The Top 10 passing plays of the 2010 Nevada Wolf Pack football season ...
10. Pack goes Green
The Wolf Pack offense never really figured out how to get the most out of the seemingly unlimited pass catching talents of tight end Virgil Green on a consistent basis. The ESPN announcers during the Jan. 9 Kraft Bowl were screaming that Green was the Pack's best NFL prospect.
The big (6-foot-5, 245-pound), fast, strong (he was one of the best blockers on the team) senior, though, had just 31 catches for 453 yards and five touchdowns this year. Pack fans, however, did get a glimpse into that unlimited potential on a warm early September night this year.
It was actually two pass plays but since they were almost identical and went to the same guy on the same night, we're going to count them as one for our purposes here. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick went deep down the middle twice to Green against Eastern Washington on Sept. 2 for touchdowns of 48 yards (17 seconds before the half) and 40 yards (three minutes into the second half) as the Pack beat the Eagles 49-24.
Green would catch as many touchdowns (two) over the final 12 games as he caught in the season opener against Eastern Washington.
9. Kaepernick tosses a dagger at Rebels
The UNLV Rebels, who usually pull the blankets up over their heads when they see the Wolf Pack, were hanging around. The Pack was up just 21-14 in the latest version of the Fremont Cannon game on Oct. 2 in Las Vegas.
With less than two minutes remained in the first half. Pack linebacker James-Michael Johnson had just forced a Rebel fumble and teammate Thaddeus Brown returned it 16 yards to the UNLV 27-yard line. It was now time to stick the knife into the Rebels and twist. The Rebels, though, still thought they were in this game and were playing like it. A pair of Vai Taua runs netted just five yards. The Pack now faced a 3rd-and-5 decision from the 22. Ault, it seemed, had lost faith in Kaepernick's right arm since the quarterback tossed an interception earlier in the second quarter. The coach had called seven consecutive running plays with little success.
But time was running out.
It was now time to restore some faith in that arm. Kaepernick promptly fired a pass to Taua against a surprised Rebel defense for a game-controlling 22-yard touchdown and a 28-14 halftime lead. The touchdown would turn out to be the winning points in a 44-26 victory. The cannon and the Rebels were feeling blue once again.
8. All Hale, Nick!
Kaepernick rarely played favorites when it came to where his passes were targeted. The Pack quarterback was never afraid to use the entire roster when it came to spreading the ball around. That was never more apparent than the night of Oct. 30 against Utah State.
With starting running back Vai Taua on the bench with an ankle injury, Kaepernick went to a seldom-used weapon off the Pack bench to help beat the Aggies. He found a wide open Nick Hale down the left side for a key 20-yard touchdown pass with two minutes to go in the third quarter for a 49-14 lead.
Why include a touchdown pass for a 35-point lead with 17 minutes left in the game on this list?
Well, that touchdown pass ended up providing the game-winning points in a wild 56-42 victory as the Pack defense disappeared in the fourth quarter. Hale's touchdown was needed to help avoid arguably the worst loss in Wolf Pack history (they were up 35-0 at halftime). It would also turn out to be the only catch and touchdown of Hale's season. The 5-11, 215-pound sophomore went back to the bench after the Utah State game.
7. What the heck was that?
It was as if athletic director Cary Groth called down to the sideline and demanded that head coach Chris Ault allow her to call a play.
OK, either that or Ault was having a senior moment. Whatever the reason, it sure was fun to watch. On a first-and-10 play from the San Jose State 18-yard line in a tie game in the first quarter, wide receiver Brandon Wimberly took a hand-off from Kaepernick and, well, that's when the craziness began. Wimberly didn't continue on with the apparent end around. He stayed in the backfield.
The 6-foot-6 Kaepernick then made like Jerry Rice and took off down the right sideline to the end zone. And, surprise, surprise, he appeared to be open deep in the right corner. Wimberly, though, tossed the ball about five yards to the left of Kaepernick and into the surprised arms of San Jose State's Dominique Hunsucker for an interception. It was an interesting but goofy call considering the circumstances (first quarter, tie game, etc.). It was also the first wide receiver pass the Pack had attempted since Caleb Spencer lofted one toward then-quarterback Jeff Rowe against Northwestern in 2006. That one fell incomplete.
It also was the first Pack pass thrown by a non-quarterback since Luke Lippincott found an open Kaepernick for a 6-yard score against UNLV in 2009.
6. Kaepernick airs it out
The Wolf Pack rarely allowed Kaepernick to show off all of the many talents of his big right arm. Unlike past Pack quarterbacks like John Dutton, Fred Gatlin and Mike Maxwell, who constantly stretched defenses by throwing high and deep, the majority of Kaepernick's passes were line-drive bullets to the sideline or over the middle. It was the Pistol offense, after all, not the grenade offense.
The kid with the 95-mile-an-hour fastball, though, was rarely allowed to put some air under his throws and bring rain.
Well, Kaepernick teamed with Taua on the afternoon of Nov. 20 at Mackay Stadium against the New Mexico State Aggies and threw a pass from Reno to Las Cruces, N.M. Taua took off out of the backfield just before halftime and streaked down the right sideline. Kaepernick hit a wide open Taua perfectly in stride with a high, deep lob down the sideline as the two hooked up for a 79-yard bomb just 22 seconds before the half for a 31-3 lead. It was a historic toss for both Kaepernick and Taua, the longest touchdown pass in Kaepernick's storied career and the longest catch in Taua's career.
5. Warning: The following paragraphs may cause heartache
The only other interception on this otherwise happy stroll down Wolf Pack memory lane hurt a bit more than that errant Wimberly winging.
It also was, it turns out, one of the most important Pack passes of the year. The faint of Pack heart should immediately skip down to No. 4. But if you can stomach it, read on.
Down 27-21 at Hawaii, in the final minutes of the fourth quarter with its undefeated (6-0) record on the line, the Pack was frantically attempting a comeback. The fateful drive began at the Wolf Pack 43-yard line with three minutes to play. There was plenty of time for Kaepernick to erase his three sins (two fumbles, one interception) of the previous 57 minutes. And things were looking good. Two clutch passes had netted two big first downs. And luck, finally, seemed to be on the Pack's side as Kaepernick even fumbled the ball on one play only to pick it up and throw a harmless incompletion. It was now 1st-and-10 at the Hawaii 35 with a full 90 seconds left to play. Plenty of time. Kaepernick then drilled a bullet pass down the middle for Wimberly. The 6-3 Wimberly leaped as high as he could but all he could accomplish was to tip the ball straight up into the air. It would land in the waiting arms of Hawaii's Mana Silva at the 12-yard line.
"It was like an angel waiting to fall," said Silva after the game of the interception. The Pack would argue that no angel would be so mean as to wipe out a perfect season.
4. One last time for Kaepernick
The Wolf Pack knew it would have a tough time running the ball on the Boston College Eagles on the night of Jan. 9 in the Kraft Bowl.
The Eagles, after all, had the top-rated run defense in the country. Oh, the Pack still was going to try to run. This team, after all, never shied away from a challenge this year. But trying to run the ball and actually scoring points with the running game, well, those were two different things on this cool Bay area evening.
Trailing 7-0 after fumbling the ball away and handing Boston College an easy touchdown, the Pack had to answer the Eagles.
Kaepernick then answered the call, rolling to his left from the Boston College 27-yard line. Throwing back across his body, like he did for a heartbreaking interception in the end zone against Hawaii two months earlier, Kaepernick spotted wide receiver Rishard Matthews. Matthews was so wide open, he turned his back to the end zone, hauled in the pass at about the 4-yard line and backpedaled to pay dirt for the game-tying (7-7) touchdown in the first quarter. The play would turn out to be the Pack's only offensive touchdown in a 20-13 victory. It also would be the final touchdown of Kaepernick's career.
3. Saving a championship
The Fresno State Bulldogs were not going to allow Pack running back Vai Taua to beat them. Or so they thought. Taua had made a career out of blitzing the Bulldogs (263 yards against them in 2008 and 179 in 2009) but on the night of Nov. 13 in Fresno, it just wasn't happening.
Taua had just 69 yards on 20 carries and had come up short on a 4th-and-1 run at the Fresno 8-yard line with 8:37 to go. The Pack now found itself down 34-28 with the ball but with just 7:54 to play at its own 46.
A loss on this night and, well, the Pack could forget about a WAC title. Kaepernick then went to the air for crucial first down passes. He found Rishard Matthews for 16 yards on 3rd-and-7 from the Pack 49 and Malcolm Shepherd three plays later on a 3rd-and-3 toss for four yards from the Fresno 28. The two passes were just what the Pack needed to loosen up the Bulldogs' hold on Taua. The two passes were like two punches to the gut of the Bulldogs' defense. The Pack gave it to Taua on the very next play (after Shepherd's catch) and he exploded up the middle for a game-winning 24-yard score.
2. The first flash of Matthews' magic
This was the first moment this year that you got an overwhelming sense that this just might be the Pack's year. The Pack came out of its locker room on the night of Sept. 17 with a tremendous amount of energy and confidence at Mackay Stadium with the Pac-10 Cal Bears in town.
The Pack exploded out to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter but late in the third quarter all of that energy, confidence and explosiveness had settled down into a too-close-for-comfort 31-24 lead. Nevada needed another burst of energy and confidence, not to mention some explosiveness.
Pack fans were now about to hear the name Rishard Matthews for the first time.
Kaepernick fired a deep pass down the middle to Matthews from the Cal 30-yard line on 2nd-and-10 and hit Matthews in stride. Cal cornerback Marc Anthony, though, dragged Matthews down at about the 2-yard line. Unfortunately for the Pack, Anthony also separated Matthews from the ball. The ball squirted into the end zone. Matthews then showed a tremendous amount of athletic ability, desire and tenaciousness, by collecting himself and scrambling to fall on the ball in the end zone for the touchdown that gave the Pack a 38-24 lead with 1:14 left in the third quarter.
The Pack would go on to win 52-31 on a night that jump-started the greatest season in Pack history. It was the first great play of Matthews' Pack career. But it wouldn't be the last.
1. Do-or-die to Matthews
There really wasn't any doubt where Kaepernick was going to throw the ball. Everyone in the stadium, everyone sitting on the edge of their seats at home watching ESPN televised the most exciting and meaningful WAC football game ever, knew where the ball was going.
Kaepernick, after all, had been throwing to Matthews all night long against the Boise State Broncos and poor, helpless and, apparently, defenseless cornerback Brandyn Thompson.
Over and over again. Kaepernick, who usually didn't play favorites with his receivers, would throw Matthews' way 18 times on this night. And that doesn't even count the time he flipped it back to Matthews on an end around that would net 44 yards and a touchdown.
Now, though, it was do-or-die time. No time to experiment with something new.
Kaepernick-to-Matthews, after all, had already worked nine times for 165 yards, not to mention that 44-yard run.
Who cares if Boise and Thompson knew it was coming? They knew (they had to know, right?) all night and still couldn't stop it. So, down 31-24 with 21 seconds to go, on first-and-goal from the Boise 7-yard line, after he and Ault had a heated discussion during a timeout, Kaepernick went to Matthews again. And, yes, again. The first pass to the right corner of the end zone was knocked away by Thompson with 17 seconds to play. On second down Kaepernick rolled slowly to his left. Matthews streaked to the end zone and then cut to his left toward the sideline. Kaepernick promptly fired one of his 95-mile-an-hour fastballs. Matthews grabbed the Nolan Ryan strike, with Thompson trailing, of course, with a step or two and 13 precious seconds to spare before he ran out of end zone. The play tied the game at 31-31 and the Pack would win in overtime 34-31. And, no, the Pack didn't let Matthews kick the game-winning field goal.
