Week #2 - Nevada (1-0, 0-0 MW) at Vanderbilt (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 8
Kickoff: 9 a.m. PT
Stadium: Vanderbilt Stadium
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network (Flagship: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM/630 AM); NevadaWolfPack.com/audio
Series: Inaugural contest
Last Meeting: n/a

SERIES HISTORY
Nevada and Vanderbilt have never played one another in football in their respective program histories, making Saturday's contest an inaugural matchup. In fact, this will be just Nevada's fifth-ever contest against a current member of the SEC. 

The Wolf Pack has twice faced Missouri and twice faced Texas A&M, the most recent of those matchups coming in 2015 when the Pack lost to Texas A&M 44-27 in College Station.

NEVADA AGAINST THE SEC
The Wolf Pack is 0-4 all-time against current members of the Southeastern Conference, which includes 0-2 records against both Missouri and Texas A&M.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS
Nevada's offense posted 13 explosive plays (20+ yard passes, 15+ yard rushes) during the dominant win over Portland State in week one. The Wolf Pack had four rush plays of 15 or more yards and nine pass plays of 20 or more yards. The long run of the game came from junior back Jaxson Kincaide, a 30-yard sprint down the sideline. The long pass play of the game came from true freshman running back Toa Taua, who flipped the ball off to Kincaide for a 73-yard TD.

HOLY POINTS
Last week in the 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.

RECEIVING DUO
For two of the Pack's top receiving targets, sophomore McLane Mannix and junior Kaleb Fossum, the season opener against Portland State couldn't have gone much better. Both Mannix and Fossum recorded over 100 receiving yards Friday night, led by Fossum's 139. Both Fossum's 139 yards and Mannix's 132 ranked inside the top six in the Mountain West in week one. Mannix added three TD receptions to his stat line as well, marking the first multi-TD game of his career.

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 Wolf Pack ranks fifth nationally in total yards, behind Houston, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oregon.

1.    Oregon    79,403
2.    Oklahoma    78,908
3.    Texas Tech    77,306
4.    Houston    76,975
5.    Nevada    69,822

UNUSUAL STAT
We're just one game into the 2018 season but Nevada leads the nation in a pretty unusual stat. Currently the Wolf Pack leads nationally in points per minute of possession at 2.93. That ranks higher than second place Oregon, which is at 2.64 points per minute of possession. The Pack is one of 12 teams in the nation averaging at least 2.0 points per minute of possession.

CAREER FIRSTS
In Nevada's 72-19 season-opening win over Portland State, there were a lot of "firsts" by a handful of Wolf Pack players.

Austin Arnold (DB): First career start
Miles Beach (OL): First career start
Daniel Brown (DB): First career interception
Nate Brown (OL): First career start
Elijah Cooks (WR): First career start
Romeo Doubs (WR): First career punt return for TD
Kaleb Fossum (WR): First career start
Sam Hammond (DE): First career blocked punt
Kaleb Meder (DE): First career DI start
Kalei Meyer (OL): First career start at OL
Lucas Weber (LB): First career start

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 (2nd, 72.0), scoring defense (3rd, 19.0), rushing defense (5th, 107.0), passing offense (2nd, 420.0), total offense (2nd, 636.0), passing defense (4th, 241.0), total defense (4th, 348.0), kickoff returns (T-3rd, 23.0), punt returns (1st, 27.0), pass efficiency (2nd, 230.3), pass defense efficiency (3rd, 114.2), sacks by (T-2nd, 4.0), red zone offense (T-1st, 100.0). 

ROMEO, ROMEO, WHEREFORE ART THOU ROMEO
True freshman Romeo Doubs made a big splash in his collegiate debut Friday night against Portland State. On his first collegiate touch in the fourth quarter, Doubs returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown. His 80-yard punt return was the longest punt returned for a TD in the Mountain West in week one and was the third-longest in the nation. It was the first punt returned for a TD by a Wolf Pack player since 2011.

GAME CHANGER
Making just his second career start, junior DB Daniel Brown made a game-changing interception in the season opening win over Portland State. With 3:36 left in the first quarter and the Pack trailing 9-0, Brown picked off Vikings quarterback Davis Alexander and took it 42 yards and into the endzone to put the Pack on the board. It was the first interception of Brown's career and got Nevada started towards 23 unanswered points.

DEGREES COMPLETED
A total of 10 Nevada football student-athletes have already obtained a college degree prior to the start of the 2018 season. That number is tied for 15th-most in the nation along with Akron, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Minnesota, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCF and West Virginia. The Wolf Pack players with degrees in hand are: Justin Brent, Jomon Dotson, Ty Gangi, Sean Krepsz, Kalei Meyer, Kelton Moore, Asauni Rufus, Korey Rush, Lucas Weber, and Blake Wright.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Last season, Coach Norvell and his program chose week-by-week team captains for every game but this season there have been three student-athletes chosen by the team to serve as team captains for the length of the season. Ty Gangi will represent the offense, Malik Reed will represent the defense and Wes Farnsworth will represent the special teams. In addition, Norvell will recognize scout team players each week who will serve as either an honorary captain, US Flag bearer or Nevada state flag bearer.

Portland State: Alec Bonsall (honorary captain), Carson Strong (offensive scout team player of the week), Zak Mahannah (defensive scout team player of the week).

BABER, MANNIX AND REED NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM
Nevada seniors Dameon Baber and Malik Reed and sophomore McLane Mannix represented Nevada on this year's preseason All-Mountain West team, which was voted on by coaches at MW media days in Las Vegas.

Mannix, a freshman All-American in 2017, was picked for the All-Conference Preseason team, which honored 25 players with 11 on each side of the ball and three specialists. Mannix caught 57 passes for 778 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman last year.

Baber was picked on the defensive side along with Reed. Baber is a two-time All-Mountain West selection, earning the honor as a true freshman in 2015 and again last season as a junior. Reed, also a two-time all-conference pick, was selected as he converts from defensive end to linebacker for his senior season.

NEVADA TABBED FOR FOURTH PLACE FINISH IN WEST DIVISION
The conference coaches voted Nevada to finish fourth in the MW West Division for a second straight year in the preseason All-MW poll. The Wolf Pack earned 72 points, finishing ahead of Hawai'i and San José State. Reigning conference champions Fresno State earned 16 first place votes and 126 points overall to lead the West Division. San Diego State garnered six first place votes and was picked to finish in the runner-up spot. Boise State earned all 22 first place votes and was predicted to finish first in the Mountain Division.