Nevada Wolf Pack Football

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Red Raiders-Wolfpack: Texas Tech Survives Scare from the "Big Bad Wolves"

Sep 6, 2008

The 12th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders dealt last week with Eastern Washington, keeping the game interesting in the second half. At Nevada, it was a similar story, as the Wolf Pack managed to keep the game within one score until the end of the third quarter. However, Tech defeats Nevada 35-19, in the first ever meeting between the two schools.

Entering the second half, trailing 14-9, Nevada got the ball first in the third. The Red Raiders' defense was able to stop Nevada, forcing them into an apparent three-and-out. However, on 4th-and-five, Tech was called for holding, before the punt, giving the Wolf Pack the ball at their own 35.

Vai Tuna got eight yards on first down and then 10 yards to give Nevada a first down in Tech territory. The Wolf Pack ran for two more first downs, prompting the Red Raiders to use a timeout. After the timeout, Nevada’s quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, completed a 12-yard pass to Marko Mitchell to Tech's 10.

On 4th-and-goal from the three, Nevada went for it and looked to have the touchdown that would give them the lead, but the officials reviewed the play and ruled that Kaepernick fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Tech’s Daniel Charbonnet.

The Wolf Pack's defense stepped up against the Red Raiders' offense. Tech quarterback Graham Harrell threw two-straight incompletions to start the drive before completing a nine-yard pass to sophomore Michael Crabtree on third down. Tech tried rushing for the first down on 4th-and-one but were stopped short, giving the Wolf Pack the ball at Tech's 29.

Harrell was out of rhythm most of the game, as he over-threw several receivers while going 19-for-46 for 297 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. 297 yards was Harrell’s lowest total since 2006, and his 41-percent completion percentage was the worst in his career.

Nevada immediately opened off the drive with a 13-yard run by Kaepernick. The Red Raiders' defense tightened up, only allowing two yards and the Wolf Pack settled for another field goal, closing the deficit to 14-12.

The Wolf Pack tried to catch Tech off guard by going for an on-side kick, but Charbonnet recovered at Nevada's 39. Harrell got an 11-yard first-down pass to running back Baron Batch.

On 3rd-and-10, Harrell connected with Tramain Swindall on a 15-yard pass to the Wolf Pack's 13. After an incompletion, Eric Morris finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run, increasing Tech’s lead to 21-12.

Morris once again had a strong game for the Red Raiders, returning three punts for 105 yards and an 86-yard return for a touchdown.

Nevada went on another time-consuming drive, going 53 yards in 11 plays, but Brett Jaekle missed the 44-yard field goal, giving Tech the ball back. The Wolf Pack would not be hurt, as they intercepted Harrell a second time.

Tech’s defense again stepped up and forced Nevada into a three-and-out. Morris returned the punt from the six to the 47 of Nevada, but a block-in-the-back penalty put Tech deep in their own territory. However, that did not end up a problem for Tech, as Harrell connects with Crabtree for an 82-yard touchdown to put Tech up 28-12.

Crabtree, who had only 73 yards against Eastern Washington, had seven catches for 158 yards and one touchdown.

The Wolf Pack were able to put up one more score against Tech. Kaepernick hit Mitchell on a 48-yard streak pass, reducing Tech’s lead to 28-19 with 10:30 left in the game. The Red Raiders responded back with an 11-play, 84-yard drive that took a little less than five minutes off the clock. Shannon Woods delivered the knockout blow with a 21-yard touchdown run.

After the Wolf Pack failed to convert on fourth down, Tech was able to run the last 2:49 off the clock. Solid rushing by Woods and Batch helped run out the clock. Batch led the team in rushing, with six carries for 47 yards. Woods had 45 yards on seven carries and one touchdown. Tech rushed for a total of 124 yards.

Kaepernick, in a losing effort, went 24-for-35, 264 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. In addition, Kaepernick rushed for 92 yards on seven carries. Mitchell led the Wolf Pack in receiving, with nine catches for 147 yards and one touchdown.

Nevada (1-1) plays another ranked Big XII team, as they travel to play #6 Missouri. Tech (2-0) returns home to play Southern Methodist.

Texas Tech-Nevada: Red Raiders Take on Powerful Wolfpack Rushing Attack

Sep 5, 2008

Introduction

Texas Tech squares off against the University of Nevada Wolfpack Saturday night at 8:05 PM.  This game features teams whose offensive philosophies differ about as much as the Allied Forces disagreed with the Nazis.

Last week, Nevada churned out 426 yards on the ground and 203 through the air, while Texas Tech threw for 536 and ran for 103.  Needless to say, something’s got to give.

Nevada Passing

6'6", 215 lb. sophomore QB Colin Kaepernick is the field general for Nevada.  Last week against Grambling State, Kaepernick was 10-17 passing (58 percent) for 122 yards with no TDs and one INT.

However, as stated above, the Wolfpack run the football, and that’s where the young QB did his damage: He ran six times for 51 yards (8.5 yards per run) with three TDs.  The two backups, Nick Graziano and Tyler Lantrip, finished the game a combined 8-13 with no TDs or INTs.

Nevada Rushing

Don’t hold your breath—it may take a while to get through all of this.  Vai Taua led the Wolfpack rushing attack with 12 touches for 103 yards (8.6 per carry) with two TDs.  Brandon Fragger wasn’t far behind with nine totes for 83 yards and one score.  Nevada’s best RB, Luke Lippincott, finished with nine carries for 69 yards and one trip to the end zone.

QB Kaepernick’s three scores round out Nevada’s rushing scores.  WR Marko Mitchell also had one carry for 31 yards, while Tray Session added a 17-yard run and Chris Wellington had a 13-yard run.

Nevada Receiving

No Nevada WR scored a receiving TD.  Mike McCoy paced the receivers with six catches for 67 yards.  Mitchell, a talented deep threat that the Red Raiders will have to keep an eye on, finished with four catches for 49 yards.  Wellington had three for 42, and Lippincott added two for 33 out of the backfield.

Virgil Green added two catches for six yards, and Session caught one for six yards to finish Nevada’s receiving totals.

Texas Tech Passing

Graham Harrell took all the snaps against Eastern Washington last week and finished 43-58 (74.1 percent) for 536 yards with two TDs and one INT—pretty incredible numbers for a game that he called “sloppy.”  If 74 percent is sloppy, I feel sorry for whoever we face when Harrell says he played well.

The senior QB made some nice completions down the field after having to roll out of the pocket last week.  That’s a new wrinkle that Tech fans aren’t used to seeing.

Texas Tech Rushing

The Red Raiders’ three-headed monster of Shannon Woods, Baron Batch, and Aaron Crawford looked more than adequate last week.  All three players reached pay dirt and seemed to stay fresh due to rotating with the others.

Woods paced the bunch with 13 carries for 37 yards (2.8 per rush) and two TDs, but Batch, the sophomore who missed last season, was perhaps more impressive.  The Midland native finished with five carries for 40 yards and one score.  True sophomore Crawford chipped in three rushes for 11 yards (3.7 per carry) and one score.

Harrell’s QB keeper finishes Tech’s rushing scores.  WR Edward Britton also had one carry for nine yards, and fellow WR Eric Morris had one carry for four yards.

Texas Tech Receiving

Somebody forgot to tell Eric Morris and Detron Lewis that that Michael Crabtree is Tech’s playmaker at WR.  Morris, the senior from Shallowater, finished with nine catches for 164 yards but no scores.  Lewis was equally impressive in posting a similar total of nine catches for 163 yards, but again, no trips to the end zone.

Crabtree, college football’s premier WR, totaled nine catches for only 73 yards and one score.  Crabtree had another TD nullified by an offensive pass interference call.

Redshirt freshman Tramain Swindall had five catches for 45 yards.  Britton caught four passes for six yards and one score.  His speed will be an asset to Tech in the passing game and on kick returns.

RB Woods caught two passes for 15 yards, Batch caught one for 10, Adam James caught one for nine, and sophomore Lyle Leong had a beautiful 32-yard reception that was probably an 11 on a 1-10 difficulty scale.

Intangibles

The contrast in styles makes this one tough to call.  Texas Tech is playing their first road game, and it’s a later start than the team is used to.  However, most experts think the Red Raiders’ run defense is better than Nevada’s pass defense.  That little piece of insight may have the Wolfpack howling in agony by the end of the contest.

Add a senior QB and a wealth of talent versus a sophomore QB and a running back who got a little dinged-up last week, and this game leans toward the Red Raiders.

Prediction

Texas Tech 52, Nevada 38

Previewing UNLV’s Opponents: Nevada Wolfpack

Aug 18, 2008

The annual battle for the Fremont Cannon takes place between UNLV and Nevada-Reno.  Last year Nevada defeated UNLV 27-20 and ended the season 6-7 after losing 27-0 to New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl.  Nevada has been hovering just above .500 over the last five years, with their win totals coming in at 6, 5, 9, 8, and 6.

Nevada hopes to get into the national spotlight by playing two Big 12 teams.  At Missouri and Texas Tech at home are both very tough games, but if they can pull off one of those wins, Nevada might be considered a favorite in the WAC.

 

Offense

Nevada's offense was very impressive last year, averaging 36 points per game, but they had to outscore their opponents to get wins.  The Wolfpack does return eight starters, so the offense should have production similar to last year.  The offense that Coach Chris Ault runs is a hybrid offense and needs the quarterback to be able to run at times and be a traditional dropback quarterback as well.

They do have two capable quarterbacks, mainly because the projected 2007 starter, Nick Graziano, went down with an injury and had to be replaced.  The replacement was Colin Kaepernick, who was forced to learn on the go, and he made the most of his first year in FBS football, completing 133 of 247 passes for 2,175 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Now in 2008, Kaepernick looks to be the starter because Nick Graziano went down with a foot injury in spring practice.  That setback allowed Kaepernick to retain his starting job.  If injury were to hit him, Graziano is a capable replacement.

Nevada does return the number one returning rusher in the WAC in Luke Lippincott.  All he did as a junior was rush for 1,420 yards and 18 touchdowns in lieu of becoming first team all-conference.  This year he will be backed up by Vai Taua, who saw action in eight games and had a very good spring by the coaches' accounts.

Receiver is another strong point.  The top two returning starters are seniors Marko Mitchell and Mike McCoy in this three-pronged receiver attack.  These two combined for 750 yards and 12 touchdowns, but the impressive thing about both receivers is their yards per catch, with both averaging just about 20 yards per game.

If the Wolfpack find a possession receiver to balance out the two deep threats, the Wolfpack should have a very good offense this year.

 

Defense

This is where Nevada needs to improve the most if they want to challenge Fresno State.  Last season the Wolfpack gave up 33 per game.  The offense did outscore opponents, but if they want to be considered a threat, the defense must improve by at least 10 points per game.

The defense is changing philosophy by switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 in hopes to improve.  The defensive line only returns one starter in the front four, Mundrae Clifton.  While the down linemen have only one starter back, they do have three linebackers returning.  That will help shore up the running defense, which was less then impressive. 

The defensive back position could have three new starters, including prize high school recruit Thaddeus Brown and two other junior college transfers, Maurice Harvey and cornerback Antoine Thompson.  These players have a chance to immediately shore up the secondary, but it could take a few games for these newcomers to grasp the defense. 

 

Early Prediction

The Wolfpack offense is very potent and could be better than last year's high-powered unit.  This game is be played in Las Vegas, which gives UNLV a slight edge, but look for Nevada’s offense to be too much and win by seven points.

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