Wolf Pack wants Fremont Cannon
Beating UNLV is top Nevada priority
In December, Nevada and Colorado State — two schools from the same conference, the Mountain West — were paired against each other in a bowl game. Almost everyone hated the idea.
In retrospect, coach Brian Polian looks back on the inaugural Arizona Bowl with affection. His Nevada Wolf Pack’s 28-23 victory over CSU, he believes, is something to build on as he enters Year 4 of his tenure in Reno.
“As storied as this program is (under retired coach Chris Ault), there are only four bowl wins in the modern history,” Polian told the Sparks (Nev.) Tribune. “And we’ve got one of them, so that was a big deal.”
After a 4-8 season as a firstyear coach in 2013, Polian has gone 7-6 each of the past two years. As the 41-year-old son of former NFL executive Bill Polian goes deeper into the “POP” (Polian’s own players) Era, northern Nevada will be watching closely.
To many in the Reno area, no doubt, Polian’s record at Nevada is not 18-20 but 1-2. Twice — in his inaugural season and again last fall — his Wolf Pack lost to downstate rival UNLV. That’s something that, before Polian’s arrival, hadn’t happened since 2004. Having UNLV in possession of the Fremont Cannon, the rivalry’s traveling trophy, is anathema to Pack backers.
After bouncing back from the UNLV loss with a 35-17 victory over New Mexico in Game 6, Nevada then lost to Wyoming — one of only two games the Cowboys won last fall. The Wolf Pack then won three in a row (Hawaii, Fresno State, San Jose State) before falling to Utah State and San Diego State at season’s end.
It’s completely understandable, then, that Polian attaches so much importance to the bowl victory against Colorado State. The Wolf Pack scored the winning touchdown on a 4-yard James Butler run with just 1:06 left in the game.
Butler returns after rushing for 1,342 yards and averaging 6.5 yards per carry last season. Dual-threat quarterback Tyler Stewart also returns, as does the potent receiving tandem of Jerico Richardson and Hasaan Henderson.
The offense will expand but not change dramatically, Polian said, with the exit of offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich (now the Hawaii head coach) and the hiring of Tim Cramsey.
Sophomore safeties Asauni Rufus, the team’s leading tackler last season, and Dameon Baber, a preseason All-MWC choice after intercepting six passes last fall, anchor the defense. Kicker Brent Zuzo was 17-of-19 on field-goal attempts in 2015.
The Mountain West media voted Nevada No. 2 behind San Diego State in the preseason West Division poll, three spots above UNLV. Such things mean little in any case, even less where in-state rivalries are concerned.
In the past, Polian worked as a graduate or full-time assistant at Michigan State, Stanford and Texas A&M. He knows a little bit about college football rivalries.
“What we have spent the spring and summer talking about,” he told the Sparks newspaper, “is the Cannon.
“I’ve spent the whole offseason talking about the Cannon.”