Week #9 - San Diego State Aztecs (6-1, 3-0 MW) at Nevada Wolf Pack (4-4, 2-2 MW)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 27
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
Stadium: Mackay Stadium
Location: Reno, Nev.
TV: ESPNU
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM/630 AM); NevadaWolfPack.com/audio
Series: San Diego State leads 7-3
Last Meeting: Nov. 17, 2017; L, 42-23

SERIES HISTORY
Nevada and San Diego State have been playing football against one another since 1945, but with only 10 games between them in that 73-year span. The Aztecs have the edge in the all-time series with seven of the possible 10 wins. SDSU also comes into Saturday's game riding a three-game win streak over the Wolf Pack and have won seven of the last eight meetings dating back to 1995.

MILES AND MILES AND MILES
Nevada is one of the most active teams in terms of logging miles travelled this season. Between its six road trips in 2018, the Wolf Pack will have gone roughly 8,646 miles, with it's longest trip coming last week, 2,564 miles to Honolulu. The Pack also will have played in all five of the American time zones when the season is said and done, which ranks tied for first in the nation.

BEHIND THE LINE
Through eight games this season, Nevada's defense has been one of the best in the nation at tackling opponents behind the line of scrimmage. Entering week nine, the Wolf Pack got back into the top 10 and is currently seventh nationally, and first in the Mountain West, averaging 8.6 tackles for loss per game. Seniors Malik Reed and Korey Rush led the charge in that category as both of them are averaging 1.3 per game, which is 36th nationally and second in the MW.

DEFENDING THE RUN
The Wolf Pack defense has played well as of late, especially against the run. Entering week nine, Nevada is surrendering 139.9 rushing yards per game, which ranks 44th in the nation and is sixth in the Mountain West. That is a stark difference from a year ago when the Pack finished the season with the 109th ranked rush defense in the FBS at 208.3 yards per game.

In week six against Fresno State, Nevada held the Bulldogs to just 30 yards on the grounds, the lowest total by a Fresno State team in more than three seasons. It was the lowest rushing total by a Wolf Pack opponent since Nevada also held San Jose State to 30 rushing yards in 2009.

Against Air Force, Nevada held the Falcons' vaunted triple-option attack to just 154 yards on the ground on 51 carries (3.09 yards per rush). It was Air Force's second-lowest rushing output going back to the 2016 season and the lowest against a MW team since Wyoming held Air Force to 149 rushing yards that year.

PACK'S TOP FIVE MARKS IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Nevada ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in the following statistical categories: pass offense (5th, 272.0), total offense (4th, 431.9), punt return average (1st, 14.2), first downs (4th, 171), opponent 3rd down conversion (2nd, 30.6), sacks by (T-1st, 23), sacks against (5th, 11), opponent 4th down conversion (5th, 57.1), red zone defense (2nd, 68.8).

REED ALL ABOUT IT
Coming as no surprise, senior LB Malik Reed is producing a more than solid season for the Pack defense. Reed ranks second on the team with 47 tackles, but is tied for the team lead with 10.5 TFL, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and is second with 5.0 sacks. Reed's three forced fumbles this year is tied for second-most nationally, and gives him 10 for his career. Additionally his two fumble recoveries are also tied for second-most in the nation.

For his career, Reed ranks pretty highly among active FBS players in a few noteworthy categories, along with senior Asauni Rufus.

TAUA OF TERROR
True freshman Toa Taua has been playing more like a veteran running back as of late, and proved he belongs in the college game with his week 8 performance at Hawai'i. The Lompoc, Calif. native carried the ball 18 times and notched his second 100-yard rushing game of the season with 126 yards. He added a 13-yard TD run in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for Nevada. He now leads the team with five rushing TDs on the year.

Taua is currently averaging 6.32 yards per carry, which ranks 24th nationally and is third in the Mountain West.

C IS FOR COOKIE
Sophomore WR Elijah Cooks has established himself as one of Ty Gangi's top outside targets on the receiving corps. For the year he has 15 catches for 251 yards, but it's his play late that has gotten some attention. Cooks has TD receptions in four of his last five games, including two snags at Air Force. With a passing TD and a rushing TD on a backwards pass at Hawai'i, Cooks has totaled six touchdowns in those last five games. His five TD catches this year rank second on the team, one behind McLane Mannix.

UP, AND, GOOD
Senior PK Ramiz Ahmed drilled a career-long 50-yard field goal to end the first half in the week 4 matchup at Toledo. It was the longest made field goal by a Wolf Pack player since Brett Jaekle hit from 50 yards against UNLV in 2007. Ahmed, who is in his first year of field goal duties, is 9-of-13 on the year in field goal attempts, with his only misses coming from 49 yards out or longer. Additionally, on kickoffs, he has 30 touchbacks in 50 attempts. For his career, he is a perfect 9-of-9 from inside 40 yards.

RECEIVING DUO
The Wolf Pack's top two targets this season have been junior WR Kaleb Fossum and sophomore WR McLane Mannix, and for good reason. The receiving duo has snagged 48.3 percent of the team's passing completions this season and have combined for over 1,000 receiving yards. Each of them has two 100-yard receiving performances under their belt this season, the most recent being Mannix's 109 yards in week seven against Boise State.

Entering week nine, Fossum ranks 34th in the nation with 592 receiving yards, while Mannix is 27th in that department with 616. Additionally, at 6.8 receptions per game, Fossum is 15th nationally and third in the MW in that category. Mannix's six TD receptions this year have him 20th in the country and fourth in the league, and his 18.6 yards per reception rank 27th across the nation and fourth in the MW.

NEVER ENDING SUPPLY OF OFFENSE
With the creation of the Pistol in 2005 and into the Air Raid of today, Nevada has gained a lot of yards. Since 2006, the Pack ranks fifth nationally in total yards.

1.    Oregon    82,124
2.    Oklahoma    81,942
3.    Texas Tech    80,683
4.    Houston    80,285
5.    Nevada    72,641

#HECKOFAYEAR
For junior P Quinton Conaway, he adopted the tag line of #HeckOfAYear for the 2018 season. Conaway posted one of the best games of his career in week six against Fresno State. The Oklahoma native totaled 309 yards on seven punts for an average of 44.1 yards per punt, his second-best average this season. Additionally he booted a career-long 74-yard punt, the longest by a Mountain West player this season and third-longest nationally. Conaway has boosted his punting average up to 42.5 yards per punt, which ranks seventh in the conference and 45th nationally.

DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!
Eight games into the 2018 season, the Wolf Pack defense has been one of the top teams in the nation in a few different defensive categories. Nevada ranks second in the conference and 25th nationally in sacks per game (2.88), is first in the league and seventh nationally in tackles for loss per game (8.6), and is second in the MW and 17th nationally in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, allowing their opponenets to convert on third down just 30.6 percent of the time. 

HOLY POINTS
In the week one win over Portland State, Nevada put up 72 points, the most points it had scored in a single game at Mackay Stadium since it also put up 72 against North Texas in 1991. In turn those 72 points are the most points scored in the Jay Norvell era. It was three points shy of the Mackay Stadium record of 75, set in 1977 when it beat Sacramento State 75-0. Additionally, the Pack's 72 points were the third-most scored in week one in Division I behind Fresno State's 79 and Ohio State's 77.