2015-2016 Football Previews (MWC) – Wolf Pack
The Nevada Wolf Pack found their way back to postseason competition in Brian Polian’s second season as the lead man. Now the challenge for the team is to carry that momentum into 2015 despite uncertainty at quarterback — not to mention the offensive line and wide receiver spots.
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MWC 2015-2016 College Football Preview – Nevada
Head Coach: Brian Polian
2014 Record: 7-6
Season Win Total (from 5Dimes): 7
5Dimes’ prediction of seven wins for Nevada is the highest of any squad in the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. It isn’t too crazy to surmise that this group could be victorious in more than seven games, exceeding that prediction.
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With games against UC Davis, Buffalo, UNLV, Fresno State and San Jose State that the team is clearly capable of winning, that leaves us with three contests against any of New Mexico, Wyoming, Hawai’i, Utah State and San Diego that this group must perform well enough to win. That would equate to an eight-win year, and yes, a bowl game.
Team Strengths
The strongest core unit for the Wolf Pack will be the front seven. This group no longer has Brock Hekking thanks to his pesky graduation, but it still has two excellent pieces on the ends in Ian Seau and Rykeem Yates.
In total, it has five returning starters in that group.
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Three of the Wolf Pack’s four starting linebackers have been named to a Mountain West preseason team by Phil Steele. The hope here is that their strength and experience can make up for a secondary that is going to need some help this season.
Speaking of needing help, the quarterback — whoever that ends up being (more on that shortly) will need some serious play out of the running game to take the pressure off of him throughout the entirety of the season.
That’s where Don Jackson and James Butler come into play.
Jackson ran for 957 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Butler ran for 635 yards and five touchdowns. Both should take pressure off the passing game — assuming, of course, they can work with the offensive line they’re dealt this season.
Team Weaknesses
Quarterback is a huge question mark at this point in the offseason. Tyler Stewart is most likely the frontrunner in a three-headed competition. He’s the only quarterback with collegiate experience on the Wolf Pack roster, yet he has just three touchdowns for his career.
Unfortunately, despite his experience placing him in a slight lead ahead of the competition, he does not have the ability to make plays out of the pocket that the Pistol offense calls for.
The secondary is another area this group must look to develop. It’s young and inexperienced, and quite frankly, all four starting spots are up for grabs at this juncture.
Nevada Wolf Pack 2015-2016 Prediction: 8-4
Taking into consideration the schedule breakdown up at the top of this analysis, eight wins sounds about right. Beating Arizona at home or Texas A&M at College Station are tough tasks, but eight wins pushes Nevada into the ‘over’ when it comes to 5Dimes projection
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At 8-4, the Wolf Pack should have a strong enough record to claim first place in the West division. What the team can do after that will depend on how much momentum they carry into the postseason, and how their starting quarterback has been able to complement the defense.
Nevada Wolf Pack 2015 Football Schedule
- Thur, Sept 3 vs. UC Davis
- Sat, Sept. 12 vs. Arizona
- Sat, Sept. 19 @ Texas A&M
- Sat, Sept. 26 @ Buffalo
- Sat, Oct. 3 vs. UNLV
- Sat, Oct. 10 vs. New Mexico
- Sat, Oct. 17 @ Wyoming
- Sat, Oct. 24 vs. Hawaii
- Thur, Nov. 5 @ Fresno State
- Sat, Nov. 14 vs. San Diego State
- Sat, Nov. 21 @ Utah State
- Sat, Nov. 28 @ San Diego State
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