Rationalizing the Nevada Game: Why The Wolfpack Scares Me, and Why They Shouldn't

Week two. USF is making an uncharacteristic road trip out to the west coast to visit a Nevada team that many USF fans, including myself, know very little about. If you have been following me on twitter for any part of the last three months, though, you know by now that this game against the Wolfpack has me a bit unsettled. And according to pretty much every Bulls fan I've talked to about the game, I'm not alone. But why? A team from the Mountain West Conference that didn't even make a bowl last year? What's so scary about that?

A while back, I made USF's 2012 football schedule into memes. I made Nevada the troll face, with good reason. Nevada isn't going to be a national championship contender, and they probably won't even win the Mountain West. But they're a team that can sure spoil a season that looked good beforehand. Their most notorious win recently was over #4 ranked Boise State in 2010, where they took the Broncos into overtime and beat them by a field goal, securing their leadership over the MWC. In addition to that feat, Nevada is 17-1 at home in their last 18 games. Their sole loss was to Louisiana Tech, who needed a 17-point 4th quarter miraculous comeback to top the Wolfpack. That was the last time Nevada lost at home. They're fresh off a win on the road at Cal, winning by a touchdown in the new stadium's first game. USF is coming off an ugly win against an FCS team. In the air, UNR quarterback Cody Fajardo had a solid day, throwing for 25-32 for 230 yards, and adding another 97 on the ground. You know how USF does against mobile quarterbacks (just think about Zach Collaros and get back to me). Their running back went for 145 yards and three TDs. So yeah, they're a pretty complete team. And to add to that, USF doesn't exactly perform beautifully west of the Mississippi. Nevada probably has the high altitude and thin air of their stadium to thank for many of their home wins and if you don't know by now, Tampa possesses neither of those qualities, so it's pretty much foreign ground for the Bulls.

But you aren't supposed to go into a game scared. Nevada's pretty good, but USF has all the tools they need to put this seemingly routine non-conference game in the books in their favor. Yes, Nevada has won 17 of their last 18 at home, but according to Greg Auman, that might not be all that impressive after all. Nevada beat Cal last weekend by a late touchdown with 36 seconds to go. That's a solid game for the Wolfpack, but it's no secret that Cal has sort of dropped off the radar in recent years. Nevada's four touchdowns were all rushing (three by a running back), and they rushed for a total of 220 yards. Luckily, USF's defense just so happens to dominate the run game. With four excellent linemen and a very quick linebacking group, USF's defense should be able to make this Nevada team pretty one-dimensional. The biggest challenge USF's defense faces is tracking down that elusive quarterback. The Bulls' secondary will have a large bearing on the outcome of this game. They went relatively untested last week, but this is where we find out if they've improved from last year. And as far as the altitude/thin air conditions go, I'd be more worried about it if this were last year. But this season, the Bulls are deeper than ever at virtually every position, so the starters will have time to rest.

I fully expect to exit this game 2-0. USF has a lot to prove after last year, and this seems to be a good game to start making that statement. Nevada seems to be the perfect team to ruin a season, but the Bulls appear to be on a mission. Not to mention, it's a September game. That's our territory.