Week #13 - UNLV (5-6, 4-3 MW) at Nevada (2-9, 2-5 MW)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 25
Kickoff: 12 p.m. PT
Stadium: Mackay Stadium
Location: Reno, Nev.
Television: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM/630 AM); NevadaWolfPack.com/audio; TuneIn App
Series: Nevada leads, 25-17
Last Meeting: W, 45-10 - Nov. 26, 2016

THE BATTLE FOR NEVADA - WHAT IT MEANS
• The victor of this rivalry game wins the Fremont Cannon, which is the heaviest and most expensive trophy in college football. The trophy was built in 1970 and is a replica of the 19th-century cannon that explorer John C. Fremont ventured Nevada with in the mid-19th century. The
winner of the team paints the cannon in its school's colors - navy for Nevada or scarlet for UNLV.

• The Wolf Pack and Rebels also play for the Governor's Series, presented by NV Energy, which
enters its sixth season in existence. The Governor's Series is a head-to-head competition that
awards points towards the winner of each sporting event between the teams and the school
with the top Academic Progress Rate. The series is currently tied at 4.5 points each after four scored events.

SENIOR DAY
This Saturday marks the final appearance in Mackay Stadium for 12 Wolf Pack seniors. The 12
seniors will be honored prior to the start of Saturday's game against UNLV: DB Jaden Sawyer, WR Wyatt Demps, DB Ryan Mack, DB Jimbo Davis IV, LB Travis Wilson, LB Austin Paulhus, OL Thomas Newton, OL Austin Corbett, OL Ziad Damanhoury, DT Jarius McDade, WR Tucker Melcher and DE Patrick Choudja.

DEMPS CLIMBING IN CAREER RECORD BOOK
Senior WR Wyatt Demps has been one of the Wolf Pack's top targets all season long. Demps leads the team with 63 receptions and is averaging 13.4 yards per catch. Demps has caught 10 touchdowns through 11 games, which ranks first in the Mountain West and is eighth nationally. Additionally his receiving yards total of 844 yards is in the top 40 in the nation, third in the league. He has a streak going of 23 consecutive games with a reception, dating back to last year. Demps is currently 10th all-time in receiving TDs at Nevada, needing two more to tie for ninth. He also is at 1,819 career receiving yards, good for 19th all-time, needing 27 more to pass Treamelle Taylor for 18th.

HISTORY FOR OJ
Sophomore WR Brendan O'Leary-Orange had a career and record game at San Diego State on Saturday night, posting the 18th-most receiving yards in school history with 214. His receiving yard total of 214 were the most by a Wolf Pack player in a single game since Trevor Insley had 212 against Oregon in 1999. His first two receptions of the game put him over 100 yards. O'Leary-Orange finished the game with a career-high 11 receptions and three touchdowns.

O'Leary-Orange is third on the team with 34 receptions on the season and four touchdowns. The sophomore is currently averaging 57.9 receiving yards per game and 17.0 yards per catch.

GANGI MOVING UP THE RANKS
Nevada junior QB Ty Gangi is having a career season in 2017. He has set single season career highs in nearly all statistical categories, including completions (204), passing attempts (341), passing yards (2,480) and passing TDs (23). Gangi's 23 passing TDs this season rank 19th in the nation and are the 10th-most in a single season at Nevada. He needs three more in the finale against UNLV to move to sole possession of eighth.

OH BABER!
Putting up the performance of his career vs. San Jose State, junior Dameon Baber was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week. Baber put up a historic line in the matchup against the Spartans. He scored three touchdowns on the day – two via interception return and one via punt block return – and tied an NCAA record, becoming just the third player in history to score three touchdowns via runback in the same game. He totaled three interceptions in the game, a 59-14 victory over the Spartans.
 
Baber set a school record with a 100-yard interception return, eclipsing a 96-yard return for a score by Scott Nader from 1972. He also scored on a 39-yard interception return. His first score of the game after a Spartans punt was blocked by teammate Wyatt Demps as Baber scooped and scored from six yards out. This is the second time Baber has picked off three passes in a game. He did so in 2015 as a true freshman against Fresno State. He also has a two-pick game in his career – his Wolf Pack debut at Buffalo, also in 2015.
 
Baber became the second Nevada player to earn conference honors this season, joining running back Kelton Moore, who won the offensive award after Nevada's win over Hawai`i.

HONORING RUFUS
Junior safety Asauni Rufus, one of the undoubted leaders of the Wolf Pack football team, suffered a season-ending injury at Boise State. In the final few games of the season, a member of the defensive back core will wear Rufus' No. 2 jersey to honor their teammate. Senior Jaden Sawyer has worn Rufus' No. 2 jersey in each of the last two games.

SACKS AND WINNING
Nevada junior DE Malik Reed posted one of the most effective games of his college career against San Jose State. The Alabama native made six tackles in the game, 4.5 of which went for a loss and 3.5 of which went for sacks. Reed's 3.5 sacks in that game was a career high and gives him 14.0 in his career, 11th-most in Nevada program history, needing 2.5 sacks to move into the top 10.

SPREAD THE WEALTH
Nevada and its Air Raid system have spread the wealth out to a high number of its receivers through 11 games. Wolf Pack quarterbacks have found the hands of 20 receivers this season, which is second in the nation behind Clemson. There were three Wolf Pack players who made the first reception of their collegiate careers against SJSU; senior Tucker Melcher, junior Dominic Christian and true freshman Elijah Cooks.

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 ranks first on the team with 102 total tackles, the first 100-tackle season of his career. In the team's game against Air Force, Paulhus established a new career high with an almost unheard of 21 tackles, third-most all-time in a single game in program history. Paulhus has been especially good at dragging the opposition down behind the line as he enters week 13 with 13.0 TFLs, which total 47 yards, and include 3.5 sacks. With 9.3 total tackles per game, Paulhus ranks 21st in the country in that category and fifth in the Mountain West.

PACK'S TOP FIVE MARKS IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Nevada ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in the following statistical categories: blocked kicks (5th, 1), blocked punts (3rd, 1), defensive TDs (4th, 2), fewest penalties (3rd, 55), fewest penalties per game (3rd, 5.0), fewest penalty yards (5th, 484), fewest penalty yards per game (5th, 44.0), fumbles lost (1st, 5), fumbles recovered (5th, 10), kickoff returns (4th, 22.1), passing offense (2nd, 268.3), sacks allowed (4th, 1.5), tackles for loss allowed (4th, 4.5), team tackles for loss (1st, 6.8), turnovers gained (5th, 18).

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 50 receptions (second on the team) on the year, including a 75-yard touchdown reception against Toledo.

At Colorado State Mannix totaled 150 receiving yards, a new career best and his second 100-yard performance of the season. Mannix began his collegiate career with touchdown receptions in back-to-back-to-back games and is approaching 700 yards receiving. His six touchdown receptions are in the top 60 in the nation, and his total of 669 receiving yards ranks in the top 80 nationally and fifth in the Mountain West.

HONORS CONTINUE TO POUR IN FOR CORBETT
Senior offensive lineman Austin Corbett has earned a slew of award nominations this season. Most recently Corbett was named a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, a candidate for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award and received an invitation to the Senior Bowl. He is one of just 63 Division I players to earn the nomination for the Burlsworth Trophy. 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.

TWO-DEEPS CLASS BREAKDOWN
The Wolf Pack's depth chart on offense and defense consists of: nine seniors, 15 juniors, 10 sophomores, eight redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen.

YOUNG GUNS
Through 11 games this season, head coach Jay Norvell hasn't wasted any time in getting his true freshmen some experience. So far there have been 11 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, RB Russell Booze, WR Elijah Cooks, DB Austin Arnold, WR Berdale Robins, LB Mar'Quette Jackson and WR Daiyan Henley. Most have made significant contributions too. Mannix has six touchdown receptions and over 600 yards receiving, Henley has three touchdown receptions under his belt, Sewell is flying around on defense with 54 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 five of those true freshmen this season (Sewell, Cureton, Green, Mannix, Henley).

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.

PROGRAM HISTORY
Nevada is in its 111th season of collegiate football, seeking win No. 543 in the program's strong history. The Wolf Pack sports an all-time record of 542-483-33 (.549). Since joining the FBS in 1992, Nevada is 166-147 overall and 108-79 in conference play.

NEW VOICES OF THE PACK
For the 2017 season there will be a couple of new voices of Nevada football making their debut on the Wolf Pack Radio Network this season. John Ramey takes over for Ryan Radtke as the play-by-play voice, while former Pack standout Mike Edwards replaces Kevin Grimes as the color analyst.

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
Colorado State: Austin Paulhus, Spencer Pettit, Kelton Moore, Trae Carter-Wells
Air Force: Trae Carter-Wells, Anthony Hankins, Ty Gangi, Malik Reed
Boise State: Austin Corbett, Malik Reed, Spencer Pettit, Ty Gangi
San Jose State: Austin Corbett, Malik Reed, Spencer Pettit, Kelton Moore
San Diego State: Austin Corbett, Spencer Pettit, Wyatt Demps, Dameon Baber

WINNING SEASONS
Nevada has posted winning seasons in six out of its past eight campaigns.

COACHING STAFF
Jay Norvell enters his first season at the helm of the Wolf Pack football program, his first stint as a head coach. Norvell brought with him an entirely new coaching staff, minus a few remaining graduate assistants from last season.

Jeff Casteel, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Matt Mumme, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Timmy Chang, Inside Receivers
Jason Kaufusi, Defensive Line
Matt Kirk, Safeties
Mason Miller, Offensive Line
Eric Scott, Outside Receivers
Courtney Viney, Cornerbacks
David White, Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
Tommy Perry/Vai Taua, Special Teams Analysts
Jeff Nady/Brandon Crosby, Offensive GAs
John Landwehr/Alec Drudi, Defensive GAs