Boise State @ Nevada preview
MacKay Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2009 ) Nevada 33, Boise State 44
All the fuss being made about whether or not Boise State will end up in a BCS bowl overlooks one important element.
The Broncos haven’t even clinched the Western Athletic Conference title yet.
No. 3 Boise State will get the chance to wrap up the WAC crown on Friday night when it visits No. 19 Nevada in a pivotal conference contest at Mackay Stadium in Reno.
The Broncos (10-0, 6-0 WAC) are looking for their 25th consecutive victory but could receive a test from the Wolf Pack (10-1, 5-1), whose only blemish is a close loss at Hawaii in mid-October.
If not for that stumble, the meeting that has been highly anticipated by Nevada and its fans would be between two unbeaten squads.
The Wolf Pack, who have lost 10 straight contests to Boise State, are just as loaded on offense as Boise State. The problem is that the Broncos’ defense is superior to Nevada’s unit.
Both Boise State and Nevada have scored 51 or more points on five occasions this season. But while the Broncos rank second nationally in both scoring defense (11.5 points per game) and total defense (229.2 yards per game), Nevada is 38th in scoring defense (21.7) and 67th in total defense (374.6) nationally.
Nevada’s bread-and-butter is the running game with its diverse Pistol offense. The Wolf Pack are fourth nationally with an average of 304.4 rushing yards per game. But Boise State excels at stopping the run, leading the nation at 72.3 yards per outing.
Nevada’s Vai Taua leads the WAC with 1,241 yards and quarterback Colin Kaepernick has rushed for 984 yards. Both players have rushed for 16 touchdowns.
Taua has 24 career 100-yard rushing games while Kaepernick has thrown for 2,412 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. The Nevada quarterback has been intercepted six times.
Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore is a better passer than Kaepernick and gets to go up against Nevada’s shaky pass defense, which ranks 103th nationally at 249.9 yards per game.
Moore leads the nation in passing efficiency and has thrown 28 touchdown passes against just five interceptions. Moore’s favorite target is Titus Young, who has caught 55 passes for 988 yards.
Boise State ranks second in the nation in scoring offense at 47.9 points per game.
The Broncos are coming off an impressive 51-0 beat-down of Fresno State in which they allowed just 125 yards. The shutout was Boise State’s third of the season.
Nevada defeated New Mexico State 52-6 last week to notch a 10-win season for the first time since joining the major college ranks in 1992.
Wolf Pack defensive end Dontay Moch is having a big season with 19.5 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. Moch has 60.5 career tackles for loss.