Week #13 - Nevada Wolf Pack (7-4, 5-2 MW) at UNLV Rebels (3-8, 1-6 MW)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 24
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. PT
Stadium: Sam Boyd Stadium
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM/630 AM); NevadaWolfPack.com/audio
Series: Nevada leads 26-17
Last Meeting: Nov. 25, 2017; W, 23-16

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 65 tackles, but holds the team lead with 13 TFL, four forced fumbles, and is tied for first with two fumble recoveries. Reed also leads the team with 7.0 sacks. Reed's four forced fumbles this year are tied for the eighth-most nationally, the most in the Mountain West and gives him 11 for his career. Additionally his two fumble recoveries are tied for 17th-most in the nation. With numbers like that, Reed is a top candidate for MW Defensive Player of the Year.

Stat    Value    MW Ranking
Sacks    7.0    T-3rd
Tackles for loss    13.0    3rd
Fumbles forced    4    T-1st

Conference games only
Stat    Value    MW Ranking
Sacks    5.0    2nd
Tackles for loss    9.0    T-1st
Tackles per game    6.6    T-24th

TAUA OF TERROR
True freshman Toa Taua has been playing more like a veteran running back as of late, and has moved himself into the starting role in the Wolf Pack offense. The Lompoc, Calif. native has carried the rock 145 times this season for a team-high 832 yards and as tied the team-high in rushing touchdowns with six. His best game of the year came at Toledo when he scampered for 170 yards and three scores. 

On Saturday, Taua set a career-high with 29 carries where he ran for 121 yards to lead Nevada to victory over San Jose State. It was the freshman's third 100-yard rushing performance of the season.

This season, Nevada is 6-2 when Taua carries the ball at least 10 times.

Taua is currently averaging 5.42 yards per carry, which ranks 59th nationally and is fourth in the Mountain West. Among freshmen running backs this season, Taua ranks seventh nationally at 71.5 rushing yards per game, first in the MW, and is eighth in rush yards per carry with 5.42, also tops in the MW.

Stat    Value    MW Ranking
Rush ypg    71.5    5th (1st among freshmen)
All-purpose ypg    90.9    9th (1st among freshmen)

SERIES HISTORY
Winners of the last 11 of 13 matchups, Nevada leads its all-time series against UNLV 26-17. During that stretch, the Wolf Pack is a perfect 6-0 on the road against the Rebels. Nevada got the series started with a 30-28 victory in 1969, and holds the longest win streak between the two teams at eight from 2005-12. The Pack has won its last two matchups against the Rebels.

Fun Fact: The last time UNLV beat Nevada at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas was in 2004 when John Robinson was head coach of the Rebels.

EYE ON THE PRIZE
Boasting the largest rivaly trophy in all of college football, the winner of Saturday's contest will hold the Fremont Cannon until next year's matchup and paint it their school's color. Nevada has now held the cannon for two years in a row.

2018 > 2017
Currently at 7-4 on the year, Nevada has already improved its record by four games from 2017, with room to keep growing. The 2018 season has been kind to the Wolf Pack, with staggering statistical improvements as well.

PACK'S TOP FIVE MARKS IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Nevada ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in the following statistical categories: scoring offense (4th, 32.6 points per game),  passing offense (4th, 284.5 yards per game), total offense (erd, 441.0 yards per game), rush defense (3rd, 126.9 yards per game) punt return average (2nd, 12.6), punting (3rd, 39.2 net punting per game), passing defense efficiency (5th, 137.1), opponent 3rd down conversion (2nd, 32.6), sacks allowed (4th, 13), sacks for (2nd, 31), red zone defense (2nd, 71.8 percent TDs allowed), team tackles for loss (1st, 7.8), turnovers gained (5th, 18), and fumbles recovered (3rd, 10).

FLIP THE SCRIPT
Through 11 games this season, Nevada has already more than doubled last year's win total (3). With a victory over the Rebels on Saturday, Nevada would boast the most wins by the program since winning 13 games in 2010. That win improvement ranks as one of the top gains nationally from 2017 to 2018. The list:

Win Improvement (by winning percentage)
School    2017    Pct.    2018    Pct    Diff. (Wins/Winning Percentage)
Ga. Southern    2    .167    8    .727    6/.560
Cincinnati    4    .333    9    .818    5/.485
Utah State    6    .462    10    .909    4/.447
Syracuse    4    .333    8    .727    4/.394
Nevada    3    .250    7    .636    4/.386
Baylor    1    .083    5    .455    4/.372
Florida    4    .364    8    .727    4/.363
Hawai`i    3    .250    7    .583    4/.333
Buffalo    6    .500    9    .818    3/.318
Charlotte    1    .083    4    .364    3/.281

BEHIND THE LINE
Through 10 games this season, Nevada's defense has been one of the best in the nation at tackling opponents behind the line of scrimmage. Coming off of a 49-10 win over CSU, the Wolf Pack is just outside the top 10 nationally, and first in the Mountain West, averaging 8.0 tackles for loss per game. Seniors Malik Reed is leading the charge in that category averaging 1.3 per game, which is 33rd 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 12, Nevada is surrendering 126.9 rushing yards per game, which ranks 24th in the nation and is seventh 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.

Last week, Nevada held to only 30 rushing yards on 26 attempts. The Spartans came into the contest averaging 331.7 total yards of offense per game.

In week six against Fresno State, Nevada held the Bulldogs to just 30 yards on the ground, 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.

COOKIE MONSTER
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 21 catches for 335 yards, but it's his play late that has gotten some attention. Cooks has TD receptions in five of his last eight 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 six TD catches this year are  tied with McLane Mannix for the team lead.

SO RAMIZ-Y
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 11-of-16 on the year in field goal attempts, with all but one of his misses coming from 49 yards out or longer. Additionally, on kickoffs, he has 39 touchbacks in 64 attempts. For his career, he is a near-perfect 11-12 from inside 40 yards.

Ahmed's 11 field goals so far in 2018 are the most by a Nevada kicker since Brent Zuzo made 17 in 2015. With two games remaining on the schedule and a potential bowl game, Ahmed needs four more field goals to crack the top 10  in Nevada history for single-season made FGs.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
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 42.4 percent of the team's passing completions this season and have combined for 1,470 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.

At 5.6 receptions per game, Fossum is 32th nationally and fifth in the MW in that category. Mannix's 18.25 yards per reception ranks 24th across the nation and second in the MW.

DOUB NATION
Freshman wide receiver Romeo Doubs has come alive for the Pack in the past two games. Doubs has exploded for 225 and two touchdowns the past two weeks, including eclipsing the century mark in both contests. Doubs also returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown on his very first collegiate touch the first week of the season.

#HECKOFAYEAR
For junior P Quinton Conaway, he adopted the tag line of #HeckOfAYear for the 2018 season. Conaway was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week after his career-night against San Diego State. The junior set career-marks in punts (nine), net yards (460) and average (51.1). Conaway he booted a career-long 74-yard punt, the longest by a Mountain West player this season in Nevada's battle with Fresno State. Conaway has boosted his punting average up to 43.5 yards per punt, which ranks fifth in the conference and 25th nationally.

DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!
Now 11 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 20th nationally in sacks per game (2.82), is first in the league and 13th nationally in tackles for loss per game (7.8), and is second in the MW and 20th nationally in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, allowing their opponenets to convert on third down just 32.3 percent of the time. Nevada is also ranked eighth in the nation and second in the conference in red zone defense.

TY-RIFFIC
With a victory over UNLV on Saturday, Ty Gangi would finish his career 3-0 against the Rebels, the first Nevada quarterback to do so since Colin Kaepernick from 2008-10. He is also currently second in the nation in consecutive games with a passing touchdown in 25.

Gangi has been lights out for the Wolf Pack the past four weeks, playing some of the best ball of his career. During that span, Gangi has thrown eight touchdowns with just one interception, 1,200 yards, a rushing touchdown and has emerged victorious in all four matchups. During that stretch, Gangi went on a streak of 146 pass attempts without throwing an interception. Nevada is 3-0 this season when Gangi does not throw an interception and 6-3 when he throws only one. Nevada is 4-2 when Gangi throws for over 300 yards.

Gangi is set to make some moves in the Wolf Pack record book this season, breaking into the top 10 in career passing TDs. He is currently tied with Jeff Rowe for ninth all-time, and needs three more to tie Cody Fajardo for eighth.