The Nevada Sagebrush

Ground and pound will decide Fresno matchup

By: Juan López

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 1:45 AM

Let’s be honest, Nevada hasn’t played anybody worth mentioning (save Idaho) so far in the Western Athletic Conference season.

That’s going to change this week.

The Wolf Pack will host Fresno State Saturday at Mackay Stadium in a matchup of the two best teams in the conference, other than Boise State.

The Bulldogs (6-3, 5-1 WAC) have won five games in a row and have the best running back in the nation, statistically speaking. But Nevada (6-3, 5-0 WAC) is the hottest team in the WAC right now and has an offense that would scare the ‘84 Chicago Bears.

BEST INDIVIDUAL VS. BEST TEAM

Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews is the best ball carrier in the nation — by far.

He averages 162.1 yards on the ground per game, 27 more yards than the second-best player’s total.

The junior back showcased his skills nationally earlier this year when the Bulldogs played Boise State on ESPN. Mathews didn’t disappoint.

He ran for 234 yards on 19 carries and scored three touchdowns. His three scores were of 69, 60 and 68 yards. He lit up the Broncos.

Saturday, the best runner in the country will be taking on the best running team.

Nevada averages 341.1 rushing yards per game and 7.3 yards per attempt, both of which rank best in the nation.

The Wolf Pack has two players who average more than 100 rushing yards per game (quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running back Vai Taua) and has six players who have rushed for two or more scores this year.

Their divvying up of the rushing responsibility means one sole guy will not stand out, but Kaepernick made it clear that this fact does not take anything away from him and his teammates.

“Our offense is more spread out,” he said. “Last night, we had four people go for 100 yards. You keep one (running) back in there the whole time, it might be one back for 350 (yards) or something like that.”

Whether they’re from Mathews or the Wolf Pack backs, this game promises to see about 800 rushing yards.

YOU KNOW WHAT’S COMING

With two monster running attacks taking the field on Saturday, the defenses know what’s coming at them. Combined, the two teams average 90 rushing attempts per game. You can almost guarantee that the first and last offensive plays for both teams will be runs.

So as a defense, if you know all the other team wants to do is run, then you have to load the box with either eight or nine defenders to try to combat this.

This will be a tough task for Fresno State. Every team Nevada has played so far knows all the Wolf Pack wants to do is run the ball down your throat, but so far, no WAC team has been able to do anything about it.

In five conference games, Nevada averaged 394.2 rushing yards and has scored 22 touchdowns on the ground. The Wolf Pack’s ground game has been unstoppable.

Fresno State will have to rely on its front seven, led by linebacker Ben Jacobs, who leads the team with 63 tackles. Since Jacobs first played as a freshman in 2007, he has started every game for the Bulldogs.

For the Wolf Pack, its rushing defense will rely on the play of its front four. The Wolf Pack has the second-best rushing defense in the WAC (104.9 yards per game), but it is prone to giving up big plays on the ground.

Too many times this year, running backs have run up the middle against Nevada, broke through a few tackles and sprinted for a touchdown — don’t be surprised if Mathews follows suit.

It will be essential for both teams to flow to the ball and gang tackle. That’s something both defenses emphasize every week, but it’ll be especially important this weekend with some of the best running backs in the nation on either side.

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