Head coach Chris Ault said the he doesn’t think about whether or not Nevada should be ranked. When the ranking are released Sunday, however, the Wolf Pack could be staring at a piece of history.
Nevada strengthened its case to crack the top-25 for the first time since as a Division I school with a 27-13 victory against Brigham Young University. The victory, which was also Nevada’s first road game of the season, improved Nevada’s record to 4-0 on the season while the Cougars fell to 1-3. But the win wasn’t always pretty.
Nevada’s offense opened the game with a touchdown drive. Head coach Chris Ault, facing a fourth and one from Nevada’s 38-yard line, left the offense in, which converted the fourth down on a 15-yard reception by receiver Brandon Wimberly.
After holding BYU to a three-and-out, it appeared as though the Wolf Pack could take a commanding lead early in the game. But, a fumble by running back Vai Taua gave the Cougars the ball on Nevada’s 36-yard line. BYU capitalized, scoring a touchdown to even the game at seven.
Cougars running back J.J. Di Luigi kept BYU in the game, leading the Cougars in both receiving and rushing yards.
Late in the second quarter, Nevada faced a fourth and one from its own 45-yard line. Nevada went for it again but failed to convert, giving BYU good field position. The Cougars drove it to Nevada’s 10-yard line before hitting a 27-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-10 with 1:20 remaining.
Nevada, however, wasn’t done. Kaepernick threw for 39 yards on the ensuing drive, setting up a 38-yard field goal by Ricky Drake, giving Nevada a 24-10 half time lead.
Facing freshman quarterback Jake Heaps, who made his first start tonight, Nevada’s defense held the Cougars to 320 yards of total offense. Nevada held BYU without a touchdown after the first quarter and the Cougars managed just three points in the second half.
Heaps went 24-for-45 for 229 yards but missed open receivers. Still, Ault said he saw a lot of potential in the young quarterback.
“I think BYU’s got a bright future with him,” Ault said.
Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw for 196 yards and ran for 82, recording two touchdowns along the way. However, Kaepernick also threw an interception in the fourth quarter to Vic So’oto.
“The only person that was open was the defender,” Ault said of the pick.
The Wolf Pack’s defense, however, held forcing the Cougars to turn over the ball on downs.
Nevada improves to 4-0 on the season while the Cougars fall to 1-3. The Wolf Pack hits the road again next Saturday when Nevada plays at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.