poor performance at Notre Dame and completed 16-of-21 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown.
The 24-point margin was the second-largest in the Polian era and the most since his first win, a 38-7 victory over UC Davis in 2013. Nevada is now 12-1 under Polian when allowing 19 points or fewer.
The Pack defense had a strong showing as well, pitching a shutout up until the 3:01 mark of the third quarter. Nevada went into halftime with a 24-0 lead, its largest lead at intermission since a 28-0 lead in 2011 against New Mexico.
SERIES HISTORY
Short note: Saturday's game will begin the series history between Nevada and Purdue.
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 22 consecutive games with at least one reception, which is tied for 16th-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). Three games into the season and Richardson is second on the team with eight receptions, including one of Tyler Stewart's three touchdown passes.
A THOUSAND MILES (AND THEN SOME)
There are a lot of miles to travel for the Nevada football team between the next two weeks. The Wolf Pack will travel 3,490 total miles to West Lafayette and back this week, and 5,134 total miles to Honolulu, Hawaii the following week and back. Combined those two trips add up to 8,624 miles traveled in a nine-day span. Not to mention that Purdue is coming off a bye to play Nevada this week and Hawai'i will be coming off a bye next week to play the Wolf Pack.
NEVADA VS. MEMBERS OF THE BIG TEN
The Wolf Pack has not faced current members of the Big Ten very often in its history, just five meetings. In those five meetings Nevada is 1-4 with its only win coming on Sept. 22, 2006, a 35-26 home victory over Northwestern. With all of the recent conference realignment, two of those five games (2007 vs. Nebraska and 2008 vs. Maryland) were against opponents who were not members of the Big Ten at the time.
STEWART BACK ON TRACK
After struggling at Notre Dame, senior QB Tyler Stewart bounced back nicely in the team's 38-14 win over Buffalo. Stewart completed 16-of-21 passes for 160 yards, threw for one touchdown and ran for another. He led Nevada to a 24-0 lead at halftime and to 38 total points in the game, tied for the sixth-most points scored in the Brian Polian era. For this Stewart is climbing in the national rankings as he is 28th in completion percentage (64.2 percent), which is tops in the Mountain West.
BUTLER KEEPS CLIMBING
During the Wolf Pack's 38-14 rout of Buffalo last Saturday, junior RB James Butler passed Otto Kelly for 14th on Nevada's career rushing leaders list. Butler finished the game with 174 yards on the ground, inching him closer to passing Stefphon Jefferson for 13th, needing just 15 more yards. His rushing total from the Buffalo game is the third-best of his career. He added three rushing touchdowns, establishing a single-game, career-best. With 216 additional yards Butler will become one of Nevada's top-10 leaders in career rushing yards.
CAREER RUSHING LEADERS AT NEVADA (ALL-TIME)
1. Frank Hawkins - 1977-80 - 5,333
2. Vai Taua - 2007-10 - 4,588
3. Charvez Foger - 1985-88 - 4,484
4. Chris Lemon - 1996-99 - 4,246
5. Colin Kaepernick - 2007-10 - 4,112
6. Chance Kretchsmer - 2001-04 - 3,782
7. Cody Fajardo - 2011-14 - 3,482
8. Luke Lippincott - 2005-09 - 3,014
9. Anthony Corley - 1980-83 - 2,677
10. John Vicari - 1977-80 - 2,539
11. B.J. Mitchell - 2002-05 - 2,395
12. Don Jackson - 2013-15 - 2,371
13. Stefphon Jefferson - 2010-12 - 2,338
14. James Butler - 2014-present - 2,324
15. Otto Kelley - 1981-83 - 2,284
MORE ABOUT BUTLER?
It's no secret that junior RB James Butler is becoming one of the top rushers in the league, he has the statistics to prove it. Here is a breakdown of how Butler shapes up around not only the conference, but the nation as well:
Statistic Value National Rank Conference Rank
All-purpose 133.0 38 3
Rush yards per carry 5.26 60 6
Rushing TDs 5 8 2
Rushing yards 347 14 3
Rush yards per game 115.7 16 3
Scoring 10.0 32 4
BYE, BYE, BYE
For the span of three straight weeks the Nevada football team will play teams coming off of its bye week. Last Saturday the Wolf Pack played Buffalo, who had its bye in week two. This Saturday the Wolf Pack will face Purdue, coming off a bye from week three. Next Saturday the Wolf Pack will play Hawai'i, which will enjoy its bye this week. All while traveling 8,624 miles in just over a two week time frame. Nevada's bye will be week nine (Oct. 29).
INDIANA NATIVES ON ROSTER
Nevada has just one Indiana native on its roster; junior TE Evan Faunce (Indianapolis). There
are three players however, hailing from neighboring states; senior PK Brent Zuzo (Michigan),
junior RB James Butler (Illinois) and redshirt freshman WR Dominic Christian (Illinois).
MITCHELL BACK AT IT
Senior CB Elijah Mitchell did not play in week one but with starts in two 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. Last Saturday he passed Alex Van Dyke for sixth on Nevada's all-time kickoff return yards list.
CAREER KICKOFF RETURN YARDS LEADERS AT NEVADA (ALL-TIME)
1. Mike Ball 2009-11 - 1,695
2. Kendall Brock 2011-14 - 1,503
3. Paul Williams 1975-77 - 1,339
4. Dwayne Sanders 2006-09 - 1,174
5. Ronnie Hardiman 2000-03 - 1,148
6. Elijah Mitchell 2013-present - 1,046
7. Alex Van Dyke 1994-95 - 1,034
SPREAD THE WEALTH
When you have a receiving corps as deep as Nevada's, why not get everyone involved. That's what Nevada quarterbacks have done three games into the season. In the opener against Cal Poly senior QB Tyler Stewart found the hands of nine different receivers, which was the most receivers to catch a pass in a game in the Brian Polian era and the most since Sept. 8, 2012 versus South Florida. Following that up at Notre Dame there were six players who hauled in a pass against the Irish, including a career-long reception by sophomore WR Andrew Celis (68 yards). In the win over Buffalo there were eight receivers who caught passes, continuing the trend. Speaking of Celis, he currently ranks in the top 15 in the conference in both receiving yards (177) and receiving yards per game (48.0).
QUIETLY IN THE TOP 10
The Nevada pass defense has quietly crept up to be one of the best in the nation. Following week three, where the Pack allowed just 130 passing yards to Buffalo, the team was ranked eighth in the country and first in the Mountain West in passing yards allowed per game at 132.3.
