Nevada Football: Three Keys for a Wolf Pack Victory over Wyoming

The Nevada Wolf Pack suffered an ugly loss on the road last Saturday night to San Jose State 14-10. Now they return home to Reno to host the vastly improved Wyoming Cowboys this Saturday night. Here are the three keys the Wolf Pack need to take advantage of to defeat the Cowboys.

1)Nevada must stop the Cowboys rushing attack.

- It may sound simple enough but it is harder than it sounds. The Cowboys boast the best (if not one of the best) rushing attacks in the Mountain West. They average close to 198 rushing yards a game this season and their rushing attack is led by Brian Hill who has rushed for 721 yards so far this season. The Wolf Pack have struggled against the run this season yet they must try to contain the Cowboys rushing attack on Saturday.

2) Nevada must attack the Wyoming secondary.

- The Cowboys are last in the Mountain West in pass defense as they have given up an average of 292 yards per game in the air. The Wolf Pack struggled in the passing game last week as quarterback Tyler Stewart threw two interceptions last week at San Jose State. The Wolf Pack must find their groove in the passing game and the Nevada receivers must beat Wyoming's man coverage on defense and make big plays in the passing game.

3) Nevada must protect the ball.

- Nevada turned the ball over twice in last week's loss to the Spartans and they cannot be careless with the ball this week because Wyoming is plus four in turnover margin this season. And given Wyoming's desire to run the ball and shorten the game, it behooves Nevada to protect the ball. The Wolf Pack on offense must take better care of the ball on Saturday if they are to defeat the Cowboys.