Week #10 - New Mexico Lobos (2-6, 0-4 MW) at Nevada Wolf Pack (4-4, 1-3 MW)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 2
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); TuneIn app
Series: Series tied 3-3-1
Last Meeting: Nov. 5, 2016; L, 35-26

HOME SWEET HOME
The Wolf Pack has won three of its four games in Mackay Stadium this season, boasting a 3-1 record after defeating Purdue 34-31, Weber State 19-13 and San Jose State 41-38. The Wolf Pack accumulated over 400 yards off offense in each of those wins. 

QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL
After Malik Henry earned the start against San Jose State, Nevada has now started three different quarterbacks this season in eight contests. Carson Strong has started five, Malik Henry has started two and Cristian Solano has started one.

Strong was named the starting QB for week one midway through fall camp and led the Nevada offense against Purdue, making him the first freshman since Mo Jones in 1998 to get the nod under center in week one. Strong dazzled in his debut, completing 30-of-51 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns, including orchestrating a game-tying and game-winning drive in a come-from-behind victory over Purdue to open the season. He threw for a career-high 299 yards against Weber State, making him 2-0 in Mackay Stadium to start his career before losing at home to Hawai'i.

To close the nonconference season at UTEP, Solano earned his second-career start and led Nevada to a 37-21 victory. In the contest, Solano threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns while leading the team with 100 rushing yards, the first Wolf Pack player to break the century mark this season.

Henry put teams on notice with his first FBS start against the Spartans, throwing for 352 yards and one touchdown that came on the first play of the second half as he found Romeo Doubs down the sideline for a 75-yard score. Of Henry's 22 completions, he spread the ball around to nine different receivers on the afternoon. Henry is now 1-1 in his career after orchastrating a 41-38 victory over San Jose State, but falling at Utah State this past Saturday.

QB COMPARISON

Name    Starts    TD-INT    Yards    Com. %
Carson Strong    5    3-6    976        60.92%
Malik Henry    2    1-4    593        53.85%
Cristian Solano    1    2-2    248        60.98%

STOUT RUN DEFENSE
The Nevada run defense has been dominant this season, ranking 54th in the nation only allowing 149.6 rushing yards per game. Against San Jose State, it only allowed 15 yards for a season best. 

(DOM)INANT
Dom Peterson has proven to be one of the Pack's most productive defensive linemen in 2019, as he is the team leader with four sacks and seven tackles for loss on the year. He also anchors a defensive line that ranks 54th in the nation in rushing yards allowed, only surrendering 149.1 per game.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Wolf Pack has won three of its four games in Mackay Stadium this season, boasting a 3-1 record after defeating Purdue 34-31, Weber State 19-13 and San Jose State 41-38. The Wolf Pack accumulated over 400 yards off offense in each of those wins. 

HOT START
Nevada's 3-1 finish in nonconference play put it off to its best start since the 2014 season when it also began with the same record. 

LAST TIME OUT
Nevada has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time all year after two tough road contests at Utah State and Wyoming. However, Nevada will look to get back on track this Saturday as it returns home to Mackay Stadium, where it is 3-1 this season, to face New Mexico. Against the Cowboys, Brandon Talton drilled his 14th field goal of the season for Nevada's only points on the afternoon. Defensive back Berdale Robins recorded his second interceptions in as many games, ensuring that Nevada has recorded at least one takeaway in 12 of its last 13 games.

DANCES WITH WOLVES
New Mexico will enter Mackay Stadium on Saturday night with a sense of urgency as they currently sit 0-4 in Mountain West play, being outscored 135-83 in four MW games. Over the course of the season, New Mexico has averaged 25 points per game while giving up 37 per game. The Lobos have put in a lot of their work on the ground, rushing for 1,693 yards this season led by Ahmari Davis, who has accumulated 743 on 123 attempts and six touchdowns. Davis is averaging over 106 per game this season. On defense, Alex Hart leads the team with 55 tackles while Jacobi Hearn leads the Lobos with six sacks. In terms of taking the ball away, the Lobos have only recorded two interceptions but five fumble recoveries.

NEVADA VS THE LOBOS
Things have been dead even between these two schools, having only met seven times in the past with an all-time series record of 3-3-1. Nevada has never lost at home to the Lobos, holding a 2-0-1 record in Mackay Stadium.

Nevada all-time against New Mexico

Date    Opponent    Location    Result
Nov. 5, 2016    New Mexico    Albuquerque, N.M.    L,35-26
Oct. 10, 2015    New Mexico    Reno, Nev.    W, 35-17
Nov. 17, 2012    New Mexico    Albuquerque, N.M.    W, 31-24
Oct. 15, 2011    New Mexico    Reno, Nev.    W, 49-7
Dec. 22, 2007    New Mexico    Albuquerque, N.M.    L, 23-0
Oct. 31 1942    New Mexico    Reno, Nev.    T, 0-0
Nov. 1, 1941    New Mexico    Albuquerque, N.M.    L, 26-7

COOKIE MONSTER
Elijah Cooks has been Nevada's most productive receiver this season, leading the Wolf Pack with four touchdowns and 424 yards on 36 receptions. Cooks has caught a pass in all seven games this season and has caught at least four in six of them. Nevada is 3-0 this season when Cooks records six or more receptions.

Cooks played a huge role in Nevada's season-opening victory, hauling in a career-high seven receptions for 60 yards and tying his single-game best with two touchdowns. The first was a leaping acrobatic catch midway through the third quarter for Nevada's second score of the game, while the biggest of his career came with 52 seconds left in regulation to tie the game against the Boilermakers.

CLUTCH GENE
In its four wins this season, Nevada has been near perfect in the final quarter of those games, outscoring its opponents 43-10.

GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO TALTON 'BOUT
True freshman kicker Brandon Talton has quickly become a household name among Wolf Pack fans, as he has begun his career 14-for-16 on field goals this season. Talton is one of 11 kickers this season to make 14 field goals. His 1.75 field goals per game rank 11th in the NCAA and first in the Mountain West. His four field goals against Weber State were the most by a Nevada kicker since 2008 when Brett Jaekle accomplished the feat. 

Talton drilled the third-longest field goal in program history with three seconds left against Purdue in the season opener to complete a 17-point second-half comeback. His 56-yarder was one of two made on the day, as he also drilled a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter. The 56-yard kick was the fourth-longest in Mountain West history and the longest ever hit by a MW freshman. Talton was awarded a scholarship after the game thanks to his heroics. Talton was also named the Mountain West Co-Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in week one. Talton was also named the MW STPOW following that Weber State win and also after defeating San Jose State with a game-winning 40-yard field goal as time expired.

Talton is one of only 11 freshmen kickers in Division I this season:
Name    School
Evan Davis    Toledo
Michael Lantz    Minnesota
Camden Lewis    Oregon
Cory Munson    Western Kentucky
Bijan Nichols    Navy
Jadon Redding    Utah
Will Reichard    Alabama
Andrew Stein    Southern Miss
Cole Talley    Army
Brandon Talton    Nevada
Cade York    LSU

Talton is one of only 11 kickers to make 13 or more field goals this season:
Name    Made    School
Keith Duncan    19    Iowa
Jake Varity    16    East Carolina
Matthew Trickett    15    Kent. St.
Sam Sloman    15    Miami
Brent Cimaglia    15    Tennessee
Peyton Henry    15    Washington
Christopher Dunn    14    NC State
Trey Wolff    14    Texas Tech
Matt Araiza    14    San Diego State
Ethan Mooney    14    North Texas
Brandon Talton    14    Nevada

COMEBACK KIDS
Nevada rallied from a 17-point deficit midway through the third quarter of its game against Purdue to stun the Boilermakers and tie the second-largest comeback in Nevada history since 1996. The Wolf Pack's other 17-point comeback was during the Miracle at Mackay, when it came back to defeat No. 3 Boise State in overtime. 

Nevada also trailed against Weber State 10-9 at the half, before limiting the Wildcats to three second-half points in a 19-13 Wolf Pack win.

TURNOVER TOWEL
Now in year three of the 3-3-5 stack defense under coordinator Jeff Casteel, the Wolf Pack has emerged as a ball-hawking defense. In 2018, Nevada ranked fourth in takeaways within the Mountain West Conference. Through eight games in 2019, Nevada is 15th in the nation, and third in the MW, with 16 takeaways. The Pack's six fumbles recovered so far this season is 32nd in the nation and the nine interceptions – three by senior cornerback Daniel Brown – is 15th nationally and second in the Mountain West. 

Going into this week's game against New Mexico, Nevada has taken the ball away in 11 of its last 12 games, with its nine-game streak being snapped at Hawai'i. In that stretch, Nevada is 8-4. The streak:

Oct. 27, 2018     vs. SDSU*    2 (two fumbles)
Nov. 10, 2018    vs. CSU*    1 (one interception)
Nov. 17, 2018    at SJSU*    1 (one interception)
Nov. 24, 2018    at UNLV    1 (one fumble)
Dec. 29, 2018    vs. Ark. St.*    3 (three interceptions)
Aug. 30, 2019    vs. Purdue*    5 (three interceptions, two fumbles)
Sept. 7, 2019     at Oregon    1 (one fumble)
Sept. 14, 2019   vs. Weber St.*    1 (one interception)
Sept. 21, 2019    at UTEP*    3 (three interceptions
Sept. 28, 2019    vs. Hawai'i    n/a
Oct. 12, 2019    vs. SJSU*    2 (one interception, one fumble)
Oct. 19, 2019    at Utah State    2 (one interception, one fumble)
Oct. 26, 2019    at Wyoming    1 (one interception)
* -- victory

SCHOOLBOY Q
Nevada senior punter Quinton Conaway has made a name for himself as he enters his final season with the Wolf Pack. Conaway recorded a career year in 2018 and has begun scattering his name throughout the Nevada record book. Additionally, Conaway has posted strong academics during his time at Nevada as he was selected to the Google Cloud Academic All-District team last season.

Conaway is currently 55th in the nation averaging 42.1 yards per punt. He is also firmly cemented in the Nevada record books, while continuing to work his way up. Following Nevada's win over Weber State, Conaway moved up to sixth all time in career punting yards with the Wolf Pack and then moved into fifth after his game at Utah State.

CAREER PUNTING YARDS LEADERS (ALL-TIME)
Rk     Player    Years    Punt Yards
4    David Heppe    1979-82    6,649
5    Quinton Conaway    2017-    6,392
6    Tom Kolesar    1973-74    6,032
7    Brad Langley    2008-10    5,278
8    Justin Bergendahl    2004-05    4,691
9    Chase Tenpenny    2012-13    4,618

CAREER PUNT AVERAGE LEADERS (ALL-TIME)
Rk     Player    Years    Punt Avg.
1.    Chase Tenpenny    2012-13    44.0
2    Armando Avina    1993-94    43.8
3    Alex Boy    2014-16    43.3
4    Tom Kolesar    1973-74    43.1
5    Brad Langley    2008-10    42.6
6    Quinton Conaway    2017-    41.8 

TAUA OF POWER
The reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Year has picked up right where he left off. On the year, Toa Taua leads Nevada with 534 yards on 126 rushing attempts and four touchdowns. On the Wolf Pack's final drive against Weber State that iced the game, Taua eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark for his career after totaling a season-high 85 against the Wildcats, and has now totaled 1,385 for his career.

Taua had a career day against San Jose State, rushing for 160 yards on a career-high 34 carries and a touchdown. On the game's final drive to get Nevada into field goal position, Taua amassed 33 yards on the group to set up Talton for the game-winning field goal.

BROTHERLY LOVE
After earning a new role in the offseason to coach the Pack's running backs this year, assistant coach Vai Taua is now the only coach in the FBS to be coaching his brother, sophomore back Toa Taua. The Taua's are becoming a household name with Wolf Pack fans as Toa became Nevada's first 'of the year' award winner since joining the Mountain West, notching the conference's freshman of the year honor. Vai on the other hand has his name scattered throughout the Nevada record book, ranking second all-time in rushing yards and fourth in rushing touchdowns.

DEGREES COMPLETED
A total of 10 Nevada football student-athletes have already obtained a college degree prior to the start of the 2019 season, with one player earning two degrees. That number ranks in the top 20 in the nation. SMU leads the way with 22 players having already earned a bachelor's degree.

Graduate    Bachelor's Degree    Master's Program
Nate Brown    Management    Higher Education
John Humphrey    Liberal Studies (ASU)    Liberal Studies
Kelton Moore    Management & Marketing    Higher Education
EJ Muhammad    Marketing    Management
Jake Nelson    Criminal Justice    Justice Management
Brendan O'Leary-Orange    General Studies    Human Development & Family Studies
Spencer Pettit    Information Systems    Business Administration
Gabriel Sewell    Kinesiology    Higher Education
Cristian Solano    Journalism    Higher Education
Lucas Weber    Public Health    Secondary Education

Additionally, as part of a new Mountain West initiative this season, all student-athletes who have earned a degree will sport a new patch on their jersey with the MW logo and the word 'graduate' below. 

TEAM CAPTAINS
Last season, Coach Norvell and his program chose three captains to lead the team, one from each unit of offense, defense and special teams. This year, Coach Norvell and the Wolf Pack have selected four team captains to lead the squad into 2019. The four team captains are seniors Kelton Moore, Kaleb Fossum, Hausia Sekona and Lucas Weber.

LOCK-DOWN BROWN
Nevada cornerback Daniel Brown has cemented himself as one of the top defensive backs in the conference, as he is currently tied for 16th in the FBS with three interceptions this season. Brown has recorded three of Nevada's picks this season, as they are ranked 15th in the nation with nine picks. Two of his interceptions came in the season-opener against Purdue, the second with under a minute remaining in regulation that set up the game-winning field goal for the Pack. His third came against Weber State.

SCHOLARSHIP ALERT
There were not as many scholarships to award as there typically has been in the past, but one member of the Wolf Pack did hear his name called during fall camp. Junior offensive lineman Nathan Edwards, a local product out of Galena High School, was offered a scholarship midway through camp. Edwards is projected to become more of a force with The Union and get the start at center in week one against Purdue. True freshman placekicker Brandon Talton was also awarded a scholarship recently, as Coach Norvell put him on scholarship after his game-winning 56-yard field goal against Purdue in week one.