The 2008 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Nevada competed as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The team was led by long-time head coach Chris Ault, who served in the position for his 24th season. Nevada utilized Ault's own creation, the "Pistol" offense. This offense was directed by 15th-year offensive coordinator Chris Klenakis. The defense was led by first-year defensive coordinator Nigel Burton.
Nevada finished the regular season with a 7–5 mark, 5–3 in WAC play, which resulted in a three-way tie for second-place in the conference. Hawaii and Louisiana Tech both likewise finished with 5–3 conference records. During the season, the Wolf Pack played three ranked teams: Texas Tech, Missouri, and Boise State. Nevada lost each game, but gave Boise State its closest contest in conference play, losing by seven points. Nevada, however, suffered a setback when they lost to New Mexico State, who were called by one publication the "perennial WAC bottom feeders".
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick was named 2008 WAC Offensive Player of the Year. During the regular season, he passed for 2,479 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 1,115 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was aided by running back Vai Taua, who ran for 1,420 yards and 14 touchdowns. It was the first time in school history that Nevada had two 1,000 yard rushers on the team simultaneously.
Nevada secured its fourth straight bowl game appearance and faced Maryland in the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl. The Wolf Pack lost in a high-scoring and record-setting game, 42–35.
Read more about 2008 Nevada Wolf Pack Football Team: Schedule
Famous quotes containing the words football team, wolf, pack, football and/or team:
“You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1993)
“A man in a cave or in a camp, a nomad, will die with no more estate than the wolf or the horse leaves.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“A favorite of outdoor alcoholics, connoisseurs and Fundamentalists, these pills turn water into wine. In 10 minutes the most fetid swamp scum in the forest can become modest red, elusive and light on first taste, yet playful—one might say a trifle impudent—on the afterbite. Saves pack space by eliminating need for bulky corkscrew, decanter and bottles. Store pills on their sides in a cool dark place.”
—Alfred Gingold, U.S. humorist. Items From Our Catalogue, “Wine Pills,” Avon Books (1982)
“... in the minds of search committees there is the lingering question: Can she manage the football coach?”
—Donna E. Shalala (b. 1941)
“Imagination is a valuable asset in business and she has a sister, Understanding, who also serves. Together they make a splendid team and business problems dissolve and the impossible is accomplished by their ministrations.... Imagination concerning the world’s wants and the individual’s needs should be the Alpha and Omega of self-education.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)