Fresno State will face its toughest test of this season against Nevada
Bryan Cole / Collegian File Photo
Fresno State gave Colin Kaepernick his first opportunity.
In 2007, the Bulldogs defense knocked then-starter Nick Graziano out of the game, paving way for Kaepernick.
In his first live-game action as the replacement quarterback, Kaepernick almost rallied Nevada from a 42-20 third quarter deficit, eventually losing 49-41. Kaepernick terrorized the ‘Dogs in two-and-a-half quarters of play, passing for 348 yards and four touchdowns while also adding 60 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Since bursting onto the scene against Fresno State as a redshirt freshman, Kaepernick has caused headaches for opposing defensive coordinators and players alike in the past four years.
“He’s a big guy that can run and he’s got a very strong arm,” head coach Pat Hill said of Kaepernick. “They’ve developed his passing skills and he has outstanding running skills that they have incorporated in an offense that they can take advantage of it.”
Kaepernick leads an explosive Nevada offense that is ranked second in total offense in the country, behind only No. 1 Oregon. The Pistol offense is averaging over 556 yards per game and is also second in the nation with 317.8 rushing yards an outing.
With Kaepernick at the helm, Nevada is the fourth-best scoring offense, averaging well over 44 points per contest. Nevada is coming off a dominating performance against Western Athletic Conference foe Idaho, where the Wolf Pack racked up a team-record 844 yards and nine touchdowns en route to a 63-17 beat down of the Vandals.
“This is the big test,” Hill said. “This is the one that got our attention as a coaching staff. We’ve done our due diligence and worked hard to prepare for this, and now we’re going to play against as good an offense option team as there is in the country.”
“You’re going to see one of the better offenses in the nation in Nevada,” Hill added. “It will be a great challenge for our defense.”
While Nevada has generated video game-like numbers, the Wolf Pack offense has not faced a defense ranked in the top 40 in total defense since the team’s 52-31 rout of California.
Fresno State is ranked 38th in total defense and fourth in the nation in sacks with 26. The ‘Dogs have improved dramatically on the defensive side of the ball this year after finishing next to last in the country in sacks with 13 for the entire 2009 season.
“Our defense is playing well,” Hill said. ‘We’ve made great strides on defense. We haven’t been anything like that for a long time. And we’ll get a great test this week against the No. 2 offense in the country.”
Matt Weir/ The Collegian
Linebacker Travis Brown stressed that the key to containing Nevada’s potent offense is by players sticking to individual assignments and not trying to do too much.
“Nevada has always played us well,” Brown said. “We’ve got to come out and execute our jobs and just do whatever it takes to win. Everybody [needs to do] their jobs. Their offense is an option offense and we’ve played them before. Everybody’s got their certain job they’ve got to take care of, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Brown leads the team in tackles with 48. Brown and the Fresno State defense will face Kaepernick and Nevada’s dangerous offense on Saturday in Bulldog Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
“We’re excited about this challenge and it’s going to be a great challenge for our football team,” Hill said. “Our players have been looking forward to the month of November. We just needed to get to the month of November in a position that meant something and right now this game means a lot.”