Pack takes long route to bowl
Gaining bowl eligible turned out to be the easy part in UNR’s quest to keep playing this season.
Then came the hard part — the waiting.
The Wolf Pack (6-6) accepted a bid to play New Mexico (8-4) in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 22 at Albuquerque. But it was a circuitous route.
First, UNR took care of what it could control on the field, easily defeating Louisiana Tech, 49-10, on Saturday at Mackay Stadium to reach the required six wins for bowl eligibility. Then the Wolf Pack sat back to see if the dominoes would fall just right for it to receive one of the Western Athletic Conference’s three postseason berths.
There were plenty of anxious moments for coach Chris Ault and his team late Saturday and into Sunday evening.
On Saturday night, the Wolf Pack watched WAC champion Hawaii fall behind Washington 28-7 before rallying to win 35-28 and remain in the chase for one of the five Bowl Championship Series games.
Had Hawaii lost to the Huskies, UNR’s postseason plans would have become null and void because Hawaii would have dropped out of the BCS and instead been assigned one of the WAC’s bowl tie-ins.
“To be honest, we told our guys we had no control over that game,” Ault said of Hawaii-Washington. “Whatever happened was going to happen, and even if Hawaii won, there was no guarantee they were going to the BCS.
“But after they won, I had some sources tell me Sunday that Hawaii was going to the BCS and we would be going to the New Mexico Bowl.”
That didn’t mean the Wolf Pack was done sweating. Even though Hawaii moved up to No. 10 in the final BCS ranking, UNR had to sit through the BCS selection show Sunday afternoon to know for sure.
As soon as Hawaii’s assignment to the Sugar Bowl against Georgia was announced, the Wolf Pack knew it wouldn’t be turning in its equipment this week. UNR soon accepted the bid to play New Mexico on its home field.
Ault was proud that his team paid attention to its task as bowl eligibility grew nearer.
“This team, especially after (Saturday), is very deserving of a bowl game,” he said. “The last few weeks, our defense has gotten better and our offense has continued to do well.”
UNR is going to a bowl for the third straight year for the first time. In 2005 UNR beat Central Florida 49-48 in overtime in the Hawaii Bowl. Last year the Wolf Pack lost to Miami, Fla., 21-20 in the Humanitarian Bowl at Boise, Idaho.
“This is great,” Wolf Pack UNR senior tight end Adam Bishop said. “Our season didn’t turn out the way we had hoped, but we get a chance to end our season and our careers with one more win. That means a lot to me and the rest of the seniors.”
Ault will give his team most of this week off and begin bowl preparations Friday. The team will arrive in Albuquerque on Dec. 19.
“We’re approaching it as a business trip,” Ault said. “It’s a home game for New Mexico, so we have to understand we’re going into a hostile environment against a very good football team.”
• NOTES — UNR junior running back Luke Lippincott and junior offensive lineman Dominic Green were voted to the all-WAC first team Monday and quarterback Colin Kaepernick was named WAC Freshman of the Year.
Lippincott rushed for 1,380 yards, scored 15 touchdowns and averaged 115 yards in 12 games. Kaepernick, who became the starter with seven games to go, passed for 2,038 yards and 19 TDs. He also ran for 567 yards and six TDs.
Making the second team were senior tight end Adam Bishop, senior defensive lineman Matt Hines and senior linebacker Ezra Butler. Butler also was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week after making 10 tackles in UNR’s win over Louisiana Tech.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2913.
