BOISE, Idaho -- Boise State has won nine straight against Nevada, the Wolf Pack's longest losing streak against any WAC opponent.
But in the past couple seasons, the Wolf Pack has figured out how to stay with Boise State.
This year, they hope they’ve found a way to beat the Broncos.
“No one really even needs to say anything this week,” running back Luke Lippincott said. “We all know what’s at stake and we’ve all been working up to this point. This is the last game, it’s the championship game, and it’s right where we want to be. I think everyone’s going to be perfectly hyped up for the game once it starts.”
One of the most epic games in the series came two years ago in Boise. Kyle Brotzman hit a game-tying field goal with no time remaining to send the game into overtime. The two teams traded touchdowns in the first two overtime periods, field goals in the third overtime and then Nevada failed to convert a two-point conversion to lose 69-67 in four overtimes.
“You still lost, that’s the way I look at it,” Nevada coach Chris Ault said. “Yeah, it was a legendary [game] but you still lost. You’ve got to find a way to win. It’s just that simple and we’ve talked about that with the players. That stuff is great for the media guys, but not real great for us.”
Nevada comes into tonight’s game as one of the hottest teams in the country. After starting 0-3, the Wolf Pack have rattled off eight consecutive wins and have been steamrolling teams with the nation’s best running game. Boise State coach Chris Petersen said this was the best Nevada team he’s seen as a head coach.
Nevada’s game plan tonight will be to use it’s running game, plain and simple. It will not only rely on quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running back Vai Taua and Lippincott, the team’s three 1,000-yard rushers, but also lesser-revered running backs such as Lampford Mark and Mike Ball.
“It must be a curse for defenses having to deal with all the fresh legs that we have out there and the types of backs that we have out there,” Lippincott said. “It’s good when you get a little banged up and you can just look to the sideline and have another back come in that can produce.”
Tonight’s season finale will more or less be a chance for the Wolf Pack to redeem themselves after its awful showing against Notre Dame to start the year.
The players say that Notre Dame game, along with the 0-3 start, has fueled this run and put them in a position to with the WAC title.
“That Notre Dame game, we had no idea it was going to be like that,” Taua said of the 35-0 loss to the Irish. “And then once we lost that third one, we told each other, that’s it. We can’t do this anymore. We’re going to go undefeated and hopefully Boise goes undefeated and we want to go up there for the championship and take it up there.”
But in the past couple seasons, the Wolf Pack has figured out how to stay with Boise State.
This year, they hope they’ve found a way to beat the Broncos.
“No one really even needs to say anything this week,” running back Luke Lippincott said. “We all know what’s at stake and we’ve all been working up to this point. This is the last game, it’s the championship game, and it’s right where we want to be. I think everyone’s going to be perfectly hyped up for the game once it starts.”
One of the most epic games in the series came two years ago in Boise. Kyle Brotzman hit a game-tying field goal with no time remaining to send the game into overtime. The two teams traded touchdowns in the first two overtime periods, field goals in the third overtime and then Nevada failed to convert a two-point conversion to lose 69-67 in four overtimes.
“You still lost, that’s the way I look at it,” Nevada coach Chris Ault said. “Yeah, it was a legendary [game] but you still lost. You’ve got to find a way to win. It’s just that simple and we’ve talked about that with the players. That stuff is great for the media guys, but not real great for us.”
Nevada comes into tonight’s game as one of the hottest teams in the country. After starting 0-3, the Wolf Pack have rattled off eight consecutive wins and have been steamrolling teams with the nation’s best running game. Boise State coach Chris Petersen said this was the best Nevada team he’s seen as a head coach.
Nevada’s game plan tonight will be to use it’s running game, plain and simple. It will not only rely on quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running back Vai Taua and Lippincott, the team’s three 1,000-yard rushers, but also lesser-revered running backs such as Lampford Mark and Mike Ball.
“It must be a curse for defenses having to deal with all the fresh legs that we have out there and the types of backs that we have out there,” Lippincott said. “It’s good when you get a little banged up and you can just look to the sideline and have another back come in that can produce.”
Tonight’s season finale will more or less be a chance for the Wolf Pack to redeem themselves after its awful showing against Notre Dame to start the year.
The players say that Notre Dame game, along with the 0-3 start, has fueled this run and put them in a position to with the WAC title.
“That Notre Dame game, we had no idea it was going to be like that,” Taua said of the 35-0 loss to the Irish. “And then once we lost that third one, we told each other, that’s it. We can’t do this anymore. We’re going to go undefeated and hopefully Boise goes undefeated and we want to go up there for the championship and take it up there.”
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