By Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times (MCT) Posted January 12, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO — The storytellers who made Sunday’s Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl out to be a hard-hitting battle between No. 13 Nevada’s explosive running game and Boston College’s stingy run defense apparently missed one important angle.
As it turns out, the Wolf Pack has a defense, too.
Nevada turned the Eagles offense into a mere rumor for most of the night, holding Boston College to just 185 yards in the Wolf Pack’s 20-13 victory at AT&T Park. The Eagles scored 10 points off turnovers, and those were two of only three times Boston College got into the red zone.
“We’re used to it,” Nevada linebacker Brandon Marshall said, referring to his defense getting overlooked. “We score a lot of points every game, every year. When (first-year defensive coordinator Andy Buh) came, he said we’re going to turn this school into a defensive school. We’re just going to go out and keep playing hard on defense.”
The Eagles defense was as advertised. Boston College slowed Nevada’s two-pronged attack of running back Vai Taua and quarterback Colin Kaepernick, holding them to a combined 98 rushing yards. Most of what little offense the Wolf Pack needed came courtesy of Kaepernick’s arm. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles were hurt by the absence of starting tailback Montel Harris, who suffered an undisclosed injury while stretching earlier in the day at the team hotel, according to coach Frank Spaziani. Harris had surgery Nov. 29 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, but Spaziani said Sunday’s injury had nothing to do with his knee. Harris had returned to practice and was expected to start.
Harris led the ACC and is ranked 11th nationally in rushing (113 yards per game). His replacement, Andre Williams, had 70 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
“I thought our defense played as well as we’ve played over the last couple years,” Nevada coach Chris Ault said. “We didn’t play very well offensively. I’m really proud of our defense. We’ve been an up-and-down defense all year. These guys found a way to play well and play well all four quarters.”
The Wolf Pack won despite not using its usual formula for success this season, the best in school history that included a college football landscape-rattling upset of Boise State and a 13-1 record. Nevada entered the game ranked second nationally in total offense (535.54 yards per game) and fifth in scoring (42.62 points per game).
Nevada entered the night with the 66th-ranked defense in the country, allowing 377.31 yards per game.
“I give credit to Nevada,” Spaziani said. “They did a good job on us. They did some things to us that we weren’t able to handle, and when we had a chance to make some plays we weren’t able to make them.”
The Eagles’ offensive output would have been even worse if it weren’t for three Nevada turnovers, two of which Boston College turned into points.
Boston College (7-6) struck first after the Wolf Pack’s first turnover, when linebacker Mark Herzlich jarred the ball loose from Kaepernick and it was recovered by cornerback Donnie Fletcher. Williams ran 30 yards for a touchdown on the next play for a 7-0 lead.
But Nevada scored the next 17 points, thanks in large part to wide receiver Rishard Matthews, who caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Kaepernick and returned a punt 72 yards for a TD.
Boston College had one final chance after starting a drive at its own 10-yard line with 3:06 remaining, but quarterback Chase Rettig was intercepted by Nevada’s Khalid Wooten to polish things off.
