Tonight is game night for the Wolf Pack, as they take on the SMU Mustangs in the Hawaii Sheraton Bowl to be seen nationally on ESPN starting at 5:00 pm PT. It is the fifth straight year Nevada, led by Hall of Fame head coach Chris Ault, will play in a Bowl Game.

There has been plenty of build up to this year’s Hawaii Bowl, with second-year SMU head coach June Jones returning to a city that embraced him during his excellent career at Hawaii.  Jones, who went 1-11 during his first season with the Mustangs, has obviously turned the tide for the SMU program and erased some of the memories of the dark days.

On the flip side, Nevada has suffered some roster setbacks in advance of this year’s Hawaii Bowl.  The Pack, which became the first team in the history of college football to boast three 1,000 yard rushers in a single season (doing it in incredible 11 games), have lost two of their three historic rushers.  Luke Lippincott suffered a broken toe against New Mexico State – the night in which the Pack rushed into history – ending his outstanding Wolf Pack career. Additionally, junior tailback Vai Tau, the WAC’s leading rusher a year ago, will miss the game due to his academic standing.

However, despite the losses, Nevada does boast three extremely talented running backs in what is easily one of the nation’s most productive backfields.  Of course, it all starts with junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who could become college football’s all-time rushing quarterback leader if he stays through his senior year and accumulates another solid rushing season.  He’s currently just 117 yards short of 3,000 for his career. The Pack can also turn to veteran Courtney Randall, plus the electrifying underclassmen tandem of Lampford Mark and Mike Ball.  We expect Mark, who has nearly 500 rushing yards in his young career on just 87 carries, to start.  However, don’t but don’t be surprised to see plenty of Ball as well.

In his only significant opportunity of the season, Ball actually earned WAC Player of the Week honors after destroying UNLV (his hometown team) by racking up 184 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Nevada also suffered a couple of defensive losses prior to the game, with seldom used Mike linebacker Andre Davis being dismissed from the team, and promising true freshman safety Duke Williams earning a one-game suspension for their conduct in Hawaii.

Hawaii Bowl Game Preview – Star Bulletin

Hawaii Bowl Game Preview – Dallas Morning News

Hawaii Bowl Game Preview – ESPN

Hawaii Bowl Game Preview – Sports Illustrated