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Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick rushed for four touchdowns and passed for two more as the Nevada Wolf Pack knocked off Idaho 70-45 Saturday afternoon at University of Nevada's Mackay Stadium in Reno.
The Vandals came into the game much improved with a 6-1 record and 3-0 in Western Athletic Conference play but couldn't keep up with the potent Nevada offense, which scored touchdowns 10 of the 14 times they had the ball. The fourth straight Nevada win moved the Wolf Pack to 3-0 in the WAC and 4-3 overall.
The Pack defense was key early sacking Vandal quarterback Nathan Enderle four times in their first two possessions which allowed Nevada to jump out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Kaepernick had touchdown runs of 11 and 61 yards and Vai Taua sprinted 89 yards for another. Enderle kept Idaho in the game however hitting Maurice Shaw for a 73 yard touchdown pass and Deonte Jackson added a 59 yard touchdown run for the Vandals. Taua then added his second touchdown of the half for Nevada, a one yard plunge on fourth down.
Once again Enderle brought Idaho back hitting Shaw for another 73 yard strike and kicker Trey Farquher connected on a 54 yard field goal to send the Vandals into the halftime locker room only down 28-24 and a lot of momentum on their side.
"Idaho is a very good offensive team, It's not the same Idaho we have seen over the past four to five years." Nevada coach Chris Ault said afterward.
Idaho tried to build on that momentum with an on-side kick to start the second half but it was recovered by Nevada and resulted in a 35 yard touchdown run by Kaepernick on a fourth and seven play. A Wolf Pack defensive stop resulted in another Kaepernick touchdown run, this time a 75 yard scamper and the rout was on. Idaho was never able to get closer than 11 as the Pack piled up 42 second half points.
Colin Kaepernic finished with 231 yards rushing in only 15 attempts and four touchdowns. He also added 178 yards passing on 13 of 21 attempts and touchdown tosses to Luke Lippincott and Virgil Green.
“Going into the game I told you what we needed to do. We needed as a defense to take care of No. 10, and it looked to me like No. 10 could have been a Heisman trophy winner today” Idaho head coach Robb Akey said of Kaepernick.
Vai Taua ran for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lampford Mark and Chris Wellington also rushed for scores as Nevada accumulated 484 yards on the ground with 8 touchdowns tieing a school record for rushing touchdowns in a game.
"We never expect to reach 400-500 rushing yards, it's above and beyond. We made big plays, we did things we have not seen before," Ault added.
Idaho Quarterback Nathan Enderle finished up with an impressive 342 yards passing and career high 4 TD passes in the loss. Maurice Shaw caught five passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns and Max Komar caught 10 passes for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns, one from back-up quarterback Brian Reader.
Nevada kicker Ricky Drake set a University of Nevada record with 10 extra points in a game breaking the previous record of nine. The 70 points were the most any Wolf Pack team has scored since a 75-0 drubbing of Sacramento State in 1977.
Bear River graduate and Wolf Pack linebacker Kevin Grimes played periodically at linebacker and was on Kick and punt return and coverage teams but did not record any stats of note.
The Vandals came into the game much improved with a 6-1 record and 3-0 in Western Athletic Conference play but couldn't keep up with the potent Nevada offense, which scored touchdowns 10 of the 14 times they had the ball. The fourth straight Nevada win moved the Wolf Pack to 3-0 in the WAC and 4-3 overall.
The Pack defense was key early sacking Vandal quarterback Nathan Enderle four times in their first two possessions which allowed Nevada to jump out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Kaepernick had touchdown runs of 11 and 61 yards and Vai Taua sprinted 89 yards for another. Enderle kept Idaho in the game however hitting Maurice Shaw for a 73 yard touchdown pass and Deonte Jackson added a 59 yard touchdown run for the Vandals. Taua then added his second touchdown of the half for Nevada, a one yard plunge on fourth down.
Once again Enderle brought Idaho back hitting Shaw for another 73 yard strike and kicker Trey Farquher connected on a 54 yard field goal to send the Vandals into the halftime locker room only down 28-24 and a lot of momentum on their side.
"Idaho is a very good offensive team, It's not the same Idaho we have seen over the past four to five years." Nevada coach Chris Ault said afterward.
Idaho tried to build on that momentum with an on-side kick to start the second half but it was recovered by Nevada and resulted in a 35 yard touchdown run by Kaepernick on a fourth and seven play. A Wolf Pack defensive stop resulted in another Kaepernick touchdown run, this time a 75 yard scamper and the rout was on. Idaho was never able to get closer than 11 as the Pack piled up 42 second half points.
Colin Kaepernic finished with 231 yards rushing in only 15 attempts and four touchdowns. He also added 178 yards passing on 13 of 21 attempts and touchdown tosses to Luke Lippincott and Virgil Green.
“Going into the game I told you what we needed to do. We needed as a defense to take care of No. 10, and it looked to me like No. 10 could have been a Heisman trophy winner today” Idaho head coach Robb Akey said of Kaepernick.
Vai Taua ran for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lampford Mark and Chris Wellington also rushed for scores as Nevada accumulated 484 yards on the ground with 8 touchdowns tieing a school record for rushing touchdowns in a game.
"We never expect to reach 400-500 rushing yards, it's above and beyond. We made big plays, we did things we have not seen before," Ault added.
Idaho Quarterback Nathan Enderle finished up with an impressive 342 yards passing and career high 4 TD passes in the loss. Maurice Shaw caught five passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns and Max Komar caught 10 passes for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns, one from back-up quarterback Brian Reader.
Nevada kicker Ricky Drake set a University of Nevada record with 10 extra points in a game breaking the previous record of nine. The 70 points were the most any Wolf Pack team has scored since a 75-0 drubbing of Sacramento State in 1977.
Bear River graduate and Wolf Pack linebacker Kevin Grimes played periodically at linebacker and was on Kick and punt return and coverage teams but did not record any stats of note.
