CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Nevada

8–⁠5 (7–⁠1 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Chris Ault.

Schedule and results

Nevada in 2009, game by game: lost at No. 23 Notre Dame 0–35; lost at Colorado State 20–35; lost vs. Missouri 21–31; won vs. UNLV 63–28; won vs. Louisiana Tech 37–14; won at Utah State 35–32; won vs. Idaho 70–45; won vs. Hawai’i 31–21; won at San José State 62–7; won vs. Fresno State 52–14; won at New Mexico State 63–20; lost at No. 6 Boise State 33–44; lost vs. SMU 10–45+55−35Lost 0–35 at No. 23 Notre Dame-35No. 23 Notre DameLost 20–35 at Colorado State-15Colorado StateLost 21–31 vs. Missouri-10MissouriWon 63–28 vs. UNLV+35UNLVWon 37–14 vs. Louisiana Tech+23Louisiana TechWon 35–32 at Utah State+3Utah StateWon 70–45 vs. Idaho+25IdahoWon 31–21 vs. Hawai’i+10Hawai’iWon 62–7 at San José State+55San José StateWon 52–14 vs. Fresno State+38Fresno StateWon 63–20 at New Mexico State+43New Mexico StateLost 33–44 at No. 6 Boise State-11No. 6 Boise StateLost 10–45 vs. SMU-35SMU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5at23Notre DameL 0–⁠3540%
Sep 19atColorado StateL 20–⁠3539%
Sep 25vsMissouriL 21–⁠3131%
Oct 3vsUNLVW 63–⁠2865%
Oct 9vsLouisiana TechW 37–⁠1456%
Oct 17atUtah StateW 35–⁠3261%
Oct 24vsIdahoW 70–⁠4569%
Oct 31vsHawai’iW 31–⁠2174%
Nov 8atSan José StateW 62–⁠766%
Nov 14vsFresno StateW 52–⁠1457%
Nov 21atNew Mexico StateW 63–⁠2084%
Nov 27at6Boise StateL 33–⁠4422%
Dec 24Bowls & playoffvsSMUHawai’i BowlL 10–⁠4574%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to SMU 45–⁠10 in the Hawai’i Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Led the nationVai Taua: yards per carry (7.8)

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
497–⁠371
Coach
Chris Ault
Elo
1550 +30 this season
SP+ rating
0.5 No. 63 of 120; offense No. 16, defense No. 102, special teams No. 83
SRS
1.1 No. 58 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 99
Offensive coordinator
Chris Klenakis
Defensive coordinator
Nigel Burton
Offense
Pistol
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense1st of 120
  • Defense69th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted4th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted76th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1750%0.921st of 120
Defense0.0639%1.0669th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.05 def		47% off
39% def		—4th off
76th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 31— allowed
Defense0.0own 29— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsColin Kaepernick QB2,052 yds
Passing touchdownsColin Kaepernick QB20 TD
Rushing yardsVai Taua RB1,345 yds
Rushing touchdownsColin Kaepernick QB16 TD
Receiving yardsBrandon Wimberly WR733 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrandon Wimberly WR6 TD
InterceptionsKhalid Wooten DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Chris Metcalf OLB★★★No. 377
Wesley Hollingshed DT★★★No. 922
David Fales PRO★★★No. 1237
Sam Foster ILB★★★No. 1530
Duke Williams ATH★★★No. 1530

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.801
Running backs12.00.756
Receivers22.00.773
Offensive line22.00.783
Defensive line42.50.792
Linebackers23.00.850
Athletes and specialists22.50.800
Whole class152.40.796

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 101

The 2009 roster

101 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 31 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠014–⁠04
Nevada7–⁠18–⁠5
Fresno State6–⁠28–⁠5
Idaho4–⁠48–⁠5
Hawai’i3–⁠56–⁠7
Utah State3–⁠54–⁠8
Louisiana Tech3–⁠54–⁠8
New Mexico State1–⁠73–⁠10
San José State1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.