Something's Got to Give

Louisiana Tech held Hawaii's high powered passing attack out of the endzone on Wednesday. On Saturday, Nevada showed they present a very different challenge.

Nevada running back Vai Taua is out and the Wolf Pack still ran all over UNLV. In fact, freshman Mike Ball is probably still in the endzone a day later. Ball ran for 184 yards and five touchdowns as Nevada got in the win column in a big way, beating their in-state rivals, UNLV, 63-28. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Luke Lippincott each ran for at least 170 yards on their own as the Wolf Pack rushed for a school record 559 yards. Kaepernick was a very efficient 15-18 passing for over 200 yards and the team finished with 773 yards of total offense. Louisiana Tech was very strong against the rush last year and held Nevada in check for most of the game before falling late. This year, Tech is coming off of a beat down of Hawaii. The Warriors had scored a touchdown in 62 straight games until the Bulldogs kept them out on Wednesday. Hawaii had just lost to UNLV 34-33 in Las Vegas. Nevada just went to the same place and beat the Rebels by 35. Needless to say, Nevada worked out their offensive kinks on Saturday. After being shutout at Notre Dame, the Wolf Pack went to Colorado State and lost 35-20. Nevada looked better at home the next week, falling to Missouri 31-21. Louisiana Tech struggled against Auburn and Navy early in the season. Both teams brought unique rushing attacks that wore the Bulldogs down late. Nevada will bring another tough challenge for the Bulldog run defense. D'Anthony Smith, Adrien Cole, and Antonio Baker make it very tough to run up the middle of the Bulldog defense. The key will be to contain Kaepernick from getting outside while not losing sight of his ability to beat you with the pass. The game will be on ESPN this Friday night. Kaepernick burst on the scene on national television two years ago when the then freshman took Boise State to the brink in an epic 69-67 loss in four overtimes. Kaepernick passed for 243 yards and three touchdowns will running for 177 yards two scores. Lippincott added 187 rushing yards and four scores in that game. It will be the second straight game on national television for the Bulldogs. Coach Derek Dooley and his team made a big statement by beating Hawaii 27-6 and completely shutting down their offense. Louisiana Tech and Nevada tied for second in the WAC last year and this game could signal who is ready to be the top challenger to Boise in the conference this season. Nevada will bring a big ply offense and tech will counter with a defense that was dominant last week. Something's got to give.