Week #4 - Nevada (0-3, 0-0 MW) at Washington State (3-0, 1-0 Pac-12)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 23
Kickoff: 3 p.m. PT
Stadium: Martin Stadium
Location: Pullman, Wash.
Television: Pac-12 Network
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM/630 AM); NevadaWolfPack.com/audio; TuneIn App
Series: Washington State leads, 2-1
Last Meeting: W, 24-13 - Sept. 5, 2014

SERIES HISTORY
It's a short history between the Wolf Pack and Cougars, one that extends to only three games. Saturday will be the fourth meeting all-time, with Washington State slightly ahead in series, 2-1. It was the Wolf Pack though which took the most recent contest, a 24-13 win in Reno back in 2014.

NEW RETURN FACES
Nevada has thrown a few different looks out onto the field for its kick returns and punt returns through three games. Kaleb Fossum fielded two punts for 18 yards in the opener at Northwestern. Following injury, junior CB Vosean Crumbie took over on punt return duty and is averaging five yards per return.

Crumbie has also been a bright spot on kick returns with four returns for 102 yards and a long return of 35 yards. True freshman Berdale Robins got in on the kick return action last Saturday at Idaho State and impressed with five returns for 105 yards in that single game, the most kickoff return yards by a Wolf Pack player since Elijah Mitchell's 116 against Utah State last season.

Nevada is averaging 24.08 yards per kick return through three games, which ranks in the top 40 in the nation and is fourth in the Mountain West. Crumbie's 25.5 yards per kick return rank 33rd in the country and third in the conference.

IMPROVED RUN-D
Last season the Wolf Pack run defense ranked near the bottom of the nation in run defense, giving up an average of 6.1 yards per rush. Even though the team has only played three games the run defense has been a bright spot for Nevada so far this season. The Pack is surrendering an average of 3.2 yards per rush through its first three games and held Northwestern and Toledo's top rushers to just over 100 yards.

PUNTING PLUS
Nevada sophomore punter Quinton Conaway had struggled in his first couple of games but had a very solid outing last Saturday against Idaho State. Conaway punted four times in the game and averaged 46.8 yards per punt, his best through three games. He also added a career long punt of 55 yards.

WASHINGTON STATE TIES
Nevada has two players on its roster who were formerly of Washington State. Junior WR Kaleb Fossum played two seasons for the Cougars, mainly as a returner, and junior OL Sean Krepsz was at WSU his freshman year before joining the JuCo route at Riverside CC. Also Nevada offensive coordinator Matt Mumme and Washington State head coach Mike Leach have a connection as Leach coached with Mumme's father, Hal Mumme, at many stops including Kentucky, Valdosta State and Iowa Wesleyan.

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. The Texas native caught six passes against Toledo, including a 75-yard touchdown reception, and added seven grabs last Saturday against Idaho State.

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 begins his collegiate career with touchdown receptions in back-to-back-to-back games after hauling in another one against Idaho State and is already up to nearly 300 yards receiving. His three touchdown receptions are tied for 20th-most in the nation, and his average of 99.0 yards per game is ranked 21st in the country and second in the Mountain West.

RUSHING ATTACK
Nevada totaled more than 200 yards on the ground last Saturday against Idaho State for the first time in 2017. Sophomore RBs Jaxson Kincaide and Kelton Moore both fell just four yards shy of reaching 100 rushing yards in a single game for the first time in their careers. Kincaide was three yards short of tying his career high of 99 yards, while Moore's 96 yards established a new career high. He also recorded a career high in rushing attempts with 21. Junior RB Blake Wright also got in on the action with his first carries of the season. Wright finished with four carries for 21 yards and his first career rushing touchdown. It was the first rushing touchdown by a Nevada back this season.

DEMPS COMING ON
Senior WR Wyatt Demps has been one of the Wolf Pack's top targets through the first three games of the season. Demps leads the team with 16 receptions and is averaging 12.0 yards per catch. He is tied with true freshman McLane Mannix for the team lead in touchdown receptions, each hauling in three. Last Saturday against Idaho State, Demps caught two TD passes, making him the first Nevada receiver to have multiple TD catches in a single game this season. He is the only player on the Wolf Pack roster with a multiple TD receiving game (he has two in his career after he caught three in the Fresno State game last year).

TWO-POINT CONVERSION
Last Saturday 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.

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 two games played, he has taken seven kickoffs and had six go for touchbacks. Ahmed made the team via the walk-on tryouts held a couple of weeks prior.

YOUNG GUNS
Through the first three 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 eight 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, WR Berdale Robins and WR Daiyan Henley. Most have made significant contributions too. Mannix has three touchdown receptions and nearly 300 yards receiving, Henley has a touchdown reception under his belt, Sewell is flying around on defense, Robins totaled over 100 kickoff return yards against Idaho State and Cureton got his first start at QB vs. the Bengals.

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

DEGREES COMPLETED
A total of 10 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, David Cornwell, Ziad Damanhoury, Jimbo Davis, Sean Krepsz, Ryan Mack, Thomas Newton, Jaden Sawyer and Travis Wilson.

IT'S GOOD!
Wolf Pack placekicker Spencer Pettit is perfect through the first three games of the season, going 3-for-3 on field goal attempts. Pettit connected on both of his field goal attempts in the season opener at Northwestern and hit from 31 yards with under a minute to go before halftime, sending the team into the locker room with a 17-7 lead. He also connected from 33 yards out for the Pack's only points of the second half. Against Toledo he made his only attempt of the game, but set a new career long of 47 yards in the process. Pettit is now 10-of-12 in his career, raising his field goal percentage to 83 percent. Additionally Pettit is 7-for-7 on PATs.

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.

SACK!
Through the first three games of the 2017 season the Nevada defense has recorded three sacks. It took the defense last season until the fourth game to record its first sack. Senior LB Austin Paulhus leads the team with 1.5 sacks, and recorded the first solo sack of his career last Saturday against Idaho State. Additionally Paulhus' 1.8 tackles for loss per game ranks 14th in the nation.

NOSE FOR THE BALL
Junior DB Asauni Rufus has proved to be one of the best defensive members of the Wolf Pack and he showed that in the season opener at Northwestern. In the second quarter Rufus stripped the ball out of the Northwestern receiver's hands at the Nevada 10-yard line, giving the ball back to the Pack. The forced fumble for Rufus was the fifth of his career after he had three last season. Additionally he went over the 200 tackle mark for his career, needing 67 more to pass John Ramatici for 10th all-time.

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.

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.

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

PROGRAM HISTORY
Nevada is in its 111th season of collegiate football, seeking win No. 541 in the program's strong history. The Wolf Pack sports an all-time record of 540-477-33 (.552). Since joining the FBS in 1992, Nevada is 164-143 overall and 106-74 in conference play.

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 Sept. 18, 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.