Nevada’s Taua is tough to bring down

F ORT COLLINS» With good reason, Nevada’s offense has relied upon the capable arm of Ty Gangi this season and his collection of trusted wideouts.

The Wolf Pack has thrown more than it’s run the ball, because that’s what it does best. But in true freshman running back Toa Taua, Nevada has found a potent side dish for success.

The younger brother of Vai Taua, a former Pack standout who is now part of the football staff as the assistant director for player personnel/recruiting coordinator, he’s stepped into the family role quite well.

Taua has rushed for 582 yards. At 5-foot-10, 235 pounds, when he gets rolling down hill, he’s tough to stop.

Think human bowling ball. And if he gets rolling, it opens up that much more for Gangi and crew.

“They’re a spread team, but they’re not afraid to run the ball,” coach Mike Bobo said. “He’s a big back that we’re going to have to tackle, and we have not been great at tackling this year. I think that goes to getting more hats to the ball, keyed in to our keys for run or pass, then trigger and going to make the tackle.

“One guy cannot bring this guy down. He’s averaging close to 6 yards a carry (5.6). When they do run it, he’s had success, and I think it’s because they put so much pressure on you in the passing game.”

There isn’t a Nevada back who has had 20 carries in a game this season, though Taua has come closest with his 18 against Hawaii. He averaged 7 yards a carry that week, finishing with 126 yards, his second 100-yard effort of the season. His best was 170 in a win over Toledo, a total highlighted by his season-long run of 66 yards.

No, Nevada doesn’t run a lot, averaging just 149 yards a game on the ground, but CSU has made teams look good in that regard this year, allowing 297.6 yards per game, ranking 105th nationally.

The Rams put in some work on tackling in the bye week, and linebacker Tre Thomas knows Taua is a different type of load to attack.

“I mean, hit him low, hit him hard,” he said. “Low backs are always hard. Shorter backs are always hard to tackle. They have a low center of mass.”