After finishing the season at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play, Nevada will take on New Mexico (8-4, 5-3) in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 22.The teams have some remarkable similarities.

Both have played two of the same opponents: New Mexico State and UNLV.

Like Nevada, New Mexico beat both teams, but by a larger margin than the Wolf Pack.

The Lobos beat New Mexico State 44-34 and crushed UNLV 27-6, while Nevada beat New Mexico State 40-38 and UNLV 27-20, winning both games on last minute touchdowns.

It has been an up and down season for the Nevada Wolf Pack (6-6, 4-4), which has lost five games by a combined 20 points for an average of four points per loss.

But none of that mattered to Nevada’s players and coaches Saturday.

Junior Luke Lippincott was an all-purpose scoring machine Saturday, getting 112 yards rushing, 105 yards receiving and five touchdowns in the 49-10 win against Louisiana Tech.

His huge game propelled him up several Nevada record book lists.

He is now second in single-season rushing touchdowns with 15 and 2nd in single-season scoring with 108 points.

On a chilly Saturday afternoon at Mackay Stadium the Nevada Wolf Pack blew out the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 49-10, putting itself in a good position to be selected for a bowl.

Nevada receiver Mike McCoy wears a somber memorial around each wrist during every football game in the form of two white wristbands.

One has the No. 12 written on it, the other has No. 42.

They represent two of McCoy’s teammates that were killed during his first year of football when he was 11 or 12.

“One of the coaches had two sons on the team, the Cole brothers,” McCoy’s father, Ross McCoy, said. “He was getting a divorce and was really depressed and despondent, so he shot his two sons and himself.”

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Many things went wrong for the Nevada Wolf Pack Saturday in the 27-24 loss, but one of the most critical might have been the numerous penalties.

For the Nevada football team, Saturday’s 27-24 loss in San Jose typified the season.

“This is one of the toughest seasons to swallow because you look back at these games and we should be a totally different team right now,” senior Paul Pratt said. “We had a chance to be 9-1, 8-2, but every game it came down to the last two minutes and we just couldn’t finish. The problem with this team is we just didn’t finish.”

Nevada is 5-6 overall and 3-4 in conference, and five of those losses were by an average of four points.

Wolf Pack must win to go to third straight postseason. Minimize Penalties. Win the Turnover Battle. Get Kaepernick Back on Track.

Nevada led San Jose State 24-10 at the end of the second quarter Saturday night and looked poised to become bowl eligible, but it was shut out in the second half in losing 27-24 in San Jose.

Brett Jaekle had a chance to tie the game with 26 seconds left, but his 37-yard field goal bounced off the left goal post.

Nevada’s defense stepped up and made several big stops against No. 13 Hawaii’s high-powered offense on Friday.

The defense held Hawaii to 430 yards of offense, more than 100 yards less than its average output.

Nevada fell just short of pulling an upset for the second time of the season, this time losing 28-26 to No. 13 Hawaii at Mackay Stadium Friday night. Hawaii kicker Dan Kelly’s 45-yard field goal sailed through the uprights with 11 seconds remaining in the game, maintaining the Warriors undefeated record and keeping its BCS bowl hopes alive. Kelly was forced to kick the 45-yarder twice after Nevada called timeout just before the snap to ice him. The first kick was barely good, but the second was a bomb that could’ve been good from 55 yards.

In one of the more intriguing games of the season, Nevada will take on No. 12 Hawaii at Mackay Stadium Friday night. The Wolf Pack will be fighting to get to the six-win mark and become bowl eligible while the Warriors will be trying to stay undefeated and keep their BCS bowl hopes alive. A Nevada win could conceivably hurt its own bowl hopes, but with so much uncertainty you can bet Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault is billing this as a make-or-break game to his players.

Nevada’s special teams almost lost last weekend’s game, but fortunately for the Wolf Pack, New Mexico State’s special teams unit was even worse. Brett Jaekle’s missed extra point with just one minute remaining left the score at 40-38 and gave New Mexico State a very good shot at the win. Luckily, Paul Young’s 44-yard field goal attempt with two seconds remaining sprayed wide left and Nevada escaped with the win.

As expected, Nevada beat last place Idaho Saturday to improve to .500, but the game left much to be desired on both the offensive and defensive end. Coming into the game, Idaho’s pass defense was ranked 101 out of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) teams, but the Wolf Pack managed 137 yards and no touchdowns through three quarters.

Nevada will complete its three game stint against the WAC’s bottom feeders when it plays the seventh place New Mexico State Aggies in Las Cruces, N.M., Friday night.