Nevada back’s career day earns WAC honor
Nevada running back Luke Lippincott had a career-high game Saturday, rushing 36 times for 241 yards and two touchdowns.He was named the Western Athletic Conference offensive player of the week on Monday.
“Luke’s very deserving, he did a nice job for us,” Nevada coach Chris Ault said.
The 241 yards makes him the first Nevada running back to break 200 yards since Matt Milton in 2002 and he is only the third Nevada player to go over 200 yards since 1992.
Over the last two games, Lippincott has been steadily growing into a go-to player for Nevada.
He put up 187 yards and four touchdowns against Boise State.
Lippincott did have two critical fumbles in the second half that gave Utah State a chance to win the ball game, but Nevada’s defense stepped up.
Junior tackling leader injured
It looks as if the Nevada defense improved Saturday, but its hopes for continued progress took a big blow when top tackler Joshua Mauga went down with a knee injury in the second quarter.
Mauga, a junior starting linebacker, suffered a medial collateral ligament tear in his left knee and will likely miss the rest of the season.
However, if Nevada goes to a bowl game, he could return.
He has 71 tackles on the season, 20 more than the next best tackler, and he and fellow linebacker Ezra Butler constitute a key part of Nevada’s defense.
Special Teams Disappointing
Nevada’s special teams unit continued to disappoint Saturday, giving up a 70-yard punt return and allowing Utah State to average 29 yards per punt return.
The touchdown came late in the second quarter and evened the score at 14-14.
Utah State’s Kevin Robinson juked two Nevada defenders, then sprinted up the left sideline for an easy score.
Nevada punter Zachary Whited had a chance to force Robinson inside, but instead tried to push him out of bounds and missed.
“Kevin Robinson is a great returner and he showed it, but I’m fed up with it,” Ault said. “As hard as we work on the kick-off cover and as much as we talk about it he shouldn’t have done so well. Allowing those yards on kick returns are the kind of things that make you lose football games.”
Mitchell and Kaepernick continue connection
Junior wide receiver Marko Mitchell continues to be a favorite target of Colin Kaepernick.
In the three games Kaepernick has seen significant time in this season–Fresno State, Boise State and Utah State, he has 16 catches for 349 yards and three touchdowns.
He leads all Nevada’s receivers with 568 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 81.1 yards per game.
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