Life In The DPC!

It’s time for the Wolf Pack to start making history on Division I level
DAVID PATRICK CASTRO
DPC@DAVIDPATRICKCASTRO.COM
Posted: 9/3/2007

Editor’s note: This week, the RGJ debuts its Wolf Pack guest columnist David Patrick Castro, a Nevada alum and avid Pack fan who answered our call for a column from a fan’s perspective.

52-10. That score shows the chasm between a top-25 Division I program and one that is trying to get there.

Was Nevada’s defense outplayed? I may be ill qualified to state, but I will say that the defense was likely exhausted after the pistol offense fired nothing but blanks, holding the ball for 19 minutes, 22 seconds. Actually, it is unfair to blame the offense, defense or special teams for this defeat because Nebraska is just a better team.

Earlier in the day Appalachian State rose above its Div. I-AA status and knocked off Michigan in an upset of biblical proportions. It’s moments like these that come to mind whenever your team is the underdog and has the chance to shock the world with a win over a more talented opponent.

Unfortunately, victories like Appalachian State’s — or Boise State’s in last season’s Fiesta Bowl — are the byproducts of two things. Either lightning in the bottle, like Appalachian State. Or good fortune throughout a game combined with superior coaching and strategy, such as the Broncos’ victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.

Even the greatest tactician would be hard-pressed to develop a scheme to knock off the Huskers. Of course, Nevada’s coach, Chris Ault, is a member of the NCAA Hall of Fame for his ability to produce successful teams.

Like many Nevada fans, I wasn’t around for the good ol’ days of Air Wolf, where Ault garnered a majority of his 177-74-1 record and ran roughshod over his I-AA brethren and made a trip to the postseason a common occurrence. But those memories fail to appease a fan base that will respect its history, but is rarely moved to attend Mackay Stadium on the memory of days gone by.

There was a time when Boise State and Nevada were both peers and marching towards the same goal, to be one of the big boys of Division I competition. While Boise State initially faltered, it has now become the toast of mid-major football. Obviously, Nevada is still trying to get there.

Sophomore quarterback Nick Graziano was thrown into a lion’s pit on Saturday, and at times seemed unfazed by his surroundings. Though his statistics are fairly pedestrian, 8-of-24 for 109 yards and an interception, he commanded his team when given the opportunity. But his calm leadership was undermined by an offensive theme that would not favor an undersized Nevada squad.

Though somewhat convoluted, Bill Callahan and his vertical schemes have the ability to keep opponents on their heels. Nevada had the opportunity to showcase its wares in front of a large audience and showed that there is a lot of work to be done before it becomes a primetime player.

There is no shame in losing to a Nebraska team that finds itself on an upward move of the NCAA pendulum and, quite frankly, the Pack are a positive representation of the school and didn’t bail out when defeat was a forgone conclusion.

One week separates this defeat from the opportunity of traveling to Evanston, Ill., and facing the Northwestern Wildcats. In light of the Wolf Pack’s recent showing, it seems to me Nevada will not taste victory until it hosts Nicholls State.

Nevada knocked off Northwestern last season, 31-21 at Mackay Stadium, but that matchup was played under a black cloud and with heavy hearts for the Wildcat family (due to the sudden death of Northwestern coach Randy Walker). This season, it appears as if the Pack has to leave home to take on the Wildcats before its first-game wounds have sufficiently healed. Even though Northwestern is not Nebraska, I predict that the Wildcats will have the upper hand against Nevada.

I hope the thrashing at Nebraska will be nothing more than a memory, as opposed to a recurring nightmare for the Wolf Pack faithful.

We want your opinion. Send a letter to the editor to lgustus@rgj.com to let us know if you agree or disagree with this column, and you could get published.