Opponent View: Purdue vs. Nevada

Nevada is feeling good about being 2-1 through the first three weeks of the season, particularly after a 38-14 dismantling of Buffalo Saturday night.

GoldandBlack.com talked to Reno Gazette-Journal beat writer Chris Murray about Wolf Pack before the matchup at Purdue at noon Saturday.

GoldandBlack.com: With a 2-1 start by the Wolf Pack, are fans and coaches pretty happy with that start?

Murray: "After the Buffalo game, everything was a bit more on track. You open up against an FBS team like Cal-Poly, and you want to win a little more decidedly then they did. They had to go to overtime to win and Cal-Poly really dominated the second half. After that, Nevada goes to Notre Dame and that’s probably not a game you are going to win, but they didn’t play very well and lost 39-10. They just made a lot of unforced errors and really gave the game away in the second quarter when they were outscored 25-0. I guess the optimism wasn’t very high at that point.

"But then you come back and beat Buffalo in what was actually their second-largest margin of victory under Coach (Brian) Polian in four years and the most points scored since Cody Fajardo — their record-setting quarterback — graduated in 2014. After that game things are more optimistic, and say they go on to beat Purdue and go 3-1 in the non-conference, having played two Power 5 schools, you’ve got to be happy with that result if they are able to do that this weekend."

GoldandBlack.com: That would undoubtedly lessen the pressure on Brian Polian. How much pressure is on him? He has back-to-back seven-win seasons, makes some changes in the offseason. Is there some pressure for him to translate that to more wins this season?

Murray: "Yeah absolutely. I think it is kind of an interesting situation because he comes into this season with two years left on his contract. So I think you have to make the call one way or the other after this season, with only one year left on the deal. He’ll be about .500 if he wins this game against Purdue. He has a fairly easy schedule. I think it was fifth-easiest schedule this year based on the opposing teams’ winning percentages from last year. If he comes in and only wins four or five games, he is potentially on the hot seat. If he comes in and wins eight or nine games, he potentially puts him self in the conversation of being a lower-level Power 5 coach.

"It is a huge year and I think it can go either way. The jury is still out on what we have here going into season four. ... Everything off the field has been great, just on the field they’ve had some losses that you are just scratching your head over. They’ve lost to their rival UNLV twice in the last three years, and they had only lost to them at home twice in the prior 25 years. There is an issue there and I think you could potentially argue that this is a job audition for him. Obviously, his father (Bill) has a lot of ties in Indianapolis and (Purdue) may be looking for a new coach after this season. So it’s a huge year to figure out where this program is going. Two seven-win seasons are all right, especially when you consider Nevada’s limited budget and facility issues, but you want to see another step forward."

GoldandBlack.com: He’s got a really good player in James Butler. What makes the running back so good?

Murray: "There is really no weakness to him. He’s a smaller guy at 5-foot-9, 210 pounds. He never goes down after the first hit. He always runs through contact and gets yards after contact. He’s got great vision. He’s probably not the fastest guy, but he’s got six runs in the last 13 games of 50-plus yards, and he has only been caught in one of those plays which was a 91-yard run where got all the way down to the 5-yard line. He’s gained a bigger role in the passing game this year. He only had seven catches in all of last year, and he already has seven catches this year. He’s also a very good blocker. He has kind of stepped up into that lead back role. He ran for over 1,300 yards as a backup last season, and has really taken his game to the next level with 20-25 carries per game this year. I think he’s the best player on their roster."

GoldandBlack.com: Is quarterback Tyler Stewart good enough to give the offense balance, or is he too limited to make the passing game a threat?

Murray: "He certainly good enough. Physically, he’s 6-4, 225 pounds. He’s got a very strong arm and his best asset is probably his intelligence. A lot of those long plays that Butler had are because Tyler switched the play to a run and found the gap in the defense. He has picked up the new offense pretty well. He didn’t have a very good game against Notre Dame, and I would argue that that is his worst game in his career here. He rebounded very well though against Buffalo. They don’t ask him to do much. He’s more of a game manager than a guy who is going to go out and win you games. That’s very different coming off of Cody Fajardo and Colin Kaepernick. There were eight years of those guys and they are the only guys in NCAA history with over 9,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in their career. So he doesn’t have that kind of explosion, but he’s still a very good athlete. He can escape the pocket and gain fifteen yards and find a way to extend the play. They don’t really ask him to go out and win games, and he hasn’t really done that, but he has had some last-minute drives to win games. He a very capable quarterback, and he’s going to split time with the second quarterback Ty Gangi. Last week, Nevada played Gangi every third series. He’s more of a running kind of quarterback. He began his career as a walk-on at Colorado and then went to junior college, so this is his first year at Nevada. He adds a different element. Tyler really is the guy if the passing game is going to be effective against Purdue."

GoldandBlack.com: The offense is very diverse.

Murray: "They use a lot of motions and different formations. They try to plant a seed of hesitancy in the defenders’ head, so that they don’t know who is getting the ball and where it is coming from. In addition to that they are using a ton more players. Not only two quarterbacks, but they’re pretty much using three quarterbacks. They showed a triple option against Notre Dame and Coach Polian said that that option is still alive. They are using eight or nine wide receivers whereas last year only four recorded a decent amount of catches. They’re using four to five running backs. So they’re trying to be quicker, and get guys in and out to keep guys fresh during the game.

"I don’t think the plays are overly complicated, but the formations are diverse and playing three quarterbacks that do three very different things makes it a very interesting offense. They didn’t play too well in the first two games. They scored 21 points in the first quarter against Cal-Poly and then only had one touchdown in the next seven quarters. You saw what they were capable of against Buffalo, and for Nevada it really starts with the offensive line. They call it the 'Union' and that’s what they have called it for the last 25 years. The offensive line played very well against Buffalo, but not so well in the first two games. They are going to have to do well against Purdue’s huge linebackers. They will have to run the ball effectively. They want to have a balanced offense, but it starts with running the ball."

GoldandBlack.com: What is the story defensively? The Wolf Pack have a very young front seven and have given up a whole bunch of rushing yards.

Murray: "It is a very well-coached group. Scott Boone is a very good defensive coordinator. He was a very good coach at the lower levels and was the head coach at William & Mary for a decade. They’ve really done well the last three years under him. They decreased their points allowed every season, but this is probably his biggest challenge. They still don’t have a sack this season, as the front four is pretty inexperienced. The linebackers are very inexperienced and that is the group that Boone coaches. The line defense is definitely the concern. Just looking at their size: The linebackers are 230 pounds, 230 pounds, and 190 pounds, respectively. Their line is not overly big despite having a nose guard who is 280 pounds. That is a group that is going to have to stand up and make sure that Purdue doesn’t get out and start running the ball.

"Purdue has had some good games throwing the ball, although interceptions have plagued them. But in the secondary, I would say (Nevada's) two best players are the safeties. Last year they were freshman, one a true freshman and one a redshirt freshman. The true freshman (Dameon Barber) didn’t play until the fourth game, but was still selected first team Mountain West after having six interceptions. The redshirt freshman (Asauni Rufus) had 105 tackles, making him the first freshman at Nevada since 1994 to have more than 100 tackles. Those are their two best players and their two most athletic players.

"The two cornerbacks (E.J. Muhammad and Elijah Mitchell) played really well against Buffalo. Buffalo’s QB was just a freshman only making his second college start, so this week they will definitely get more of a challenge. This week they’re going to need a pass rush. The two defensive ends are going to have to rush the quarterback and actually get him off his spot."

GoldandBlack.com: The pass defense has only given up 130 yards. Is that real or have teams just stuck to their success with running the ball?

Murray: "Coach Polian even said this week that he’s not putting much stock into that. They played a triple option team in the first game (in Cal Poly), and they didn’t throw the ball very much. They played Notre Dame and DeShone Kizer was out of it by the middle of the third quarter. And then against Buffalo, their quarterback just can’t throw the ball very well yet at this point in his career. He threw maybe eight deep balls and they were all overthrown by five yards each time. They haven’t been tested in the pass game, so this will be their first real test.

"It will be interesting because of that pass rush and that zero sacks stat. They’ve had nearly 80 pass attempts against them and they only got near the quarterback once or twice. They are high on the defensive ends Malik Reed and Patrick Choudja. This is certainly their first big test and I am curious to see how it works. ... They are not a top 20 pass defense nationally like the stats suggest now, but are they in the middle of the pack or are they in near the end of the pack."

GoldandBlack.com: It’s a 9 a.m. start for Nevada. Does that matter?

Murray: "No, but it did matter two years ago in the New Orleans bowl in 2014. They started at 9 a.m. Pacific Time and they really struggled. But last year they moved their practices from the afternoon to 8:45 in the morning. They’ve been practicing in the morning for the last two seasons, so I don’t think it will be an issue. Whenever they travel over three time zones, they travel a day early, so they should have time to get acclimated. I think a lot of (the earlier practices) was that it made it easier to set the academic schedule, but it certainly helps when there are the occasions where you will be traveling back east."

Membership Information: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2016. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.