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2010 Nevada

13–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Chris Ault, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nevada in 2010, game by game: won vs. Eastern Washington 49–24; won vs. Colorado State 51–6; won vs. California 52–31; won at BYU 27–13; won at UNLV 44–26; won vs. San José State 35–13; lost at Hawai’i 21–27; won vs. Utah State 56–42; won at Idaho 63–17; won at Fresno State 35–34; won vs. New Mexico State 52–6; won vs. No. 3 Boise State 34–31; won at Louisiana Tech 35–17; won vs. Boston College 20–13+46−6Won 49–24 vs. Eastern Washington+25Eastern Washing…Won 51–6 vs. Colorado State+45Colorado StateWon 52–31 vs. California+21CaliforniaWon 27–13 at BYU+14BYUWon 44–26 at UNLV+18UNLVWon 35–13 vs. San José State+22San José StateLost 21–27 at Hawai’i-6Hawai’iWon 56–42 vs. Utah State+14Utah StateWon 63–17 at Idaho+46IdahoWon 35–34 at Fresno State+1Fresno StateWon 52–6 vs. New Mexico State+46New Mexico StateWon 34–31 vs. No. 3 Boise State+3No. 3 Boise StateWon 35–17 at Louisiana Tech+18Louisiana TechWon 20–13 vs. Boston College+7Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsEastern WashingtonW 49–⁠2477%
Sep 11vsColorado StateW 51–⁠678%
Sep 17vsCaliforniaW 52–⁠3156%
Sep 25atBYUW 27–⁠1344%
Oct 2atUNLVW 44–⁠2671%
Oct 9vsSan José StateW 35–⁠1388%
Oct 16atHawai’iL 21–⁠2759%
Oct 30vsUtah StateW 56–⁠4285%
Nov 6atIdahoW 63–⁠1767%
Nov 13atFresno StateW 35–⁠3455%
Nov 20vsNew Mexico StateW 52–⁠694%
Nov 26vs3Boise StateW 34–⁠3137%
Dec 4atLouisiana TechW 35–⁠1770%
Jan 9Bowls & playoffvsBoston CollegeFight Hunger BowlW 20–⁠1369%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Boston College 20–⁠13 in the Fight Hunger Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

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

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 25
  2. Wk 6: 21
  3. Wk 7: 19
  4. Wk 10: 25
  5. Wk 11: 21
  6. Wk 12: 19
  7. Wk 13: 19
  8. Wk 14: 14
  9. Wk 15: 13
  10. Final: 11

Western Athletic Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Boise State and Hawai’i

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 11
Points
574–⁠300
Coach
Chris Ault
Elo
1707 +173 this season
SP+ rating
10.8 No. 34 of 120; offense No. 18, defense No. 59, special teams No. 74
SRS
11.9 No. 20 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 91
Defensive coordinator
Andy Buh
Captain
Colin Kaepernick
Offense
Pistol
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 120
  • Defense68th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted4th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted96th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1850%0.912nd of 120
Defense0.0540%0.9768th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.07 def		48% off
42% def		—4th off
96th 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
Offense-0.1own 322% allowed
Defense-0.3own 293% 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 QB3,022 yds
Passing touchdownsColin Kaepernick QB21 TD
Rushing yardsVai Taua RB1,610 yds
Rushing touchdownsColin Kaepernick QB20 TD
Receiving yardsRishard Matthews WR879 yds
Receiving touchdownsRishard Matthews WR5 TD
InterceptionsBrandon Marshall LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2010 class

Matthew Galas OG★★★No. 1123
Sebastian Tretola OG★★★No. 1413
Avery Poates OG★★★No. 1492
Aaron Brown S★★★No. 1492
Cody Fajardo DUAL★★★No. 1696

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

The 2010 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.823
Receivers42.30.790
Offensive line62.70.811
Defensive line42.50.789
Linebackers12.00.789
Defensive backs22.50.800
Whole class182.50.800

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.

Drafted in 2011

The 2011 draft
Rd 2Colin Kaepernick QBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Dontay Moch OLBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 7Virgil Green TEDenver Broncos

Roster 94

The 2010 roster

94 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2010 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

2010 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nevada7–⁠113–⁠111
Boise State7–⁠112–⁠19
Hawai’i7–⁠110–⁠4
Fresno State5–⁠38–⁠5
Louisiana Tech4–⁠45–⁠7
Idaho3–⁠56–⁠7
Utah State2–⁠64–⁠8
New Mexico State1–⁠72–⁠10
San José State0–⁠81–⁠12

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