The Nevada Sagebrush

Wolf Pack seniors look to stay undefeated

By: Juan López

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 1:04 AM

Photo by Brian Bolton/Nevada Sagebrush

Losing is a natural part of playing sports, but when it comes to playing the Rebels, Nevada’s players don’t know the word.

No one on the Wolf Pack’s roster has ever lost to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and they’re not planning on doing so anytime soon.

“Our seniors haven’t lost to UNLV since we’ve been here and we don’t want to change that,” junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick said. “We want to send them out on top.”

The Wolf Pack will get its next shot at keeping the Fremont Cannon in Reno at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at Mackay Stadium. The meeting will be the 35th between the two teams. Nevada leads the series 19-15.

One key component Nevada will likely have to do without is running back Vai Taua. The junior dislocated his right elbow in the first quarter of the Wolf Pack’s game last week against Missouri. Taua didn’t return to Friday’s game and at Monday’s practice, head coach Chris Ault said Taua’s injury was “not as bad as they thought, so it’s a day-to-day thing.”

“He’s doubtful (to play Saturday),” Ault said of Taua. Taua participated in non-contact drills during Monday’s practice, but he will likely be out for Nevada’s game against the Rebels.

Last season in the Wolf Pack’s 49-27 win over UNLV, Taua rumbled for 123 yards and a touchdown on just 19 carries.

With Taua’s playing time doubtful, much of the focus pertaining to the running game should fall on the shoulders of senior running back Luke Lippincott. Although Ault said Lippincott was not guaranteed to get the bulk of the carries, the running back said he was ready to take on any duties.

“I run hard every day at practice so every day is just the same for me,” Lippincott said. “I’m always ready to go out there and do what I was taught to do.”

Whether or not Lippincott is in the backfield, the Wolf Pack has bigger issues to worry about.

Last week against the Tigers, Nevada turned the ball over twice: an improvement from the total eight turnovers the team had in its first two games but still a high total for Ault, who said eliminating turnovers is one of the keys to the game for the Wolf Pack.

As for Kaepernick, who has accounted for five of Nevada’s 10 turnovers, he said the self-inflicted mistakes have become such a large issue that players are trying too hard to reduce them.

“I think it’s to the point now that everyone knows what we’re doing wrong that we’re focusing on it so much that we’re just pressing on it,” he said. “We just need to let things happen, let things come to us.”

While limiting mistakes and finding replacements for injured players will be big on the Wolf Pack’s agenda on Saturday, Ault knows the main thing that fans watching this game will care about is keeping the cannon blue.

“Not many states in the union have just two universities in their state that have a chance to play for a (conference) championship,” he said. “The Fremont Cannon is big.”

Juan López can be reached at jlopez@nevadasagebrush.com.