Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 119 BY BRYAN DRISKELL Nevada head coach Brian Polian was tasked with replacing Chris Ault, a Hall-of- Fame mentor and the creator of the Pistol offense. After a three-year grace period, ex- pectations are being ramped up in Reno. Polian has gone just 18-20 in his three seasons at the helm, producing back-to-back 7-6 seasons the last two years. Wolf Pack fans are expecting improvements this season. "This is Coach Polian's fourth year and he's had a chance to get all his recruits and all the coaches he wants and put in his scheme," said Chris Murray, who covers Ne- vada for The Reno Gazette-Journal. "On top of that, the schedule is exceptionally easy. Nevada plays only three teams that were above .500 last year. "Everything is lined up to have a really big year. But I think everything was lined up the last couple years for a big year, but that wasn't fulfilled." Improvements will come only if Polian can find a way to eliminate the roller-coaster performances that have plagued the Wolf Pack. Nevada had huge wins over Pac-12 op- ponent Washington State, BYU, and bowl teams New Mexico and San Jose State. Those wins were negated by head-scratching losses to 2-10 teams UNLV and Wyoming, and blowout losses to Arizona (44-20), Texas A&M (44-27) and San Diego State (31-14) in 2015. "There's been a lack of consistency; when you look at them one week to the next you have no idea what you are going to get," Murray said. "They haven't found the iden- tity … there really isn't one trait where you can say, 'This is what we're going to do, and every time we hit the field this is what we can count on.' " As an elixir, Polian hired former Montana State offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey — a disciple of the Pistol — to replace Nick Rolovich, the new head coach at Hawai'i. Cramsey will look to keep the run-oriented emphasis of the Pistol but also look to im- prove what was a highly ineffective pass game. "They couldn't stretch the field," Mur- ray said. "They're looking to have more big plays in the passing game and think that will open up the run game. They're going to try to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands quicker and looking to get more one-on-one isolations." Nevada hopes that an improved pass game will take the pressure off the run game and give senior quarterback Tyler Stewart more opportunities to shine. The Wolf Pack expect that will be enough to return them to promi- nence in the Mountain West. ✦ 2016 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2015 Result Sept. 2 Cal Poly — Sept. 10 at Notre Dame — Sept. 17 Buffalo W, 24-21 Sept. 24 at Purdue — Oct. 1 Hawai'i W, 30-20 Oct. 8 Fresno State W, 30-16 Oct. 15 at San Jose State W, 37-34 Oct. 22 Wyoming L, 28-21 Nov. 5 at New Mexico W, 35-17 Nov. 12 at San Diego State L, 31-14 Nov. 19 Utah State L, 31-27 Nov. 26 at UNLV L, 23-17 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 1-0 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 35, Nevada 0 (Sept. 5, 2009, South Bend) Head Coach: Brian Polian, 18-20 (4th year) 2015 Results: 7-6 overall, 4-4 Mountain West (T-2nd West); defeated Colorado State 28-23 in the Arizona Bowl Returning Starters: 14 (9 offense, 5 defense) 2016 Preseason Rankings: No. 79 by Lindy's, No. 86 by Athlon, No. 88 by ESPN's Football Power Index and No. 90 by CollegeFootballNews.com Did You Know?: Wolf Pack head coach Brian Polian coached at Notre Dame from 2005-09 … Polian's father, Bill, was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015 after serving as general manager of the Buffalo Bills and the Indianapolis Colts … Nevada has appeared in a bowl game in 10 of the last 11 years, with the 2013 season the exception. Prediction: Notre Dame 42, Nevada 20 STRENGTH: Running Backs Nevada produced a pair of 1,000-yard backs last sea- son and could repeat that rare achievement in 2016. The Wolf Pack return all five starting linemen from an offense that rushed for 210.6 yards per game during the 2015 season. It is the return of junior running back James Butler that makes the Wolf Pack backfield potentially so potent this fall. Butler rushed for 635 yards and five scores as a true freshman in 2014, but his breakout came last fall when he ripped Mountain West opponents for 1,345 yards and 10 touchdowns despite splitting carries with Don Jackson (1,081 yards in 2015). His 145-yard performance fueled Nevada's important conference win over New Mexico, and he capped the season off with a 189-yard perfor - mance in an Arizona Bowl victory over Colorado State. Joining Butler in the backfield is fifth-year senior Akeel Lynch, a graduate transfer from Penn State who led the Nittany Lions in rushing (678 yards) in 2014. Lynch was graded as a four-star recruit by 247Sports and finished his Penn State career with 1,318 rushing yards and seven scores, while averaging 5.0 yards per attempt. Lynch had five 100-yard games during his tenure at Penn State, including a career-high 137 yards against Il- linois and a 130-yard performance against Temple, both of which came during the 2014 season. WEAKNESS: Linebackers Linebacker was a problem area for the Wolf Pack in 2015, and now the position enters the 2016 season without all three of its starters and its top reserve from last year. A pair of seniors are poised to step into the starting lineup. Alex Bertrando has six career starts under his belt, making one last season and five as a freshman in 2013. He made 48 tackles and picked up 4.5 tackles for loss as a part-time starter as a freshman, and made 30 tackles as a reserve during the 2015 season. He will be counted on to provide leadership and improved produc - tion in his final season. Bertrando will be joined in the starting lineup by L.J. Jackson, a reserve linebacker with one career start and 27 career tackles. Jackson is a converted safety and un- dersized at 6-0 and 200 pounds, raising questions about his ability to hold up in a conference filled with teams that want to run the football. Redshirt freshman Gabe Sewell is the projected starter at Mike linebacker. Sewell brings some size to the position (6-0, 230), but his lack of experience is a concern. Nevada has bodies behind the starters, but outside of hybrid linebacker/safety Randy Uzoma (36 career tackles), there is not much experience. NEVADA WOLF PACK SEPT. 10 • NOTRE DAME STADIUM • SOUTH BEND RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB James Butler (1,342 yards, 10 TD) Passing: QB Tyler Stewart (2,139 yards, 15 TD) Receiving: WR Jerico Richardson (750 yards, 5 TD) Tackles: S Asauni Rufus (105) Sacks: DT Salesa Faraimo (1), DE Malik Reed (1) and DE Korey Rush (1) Interceptions: S Dameon Baber (6) X-FACTOR: Junior running back James Butler aver- aged 6.5 yards per carry while racking up 1,342 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2015. PHOTO BY JOHN BYRNE/COURTESY NEVADA