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Ault stepped down from what turned out to be a College Football Hall of Fame career, and now returns to resurrect the program he made such a success. His presence will have to work wonders since there are several concerns. The defense needs players to be able to go well with the new attacking style, while the offense needs receivers to properly run the Air Wolf attack. The games should be fun to watch with tons of scoring and tons of big plays, both good and bad. If nothing else, there's a buzz that the program will go from being mediocre to a WAC contender, and Ault should be able to do that with a little bit of time.
The Schedule: Nevada wants to be a player in the WAC race, but this isn't necessarily the schedule to do it going on the road to face Hawaii and Fresno State. Getting Boise State at the finish is no prize. The non-conference slate is sneaky hard going on the road to deal with good Mountain West teams San Diego State and UNLV.
Best Offensive Player: Senior RB Chance Kretschmer. Even with his injury shortened sophomore season, Kretschmer has still amassed 2,969 career yards and 28 rushing touchdowns. The new offense might throw it more than ever, but Kretschmer will still be a key component and on the short list for the WAC Player of the Year.
Best Defensive Player: Senior FS Keone Kauo. One of the best tackling safeties in the WAC, Kauo has made 204 career tackles and five interceptions. As one of the most experienced defensive players, he's going to have to be a leader and a steady rock again in the secondary.
Key player to a successful season: The line needs to replace two All-WAC stars in Jorge Cordova and Derek Kennard. The ends will be fine, so the tackles need to come though so everyone else can get into the backfield in the aggressive new defense. Junior P.J. Hoeper and senior Chris Barry must have big seasons for the defense to be O.K.
The season will be a success if ... Nevada wins six games. It'll be hard with this defense, but after coming close to a winning season the last two years, the bar has been set higher now that Ault is back coaching.
Key game: Oct. 9 at Hawaii. The WAC opener is a big one to set the tone for the rest of the season. With a manageable five -game stretch in the middle of the season, the always tough road trip to Hawaii could be all that stands between the Pack and a 6-0 conference start.
2003 Fun Stats:
- Kickoff return average: Opponents 29.1 yards - Nevada 18.8
- Punt return average: Opponents 11.4 yards - Nevada 6.2
- Sacks: Nevada 38 - Opponents 17
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