Week #7 - Nevada (1-5, 1-1 MW) at Colorado State (4-2, 2-0 MW)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
Kickoff: 7:15 p.m. PT
Stadium: CSU Stadium
Location: Fort Collins, Colo.
Television: ESPN2
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM/630 AM); NevadaWolfPack.com/audio; TuneIn App
Series: Colorado State leads, 11-3
Last Meeting: W, 28-23 - Dec. 29, 2015

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the 15th game played between Nevada and Colorado State. The Rams have owned the all-time series with 11 wins and three losses. The series began back in 1974, a 66-17 win for CSU, which sparked a eight-game win streak to start the series. The series has been more even in recent years with each team winning three games each in the last six contests. The Wolf Pack won the last game these two teams played against one another, the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl back in December of 2015 by the final score of 28-23.

STRONG QB PLAY
Junior Ty Gangi posted his best start of the season in week 6 in the win against Hawai'i. Gangi accounted for all five of Nevada's touchdowns as he threw for a career-high four TDs and ran for one more, a season-long 17-yard run. He became the first Nevada player to throw four TD passes in a single game since 2011. He finished the game completing 78.1 percent (25-of-32) of his passes for 278 yards, the highest completion percentage for a Nevada QB with at least 25 attempts against a MW opponent. Gangi was named the Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney Nevada Student-Athlete of the Week for his performance.

MOORE EARNS MW WEEKLY HONOR
Sophomore RB Kelton Moore was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week, for the first time in his career, for his performance vs. Hawai'i. Moore posted a career night on Saturday, setting personal bests in nearly every offensive category. He finished the game with 216 rushing yards on just 19 carries, averaging 11.4 yards per rush. He was the first Nevada player to rush for 200 yards in a game since 2012. Additionally his 216 rushing yards are the 15th-most in an FBS game this season and second-most by a Mountain West player.
 
Aside from his rushing numbers, Moore also posted career numbers in receiving with five receptions for 46 yards and his first career receiving touchdown. That touchdown reception came on a 4th-and-6 for the Wolf Pack and went 22 yards for, what proved to be, the game-winning score, putting Nevada ahead 28-14 at the time.
 
During the game Moore broke two runs of over 40 yards, which set the Pack up inside Hawai'i territory and led to two touchdowns. His career long rush of 66 yards in the first quarter, which was the longest rush by a Nevada player since 2015, set the Pack up at the UH 14-yard line and led to the team's first points of the game, tying the score at 7-7. In the second quarter he scampered down to the UH 32-yard line on a 43-yard rush, which led Nevada to another game-tying score.

DEMPS CONTINUES TO SHINE
Senior WR Wyatt Demps has been one of the Wolf Pack's top targets all season long. Demps leads the team with 39 receptions and is averaging 11.2 yards per catch. He posted his second multi touchdown performance last week against Hawai'i (other was vs. Idaho State), hauling in two TD receptions. He finished the game with seven catches for 111 yards, his first 100-yard receiving performance of the year and second of his career. Demps has caught six touchdowns through six games, which ranks eighth in the nation and first in the Mountain West. Additionally he has six catches inside the red zone, five of which have gone for TDs, which is tied for second-most in the FBS.

OFFENSIVE SPARK
The Wolf Pack offense came to life last Saturday against Hawai'i, accounting for five touchdowns and 566 yards of total offense, the most in a game by Nevada since it totaled 570 against San Diego State in 2013. The Pack averaged 7.9 yards per play in the game, the highest yards per play average since 2012 against Northwestern State. In all the Pack recorded 13 explosive plays (rush of 15+ yards, pass of 20+ yards), seven pass plays and six rushes, which set a season high (previous high was five against Idaho State).

DEFENSIVE SPARK
Senior LB Austin Paulhus has established himself as one of the top defenders on the Wolf Pack. In just his second full season on the field with Nevada, Paulhus is the Pack's top tackler with 51 total tackles. Paulhus has been especially good at dragging the opposition down behind the line as he enters week 7 ranked 12th nationally and first in the conference with 1.7 tackles for loss per game. His 10.0 TFLs, which total 35 yards, include 2.5 sacks.

PACK'S TOP FIVE MARKS IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Nevada ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in the following statistical categories: fewest penalties per game (5th, 6.17), first downs offense (3rd, 121), fumbles recovered (4th, 5), passing offense (5th, 222.8), punt return defense (2nd, 5.4), team tackles for loss (1st, 8.3).

THE RUFUS ON FIRE
Junior DB Asauni Rufus has proved to be one of the best defensive members of the Wolf Pack and has shown why through the first half of the season. In his six games he ranks third on the team with 39 tackles, but made 10 at Washington State, a season high. He has also added 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two pass break ups, has forced two fumbles and recovered one more. Additionally he went over the 200 tackle mark for his career, needing 41 more to pass John Ramatici for 10th all-time.

CORBETT RECEIVES MULTIPLE HONORS
Senior offensive lineman Austin Corbett has earned a slew of award nominations this season. Most recently Corbett was named a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy and a candidate for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award. He was one of 181 semifinalists for the Campbell Trophy, which is presented to the top football scholar-athlete in the nation by the National Football Foundation. Corbett was one of just 30 FBS players from around the country to earn a nomination for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes those who excel both on and off the field in four primary categories: community, classroom, character and competition.

PUNTING PLUS
Sophomore punter Quinton Conaway had struggled in his first couple of games but has posted much improved performances in the last few games. Conaway punted four times against Idaho State and averaged 46.8 yards per punt, his best through six games. He also added a career long punt of 55 yards. At Washington State he punted a career-high seven times. In his last four games he is averaging 42.0 yards per punt with three touchbacks and 12 fair catches.

YOUNG GUNS
Through the first half games of the season, head coach Jay Norvell hasn't wasted any time in getting his true freshmen some experience. So far there have been nine true freshmen that have seen time on the field for Nevada: QB Kaymen Cureton, DT Chris Green, WR McLane Mannix, DB Nephi Sewell, TE Reagan Roberson, WR Elijah Cooks, DB Austin Arnold, WR Berdale Robins and WR Daiyan Henley. Most have made significant contributions too. Mannix has four touchdown receptions and over 400 yards receiving, Henley has a touchdown reception under his belt, Sewell is flying around on defense with 31 tackles and an interception, Robins totaled over 100 kickoff return yards against Idaho State and Cureton got his first start at QB vs. the Bengals.

Additionally, Nevada has started four as those true freshmen this season (Sewell, Cureton, Mannix, Henley), which is tied for sixth-most in the nation:

1. Illinois - 10 (5 offense, 5 defense)
2. Baylor - 8 (5 offense, 3 defense)
3. Ball State - 7 (3 offense, 4 defense)
     LSU - 7 (3 offense, 4 defense)
5. Oregon - 5 (1 offense, 4 defense)
6. Nevada - 4 (3 offense, 1 defense)
     Texas A&M - 4 (3 offense, 1 defense)
     Arizona - 4 (0 offense, 4 defense)

BREAKOUT PERFORMANCES
True freshman WR McLane Mannix turned some heads in the season opener at Northwestern, racking up 76 yards on just two catches, but he has since followed that up with even more impressive outings. To date, the Texas native has made 29 receptions (second on the team) on the year, including a 75-yard touchdown reception against Toledo.

Not only was the 75-yard touchdown reception against Toledo a career long reception for Mannix and a career long pass for QB Ty Gangi, but it was also the longest pass play by the Wolf Pack since 2011 when Tyler Lantrip hit Rashard Matthews for 90 yards against UNLV. Additionally Mannix's 139 receiving yards vs. the Rockets were the most receiving yards in a single game by a Wolf Pack player since Hasaan Henderson racked up 141 against Boise State in 2014.

Mannix began his collegiate career with touchdown receptions in back-to-back-to-back games and is already over 400 yards receiving. His four touchdown receptions are tied for 36th-most in the nation, and his total of 419 receiving yards ranks 43rd nationally and fifth in the Mountain West.

WALK-ON SURPRISE
In Nevada's game against Toledo, the Pack had a new face on kickoff duty for the second half. Ramiz Ahmed, who had been cleared to play the night before the contest, suited up for the Wolf Pack and handled two kickoffs in the second half. Ahmed impressed in his debut, sending both of his kickoffs well into the endzone for touchbacks. Through his five games played, he has taken 18 kickoffs and had 11 go for touchbacks. Ahmed made the team via the walk-on tryouts held a couple of weeks prior.

TWO-POINT CONVERSION
Against Idaho State, Nevada converted on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter when QB Kaymen Cureton hit WR Trevion Armstrong in the endzone for the two points. It was the first successful two-point conversion by the Wolf Pack since Cody Fajardo hit Hasaan Henderson for the extra two points against BYU in 2014.

SCHOLARSHIP ALERT
A total of four Wolf Pack student-athletes, formerly walk-ons, were awarded scholarships during fall camp: senior OL Thomas Newton, junior TE Trae Carter-Wells, sophomore PK Spencer Pettit and sophomore RB Maliek Broady.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Wolf Pack's 2017 schedule consists of eight teams that advanced to bowl games last season; Northwestern, Pinstripe Bowl; Toledo, Raycom Media Camellia Bowl; Washington State, Holiday Bowl; Hawai'i, Hawai'i Bowl; Colorado State, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; Air Force, NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl; Boise State, Cactus Bowl; San Diego State, Las Vegas Bowl.

GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
After summer classes had commenced, the Wolf Pack football team posted a cumulative grade-point average of 3.008 for the 5,667 credit hours current members of the team had logged. The 5,667 credit hours take in to account every credit hour by every current member of the team, which dates back to 2013. Nevada is one of just three FBS schools to accomplish this, along with Northwestern and Boise State.

DEGREES COMPLETED
A total of nine Nevada football student-athletes have already obtained a college degree prior to the start of the 2017 season. That number is tied for sixth-most in the nation along with Kent State, New Mexico, South Alabama, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Wolf Pack players with degrees in hand are: Justin Brent, Austin Corbett, Ziad Damanhoury, Jimbo Davis, Sean Krepsz, Ryan Mack, Thomas Newton, Jaden Sawyer and Travis Wilson.

OH BROTHER
Nevada's roster for 2017 contains two sets of brothers: Clifford and Devin Porter, Gabriel and Nephi Sewell. The Porter brothers are local products from Reno and graduates of Hug High School. The Sewell brothers hail from Nevada's neighbor to the east, Utah, and are both graduates of Desert Hills High School in the town of St. George.

LOGGING FEWER MILES
The difference between miles traveled for Nevada's 2016 season compared to its 2017 season is significantly lighter. Last year, with two trips to Indiana and one to Hawai'i, the Wolf Pack logged a season total of 8,487 miles. In 2017, with just one trip to the Midwest and most others on the western side of the country, the Pack will log just 4,852 miles, a 3,635 mile difference.

TWO-DEEPS CLASS BREAKDOWN
The Wolf Pack's depth chart on offense and defense consists of: nine seniors, 16 juniors, 10 sophomores, eight redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen.

PROGRAM HISTORY
Nevada is in its 111th season of collegiate football, seeking win No. 542 in the program's strong history. The Wolf Pack sports an all-time record of 541-479-33 (.551). Since joining the FBS in 1992, Nevada is 165-145 overall and 107-75 in conference play.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Head coach Jay Norvell has implemented a different system for team captains that what has been done in the past. Instead of captains set for the entire year, Norvell and his staff will select game-by-game team captains.

Northwestern: Malik Reed, Spencer Pettit, Austin Corbett, Ty Gangi
Toledo: Wes Farnsworth, Spencer Pettit, Wyatt Demps, Austin Paulhus
Idaho State: Malik Reed, Spencer Pettit, Sean Krepsz, Kaymen Cureton
Washington State: Malik Reed, Spencer Pettit, Kelton Moore, Wyatt Demps
Fresno State: Asauni Rufus, Ty Gangi, Jimbo Davis, Malik Reed
Hawai'i: Austin Corbett, Spencer Pettit, Hausia Sekona, Wyatt Demps

GRITIRON LUNCHES
The Wolf Pack's booster luncheons return this year with four dates set and a new location for 2017. Coach Jay Norvell's "Gritiron" luncheons will recap games to date and preview upcoming opponents at the luncheons, which are open to the public. This year's luncheons are $20 per person will be held at the Eldorado in Reno on Oct. 9 and Nov. 6, with one scheduled for the Carson Valley Inn in Minden (Oct. 23). Doors open at 11:45 a.m. and the program begins at 12:15 p.m. For more information, call 775-682-6901.