Life In The DPC!

When you don’t ice someone, you only have 24 seconds to make the kick. He gave me another 60 seconds to think about it,” University of Hawaii kicker Dan Kelly said. “Unless you’re a total head case, thinking about it shouldn’t be that difficult of a task because it’s only a 45 yarder. “So, thank you. I don’t even know the guy’s name, but whoever coaches Nevada, ‘Thank you.”‘

Maybe I was wrong in my perpetual assertion that no one likes Ault on the Nevada sidelines. If Hawaii goes on to BCS bliss they need to thank Ault because he once again showed that he is playing checkers while the rest of the football world is playing chess.

Last Friday’s match up against the University of Hawaii was the greatest opportunity that the Pack had to salvage some semblance of respectability from this poor 2007 campaign but like every other close game Ault found away to sink his own ship. Nevada is now 5-5 and can count nail biting losses against Boise State, Northwestern, and now Hawaii as bad game management and that responsibility lies solely on Ault. If you want the accolades of being a leader, well you have to take the brunt of the criticism.

“Courage is often found in having the willingness to chuck the textbook out the window and trust one’s own instincts,” Matt Zemek of CollegeFootballNews.com said. “Perhaps this is what Ault was thinking in the final minutes of Friday night’s nailbiter against unbeaten Hawaii. The evidence, however, suggests that the leader of the (Wolf) Pack simply committed a few astoundingly bad errors in judgment.”

After ten episodes the Reno Gazette Journal has canceled my Wolf Pack Guest Column. I received a phone call from my boss in the middle of last week and it seems that the plug was pulled due to a lack of interest for football and the overall excitement generated by the pending basketball season. Or maybe the people had spoken…

“I nearly had a heart attack when I saw there was a guest columnist for basketball”, Reno_Zen said. “I thought the Gazoo was letting that Castro guy write about basketball too. Thank goodness they did not…that guy is not a good writer.”

Truthfully it is a lack of interest for the Lil’ General and His Soldiers. Nevada has developed into a school like Indiana. Where basketball is king and the only reason I know the Hoosiers have a football program is because of Antwaan Randle El.

The University of Nevada held of New Mexico State, 40-38, in Las Cruces. The Pack held on to victory after the Aggies shanked the game winning field goal attempt.

The Pack are now 5-4, 3-2 in the WAC and have slim bowl hopes. They now have a week off to prepare for the Hawaii Warriors. The Warriors are 14th in the BCS and even though the Colt Brennen Heisman campaign has died off but the Warriors offense should be feared, regardless of the weather in No Town.
Reno Gazette Journal- Wolf Pack Guest Column

The University of Nevada vs. The University of Idaho Vandals

Dear Mr. Castro,

I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I greatly enjoy your weekly columns on Nevada football. Win or lose, they always give me something to look forward to on Monday. The RGJ should find you a regular gig once the season ends. Perhaps something similar to Joe Santoro’s much missed “Sports fodder for a Friday morning…” Anyway, I wholeheartedly agree with you that Nevada football is just not growing as a program. They just can’t seem to achieve that proverbial “signature victory” that the Nevada basketball program got when they beat Kansas at Lawlor Events Center in December of 2003. That win over Kansas is what got our basketball team “over the hump,” and I have always said that the football team needs to have it’s “Kansas moment” as well. They had an opportunity in last year’s MPC Computers Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes where they outplayed Miami in every aspect of the game except for the final score. Even Larry Coker said that Miami needed it’s best game of the year in order to beat the Pack. I will go to my grave believing that Chris Ault pulled a defeat from the jaws of victory in that game. They also had an opportunity against Nebraska and of course several opportunities against Pac-10 teams to shock the world, but other than a couple of victories against Washington and BYU when those programs were having off years, the Pack is not even competitive in their “challenge” games. I wholeheartedly agree that this coaching staff places such an extreme emphasis on beating UNLV that they give the other 11 games short shrift. As historic and heated as say, the Miami/FSU, Oklahoma/Texas, Ohio State/Michigan, and Army/Navy rivalries are, those programs are by no means simply satisfied with making a victory over their top rival the sole focus of their seasons, as I suspect Ault and his staff makes beating UNLV the prime goal of their season, to the detriment of winning a WAC title and beating a good team in a bowl game. If there is any one game that Ault should focus on winning, it is against Boise State. If you are a perennial also ran in you respective league or conference, you make beating the “big dog” in you conference your top priority, much like George Allen made beating the Dallas Cowboys his top priority when he took over a struggling Washington Redskins team in the early 1970s. Until we actually beat BSU, I’m afraid that it is no more a rivalry than the Harlem Globetrotters versus the Washington Generals was a rivalry. Well, I guess I needed someone to vent to, and the way this season is going, don’t be shocked if I vent to you again! Until then, please keep up the excellent writing.

Sincerely Yours,

Matthew J. Mayeroff

First and foremost thank you for the kind words. With that said, the Wolf Pack are in some form of football limbo these days. They’re not good enough to beat the any of their upper level WAC foes (Boise State, Hawaii, Fresno State) and many fringe fans don’t seem to care that they can outshine the Utah States and Idahos of the world. Yes, they can run through UNLV but that is a team that Nevada should beat. We need to keep our rivalry intact. It’s good for all parties involved, it generates buzz and these games are the essence of college football. But on Ault’s shopping list you are absolutely correct in mentioning that Boise State should be one of the goals. The Broncos are the measuring stick of the WAC and should be the focus of each new campaign. In my mind the WAC title, beating Boise State and then UNLV should be the m.o.
Last Sunday was the opportunity for the Pack to have their breakthrough. Like you mentioned, a signature victory has been elusive for this latest version of Nevada football. A win over Boise State, on national television and mentioned on most sports highlight shows (including PTI), would have garnered Nevada enough publicity to land some recruits and lasso in some fans that may have been on the fence. As it is Nevada is 2-4, 0-2 and there is minimal buzz for a road trip to Logan, Utah and a match up against the Aggies.

So where do we go from here? Nevada has many winnable games down the stretch and a win over Hawaii could be their signature win. But does a strong finish, with a victory over Hawaii, salvage their season?

Despite a great effort the Wolf Pack fell to Boise State in a barn burner, 69-67. The defeat was the eighth straight against the Broncos and the Wolf Pack are now 2-4, 0-2 in 2007.

To me, a defeat is a defeat and moral victories do not carry over in to the win column. Any excitement of hanging close with a dominate program should fade away quickly and be replaced by the harsh reality that this team is not winning games. Enjoy the exuberance of a close game on national TV but always keep in mind that whether you lose by two or by 31 the Boise State Broncos are still the better program.

Wolf Pack Guest Column: Nevada @ Boise State

I don’t get you DPC. You despise Ault and have asked for his ouster on several occasions. Yet you say you respect the Raiders organization who is run by the most infamous micro manger in football history? Al Davis is everything that you claim Ault is, and more. He’s an overbearing knowitall who has done more to damage the organization and it’s image than any other person.

So please, could you explain these divergent positions? -Rory

Dear Rory;

You are absolutely correct in asking for an explanation on why I dig Al Davis but why I don’t groove to Chris Ault. As I stated in an earlier blog, Mr. Davis influenced my Madden PS2 experience more than any other man, except maybe Jeff George. During my UNR academia days I wasted a lot of time playing Madden as opposed to studying my future craft. My roommate at the time would observe my tendency to draft nothing but big armed and immobile QB’s and speedy but less than talented wideouts and maintained I acted like Mr. Davis during franchise mode. Initially this was viewed as an inside joke but after exhaustive research the joked turned into absolute respect and admiration for him. I recommend any football fans and/or Mr. Davis naysayer to read his biography “Slick”.

Mr. Davis has many detractors and rightly so but his contributions to modern football are too great to ignore. Yes, he is somewhat of a cliche but the man is a football genius. Many of the positive aspects I just listed for Mr. Davis could be biographical for Ault. I realize this but the main difference between the pair of hall of famers is that Davis has thee championship rings and numerous accolades at the highest level while the Little General dominated D-1AA . Ault is great and despite what the Wolf Pack community may assume I have nothing but the utmost respect for the man but his greatness pales in comparison to Mr. Davis.