Turnaround a must to beat Boise State
If Nevada had a choice, it probably wouldn’t choose to play Boise State the week after a devastating loss to Fresno State that exposed serious flaws in its defense, special teams and put starting quarterback Nick Graziano out for the season.
The Broncos were picked to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference this season and are 3-1, with their only loss coming against a very good Washington team that nearly upset USC two weekends ago.
But Boise State has been ranked as high as No. 22 this season and averages 32 points per game, only allowing its opponents an average of 15.2. And until further notice, the Broncos are the kings of the WAC.
Add to this Ian Johnson, one of the top running backs in college football, who is averaging 100 yards per game, and has a stellar offensive line to back him up, and the Broncos are a formidable for any opponent.
The chances of Nevada winning this game are close to zero, especially on the Smurf Turf, but if it wants to keep it close, here’s what it will have to do.
Mistake-free Kaepernick
With Graziano out for the season, there is a lot of pressure on redshirt freshman Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick played well against Fresno State, especially in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs already had the game locked up, so it’s difficult to say how hard their defense was playing.
Kaepernick will be facing a talented Boise State defense that is ranked 15th in the nation against the pass and is led by second team All-WAC safety Marty Tadman, who has had 11 interceptions in the last two seasons.
Kaepernick can’t afford to throw any picks and must get good protection from a Nevada offensive line that has been on and off this season.
Clean up the blight that is special teams
Nothing short of a total turnaround is needed here.
Nevada allowed Fresno State to run a punt and a blocked field goal back for touchdowns last weekend, and that can’t happen again.
Boise State punt returner Marty Tadman is similar to Fresno State’s Clifton Smith, who lit Nevada up Saturday. If he breaks free, the game could be over in the first half.
The Wolf Pack also must start getting better returns on punts, kickoffs and stop fumbling them as it did against Fresno State.
Against Fresno State Nevada got an average punt return of one yard to Fresno State’s average of 33.5 yards.
With Boise State’s staunch defense lined up against it, Nevada needs all the field position help it can get.
Contain Ian Johnson
Nevada is ranked last in the nation in rushing defense and, after giving up 307 yards on the ground to Fresno State, it’s certainly not going to shut one of college football’s top running backs down.
The Wolf Pack just needs to stop Johnson from breaking long runs, which will happen if the defense plays the way it did against Fresno State.
Johnson gets his running room from a veteran offensive line that returns four starters from last year’s undefeated team.
Senior defensive tackle Matt Hines and linebackers Ezra Butler and Joshua Mauga must step up and plug the holes if they don’t want Johnson to get a new career-high against Nevada.
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on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007 at 1:07 am and is filed under Football, Sports.
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