Dual-threat Kaepernick a ‘must contain’ for Rebels defense

By Ryan Greene

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008 | 2:15 a.m.

Mike Sanford's team has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher this season.

For any team in college football four games into the season, that's a solid accomplishment.

But don't think UNLV doesn't have some concerns regarding its run defense entering Saturday's rivalry showdown with UNR.

In three of the Rebels' four games this season, the opposition's leading rusher has been a quarterback. And still, the best dual-threat QB the Rebels have yet to face is on the horizon in the form of Wolf Pack sophomore Colin Kaepernick.

"The guy is really good, and he's a huge threat," Sanford said. "We've got to contain him, no question."

Contain Kaepernick, and the Rebels can take a more-than-sizeable bite out of the Wolf Pack offense. Of Nevada-Reno's 1,479 total yards on offense this season in three games, Kaepernick - be it with his arm or feet - has accounted for 752 of those. Also known as 51 percent.

He's been leaned on a little more early on in the season largely because of the injury bug that has flat-out nailed the Wolf Pack backfield. Senior Luke Lippincott was lost for the season with a torn ACL in the team's Week Two loss to Texas Tech. Junior backup Brandon Fragger? Lost to a shoulder injury. Third-stringer Vai Taua has been effective so far, totaling 213 yards on 38 carries, but one man can't do it on his own.

And the Rebel coaching staff knows that Kaepernick will be Taua's biggest help.

"Their quarterback is their offense, whether he's scrambling with the football or they've got him out on the edge running with it," said defensive coordinator Dennis Therrell. "The triple option is their most used play right now.

"(It's about) taking proper angles back to the ball. A lot of times we've been in a man coverage and we get (the quarterback) flushed out and we don't get him on the ground before he breaks out of there. We're not a big zone coverage football team."

Following Saturday's game, senior defensive tackle Jacob Hales pinpointed some of the Rebels' difficulties against ISU quarterback Austen Arnaud's ground work on overshooting gaps and trying to be too aggressive.

More rivalry chit-chat ...

Sanford on Monday pointed out that he is now referring to the Wolf Pack as 'Nevada-Reno,' as opposed to the term 'The Team up North,' which he used to refer to UNLV's top rival in his first three seasons in Las Vegas.

He said it's part of the new mentality with this year's Rebel football squad.

That said, there's another mindset Sanford's hammering into his team's heads this week, despite the fact that UNLV is a 3.5-point favorite heading in.

"The fact remains we've lost the last three years," he said. "The last time we played here we got beaten soundly, so I see us in an underdog role."

Both coaches have also made it a point to send out reminders through the media at various times this week just how special the Fremont Cannon is. A Howitzer replica, it weights between 500 and 600 pounds, and is regarded as one of the more expensive trophies awarded in college football.

"It is a symbol of all the great things that you talk about in the state of Nevada in terms of it's a one-game championship game," UNR coach Chris Ault told the Reno Gazzette Journal. "It's on the line, and the Fremont Cannon, which is the most prestigious and biggest rivalry reward in the country, is up for grabs. We have it right now, and we don't plan on letting go. It's going to be a heck of a ball game."