Nevada (0-1) vs. Idaho (1-0)
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 - 4 p.m.
Reno, Nev. - Mackay Stadium

TV/Stream: Nevada Sports Net/The Mountain West Network (PxP: Alex Margulies)
Radio: KOZZ 105.7 FM (PxP: John Ramey, Analyst: Mike Edwards)
Online Radio: The Varsity Network App / www.thevarsitynetwork.com

All-Time Series: Nevada leads, 20-9
Last Meeting: Dec. 3, 2011 - Reno, Nev. (Nevada 56, Idaho 3)

Game Sponsor: Champion
Theme: Salute to Service; Band Day
Color Scheme: Camo, Operation: Hat Trick gear (available at Silver & Blue Outfitters and Wolf Shop)
We Are Nevada Fan Zone band: Patrice Luciano Band

RENO, Nev. - Nevada (0-1) kicks off its 2023 home slate Saturday afternoon, hosting Idaho (1-0) for a 4 p.m. start. The contest against the Trojans will air in Northern Nevada on Nevada Sports Net, and stream nationally on The Mountain West Network (www.themw.com/watch), with Alex Margulies (play-by-play) on the call.

The Wolf Pack Radio Network will call the game on KOZZ 105.7 FM in Northern Nevada, and online at www.thevarsitynetwork.com and on the Varsity Network app, available for download in both the Apple and Google Play app stores. John Ramey (play-by-play) and Mike Edwards (analyst) will be in the booth, with the 60-minute pregame show to begin at 3 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's meeting between Nevada and Idaho will be the 30th all-time, and the first since Nevada's 56-3 win back on Dec. 3, 2011. Nevada, which has won seven-straight in the series, is 9-2 against the Vandals since moving up to FBS in 1992.

ABOUT IDAHO
Idaho (1-0) has turned over a new leaf under second-year head coach Jason Eck. In his first season at the Vandal helm in 2022, Eck led Idaho to a 7-5 record and a spot in the FBS playoffs, the program's first postseason trip since 2016.

The Vandals opened the 2023 campaign Aug. 31, earning a 42-17 victory at Lamar.

RIDING A HOME-OPENER WINNING STREAK
Nevada puts its streak of five-straight wins in home openers on the line this Saturday when it hosts Idaho. The Wolf Pack has not dropped a home opener at Mackay Stadium since a 37-24 defeat at the hands of Toledo on Sept. 9, 2017.

That 2017 loss is the only one in a home opener for the Pack since 2012. Entering Saturday, Nevada is 9-1 over its last 10 Mackay Stadium lidlifters.

BRIGHT SPOTS IN THE OPENER
Nevada can point to some positive elements from its season-opening loss at No. 6/6 USC last Saturday. The play of quarterbacks Brendon Lewis and AJ Bianco (combined 22-for-34 passing for 311 yards and a touchdown) showed that the Wolf Pack offense is in capable hands. Also, the playmaking ability of the offense was on display, as the Pack bagged two plays of 70-plus yards in the game.

On the passing side of things, Lewis and Bianco combined for 9.2 yards per attempt in the contest, an encouraging figure considering the Pack's yards-per-attempt in 2022 was 5.6.

BIG SKY DAYS
Nevada and Idaho played together in the Big Sky from 1979-91, until Nevada's move to Division I (no FBS) ahead of the 1992 season.

The teams had played four times prior to that first conference meeting in 1979, with the Vandals taking games in Moscow in 1924, 1935, and 1940. As Big Sky counterparts, Nevada went 10-4 against Idaho, including a 27-7 victory at Mackay Stadium in a 1986 I-AA playoff contest.

BELL HAULS IN CAREER DAY
Wide receiver/kick returner Jamaal Bell posted a career day in Saturday's contest at No. 6/6 USC, hauling in eight passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. Bell's reception and receiving-yard totals surpassed previous bests set at the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl, where he caught seven passes for 75 yards and a score.

Bell's day at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum was capped by a 77-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, the Pack's second play of 70+ yards in the contest.