Pack seniors win fourth straight against Rebels
Nevada kept the Fremont Cannon blue Saturday with its 49-27 victory against UNLV.
“It’s a great feeling,” Nevada (2-2) safety Uche Anyanwu said, of winning his fourth and final game of his career against the Rebels. “It’s great for the youngsters to know the blue cannon must stay blue and true.”
UNLV (3-2)came into the game with vulnerabilities against mobile quarterbacks, which Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick exploited.
“We thought I would be able to run a little bit this week,” said Kaepernick, who rushed for 240 yards and passed for 176 yards in his first Nevada-UNLV rivalry game. “I was a little surprised they couldn’t adjust.”
Kaepernick’s 240-yards rushing was a school record for a quarterback.
“We did not defend the option well,” UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. “It’s a very specific type of offense that they run, and we worked on it all week and we did not defend it well.”
The Rebels started the game with two scores to take an early 10-0 lead, but the Wolf Pack answered with a 70-yard pass play from Kaepernick to Nevada receiver Chris Wellington.
The Rebels pushed the lead to 17-7 in the first quarter, but Nevada had 21 unanswered points to take an 11-point lead, and didn’t look back.
“I’m drained,” Nevada coach Chris Ault said. “It’s not about me. It’s about the kids and how well they understand the rivalry. I love the alumni coming to these games and talking to the current players. It’s a good connection between the past and the present. It really shows the tradition that is at this school.”
UNLV’s quarterback Omar Clayton also put up solid numbers with his legs. Clayton led the Rebels with 47-rushing yards. He also passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns.
“We had two guys on the field tonight who can really light it up,” Aults said, of Clayton and Kaepernick.
Kaepernick’s numbers were impressive, but he said Nevada won Saturday in the trenches.
“It was the big boys up front,” Kaepernick said.
The Wolf Pack, ranked seventh in the nation in rushing coming into Saturday’s game, ran the ball for 444-total yards.
Nevada’s Vai Taua led all tailbacks with 127-rushing yards.
“I think this is one of the best rushing teams in the nation,” Taua said.
Saturday’s attendance was 33,078. Nevada’s next game is at Idaho on Saturday.
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September 28th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Congrats, Nevada team. Great work!