2009 Nevada Wolf Pack NCAA Football Predictions

Written July 11, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Nevada Wolf Pack 2009 Predictions The Nevada Wolf Pack put together a pretty solid season last year finishing tied for 2nd in the WAC at 5-3, but were unable to cap off the season with a big win in the Humanitarian Bowl against Maryland. The Wolf Pack ended up finishing the season 7-6 overall, but with 14 returning starters the Wolf Pack are thinking WAC Championship this season.

On offense the Wolf Pack figure to have one of the best rushing attacks in the country with junior Vai Taua and 6th year senior Luke Lippincott. After leading the WAC in rushing with 1,420 yards in 2007, Lippincott was injured for the season in week 2. Fortunately for the Wolf Pack they had another outstanding back in Taua, who stepped right in and wound up leading the WAC with 1,521 yards with 15 touchdowns. If thats not enough junior starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick is one of the best running quarterbacks in college football, as Kaepernick racked up 1,130 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. Unfortunately for opposing defenses Kaepernick can really throw the football as well, as he completed 54% of his passes for 2,849 yards with 22 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions. Kaepernick did lose two of his top two threats at the receiver position, but do return junior Chris Wellington, who ended up with 632 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. The Wolf Pack are also very high on the ability of junior Maurice Patterson, redshirt freshman Brandon Wimberly, and junior college transfer Malcolm Shepherd. The offensive line should also be very strong this season, as the Wolf Pack figure to plug in senior Kenneth Ackerman at center and junior Aminiasi Silatolu at guard. The Wolf Pack also return two of the best tackles in the conference in senior Mike Gallett and junior Alonzo Durham. There is no question that this will be one of the elite offenses in the WAC this season, and if the defense comes through as expected the Wolf Pack will be tough out for any team this season. Bet the Wolf Pack this season at Sportsbook.com.

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On defense the Wolf Pack bring back 7 starters to a unit that really excelled against the run allowing just 72 yards a game, but had its troubles against the pass. Up front the Wolf Pack return all but one starter, and the opening comes at defensive tackle where junior Mike Andrews is expected to take over. At defensive end the Wolf Pack have two of the top pass rushers in the conference in juniors Dontay Moch and Kevin Basped, as these two guys combined for 21.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss last season. At linebacker the Wolf Pack return just one starter in sophomore James-Michael Johnson, but should have no problems plugging in senior Mike Bethea in the middle and sophomore Brandon Marshall on the weak side. There should be some improvement in the secondary with three starters back, but the Wolf Pack do return one of the top safeties in the conference in senior strong safety Jonathon Amaya, who not only tied for the lead in tackles with 68 but was the outright leader in interceptions with 4. With the pressure this unit gets up front from Basped and Moch it really causes problems for a lot of teams, and I think this unit will be even better than it was in 2008. Bet the WAC this season at Sportsbook.com.

My Prediction: 2nd in WAC. Don’t get me wrong I think this team is going to be very good and could end up finishing the year in the top 25, but I think this team has two very tough road games this season that will keep them from going undefeated and winning the WAC. First off they open the season on the road against Notre Dame and then the biggest game of the year comes in the finale against Boise State on the always difficult blue turf.

For those of you looking for a little help with your NCAA football predictions this season, be sure to check back for our expert college football picks and the latest college football odds at Betfirms.

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