Nevada (3-4) at No. 7/7 UCLA (7-0)
Saturday, October 31, 2026 - 1:15 p.m.
Pasadena, Calif. - The Rose Bowl

TV: B1G Network (PxP: A.J. Kanell; Analyst: Brett Hundley; Sideline: Emma Carpenter)
Radio: 105.7 KOZZ/The Varsity Network app (PxP: John Ramey; Analyst: Mike Edwards; Sideline: Terrence Newman)

RENO, Nev. - As Don Meredith eloquently put it, "sitting at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains rising a little over a mile...and the fall foliage is drifting slowly down to the base of this Rose Bowl here in Pasadena..." Nevada Football makes its first trip to the Rose Bowl Saturday to take on No. 7/7 UCLA. The game will kick off at 1:15 p.m. and air on B1G Network with A.J. Kanell (play-by-play), Brett Hundley (analyst) and Emma Carpenter on the call.

The radio broadcast of the game will be available on KOZZ 105.7 FM in Northern Nevada, online at www.thevarsitynetwork.com and on the Varsity Network app. John Ramey (play-by-play), Mike Edwards (analyst) and Terrence Newman will be on the call, with the 60-minute pregame show to begin at 12:15 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY
Nevada and UCLA will meet for just the second time this Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Coincidentally, Saturday's B1G Network analyst, Brett Hundley, was the Bruins' starting quarterback in the previous meeting of the teams in the 2013 season opener (August 31, 2013).

In that contest, the Wolf Pack trailed just 17-13 at halftime but the Bruins scored 20 points in the third quarter with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown turning the contest. UCLA went on to a 58-20 victory. In a battle of dual-threat quarterbacks, Nevada's Cody Fajardo finished with 164 passing yards and ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns while Hundley threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 63 yards and two more scores.

ABOUT NO. 7/7 UCLA
UCLA improved to 7-0 on the year and 5-0 in B1G play Saturday with a 28-10 home victory over Michigan State. This Saturday's game against the Wolf Pack will be UCLA's third-straight home contest.

The Bruins, ranked seventh in both national polls, boast one of the nation's best ground attacks heading into this weekend, ranking ninth in FBS and leading the B1G with 233.0 rushing yards per game. That attack is paced by Wayne Knight with 627 rushing yards and 12 scores on the ground along with 459 yards and six more touchdowns from Anthony Woods. Quarterback Ty Dieffenbach has taken the reins in place of injured starter Nico Iamaleava, completing 18-of-31 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown Saturday against the Spartans.

Defensively, UCLA is 11th in the country allowing just 15.3 points per game and 10th in FBS in total defense at just 272.9 yards allowed per game. The Bruin defense is opportunistic, making 22 takeaways (12 INT, 10 FR), second-most in the country.

AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
Through Week 8 of the campaign Nevada holds some impressive spots in the FBS rankings.

After breaking up 10 passes and limiting San José State to 139 passing yards Saturday, the Wolf Pack defense remains one of the best in the nation, ranking sixth allowing just 153.9 yards through the air per game. Nevada's defense has been key in getting the offense opportunities by getting the ball back, as Wolf Pack opponents' third-down success rate of 29.2 percent is the 10th-lowest in FBS.

Nevada is one of the nation's most efficient teams in the red zone with its 95.2 scoring rate (22-for-24) best in the Mountain West and 24th in the country. In the red zone, the Pack's two failed trips came on an interception in the end zone then, this past Saturday, kneeling out the final minute of a 28-13 win from inside the 20.

Individually, linebacker EJ Smith is third in the country with 10.9 tackles per game,  fourth with 5.86 solo tackles per game, and fifth in both total tackles (76) and solo tackles (41).

On special teams, the Pack's units are among the best in FBS with top-30 figures in kick returns (fifth, 32.33 ypr), punt return defense (12th, 1.88 ypr), and net punting (26th, 41.96 net yards per punt). Gerick Robinson is third in the Mountain West and 18th in the country with an average of 12.9 yards over 16 returns. Robinson ranks seventh in the country with 207 punt-return yards while seven of his 16 returns have gone for double-digit yardage. Staying on the return game, kick returner Ky Woods leads the Mountain West and ranks fourth in the country averaging 32.3 yards per return and just missed housing a return Saturday against San José State, being dropped at the eight-yard line after a 90-yard return.

LOCAL PRODUCTS MAKING AN IMPACT
Saturday against San José State featured a unique note for the Northern Nevada crowd. Of the four Wolf Pack touchdowns in the contest, a local Northern Nevada product had a hand in three of them as Reno's Marshaun Brown (Bishop Manogue High School) caught a touchdown and threw for one and Minden's Trace Estes (Douglas HS) caught a 25-yard touchdown for his first-career score.

With Brown's three touchdowns (plus Saturday's passing score as a fourth) over the past two seasons and Estes' touchdown this past Saturday, the Wolf Pack has boosted scoring contributions from its local products. Head coach Jeff Choate has spoken often about building the program with local standouts and the current roster features 17 Northern Nevada products.

Prior to Brown's and Estes' touchdowns since 2025, recent Wolf Pack scores from Northern Nevada products has come from Gardnerville's Reagan Roberson (2018), Sparks' Hunter Fralick (2015), and Reno's Junior Puloka (2007).

GETTING THE HANDS IN THERE
Nevada's defense improved to sixth in the country in passing defense, lowering its number to 153.9 passing yards per game allowed after holding San José State to just 139 yards. Members of the Wolf Pack secondary have contributed 25 of the team's 33 pass breakups led by six from Larry Turner-Gooden and five from Bryson Snelling. Overall, eight different Wolf Pack defensive backs have broken up at least one pass.

On the year only one opponent has hit the 200-yard mark passing, that being Western Kentucky going for 203 in the Sept. 5 opener. And the longest pass play the secondary has surrendered is a 47-yard pass this past Saturday against San José State.