Polian: 'There was no leadership' in loss to Wyoming

The Wolf Pack football team didn’t only lose on the field to Wyoming on Saturday.

It also lost the sidelines, according to head coach Brian Polian, who said after the game the team’s body language was bad and added Monday he was disappointed with the team’s senior leaders.

“This is the first time that I felt like the fact we only have 12 or 13 seniors really showed up,” said Polian, whose team returns to action Saturday against Hawaii. “There was no leadership. They were not vocal enough. There were not enough people emotionally invested in the game player-wise. It’s the first time all year I felt that way. We had a couple of guys going up and down the sidelines as we mounted the comeback, but it was disappointing.”

The Wolf Pack’s 12 seniors are the ninth fewest in the FBS (Wyoming only has eight seniors, the second fewest in the nation). The team has seven seniors who start, including six of the front seven defensively. Polian said it is up to the seniors to lead the team as it looks to rebound from its 28-21 loss to Wyoming.

“We only have 12 or 13 seniors,” Polian said. “I wish we had 20 of them. I wish we had 25 of them. We don’t. The seniors that we do have that are playing significantly, and there aren’t a ton of them, their challenge this week is to pick the team up right now and go. We need them right now.”

Polian said he and his coaches also have to improve as Nevada (3-4, 1-2 MW) tries to get back to .500 but stressed that his players, specifically the seniors, have to lead each other as well.

“You could say, ‘Coach, that’s your job,’ and it is,” Polian said of firing up his players. “Trust me, the staff was up and down the sideline trying to make sure the team was into it. But ultimately, and any former athlete knows this, there’s got to be some leaderships on your club. They have to follow each other and bring each other along, and personally I didn’t think that happened on Saturday.”

POLIAN CRITICAL OF DEFENSE

The Wolf Pack offense and defense both made its share of errors in the loss to Wyoming, but Polian was more critical of the defense than the offense, which was starting its fourth and fifth offensive guards.

“There’s no excuse on defense,” Polian said. “We’re healthy on defense. For us to give up the points and yards that we did, I’m upset about it. I’m embarrassed by the way we played. I’m upset about it and frustrated, but it’s my job to make sure it doesn’t happen again and we move forward from it.”

Polian was not pleased with his defensive backs “peaking into the backfield,” which cost the team some big plays. One defensive player, and senior, Polian was pleased with was defensive end Ian Seau, who had four tackles and a forced fumble while doing the dirty work that doesn’t show on the stat sheet.

“When you’re looking for bright spots in this game, he was one of them,” Polian said.

THE UNION STRUGGLES

Offensive guards Ziad Damanhoury, a sophomore, and Daren Echeveria, a freshman, were stellar in their starting debuts against New Mexico on Oct. 10, but struggled in their second starts.

The Wolf Pack rushed for a season-best 351 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry in a win over New Mexico, when Nevada scored a season-high 35 points, but couldn’t sustain that effort versus Wyoming.

“It was a different deal,” Polian said. “That was my fear. My fear was that New Mexico helped us a little bit by going east and west on defense and stunting all over the place and we just had to get on them and cover them up. Wyoming had two big bodies in there and they just stayed in there and said, ‘Now, you have to move us out,’ and we weren’t as successful collectively as an offensive line in doing that.”

Nevada rushed for a season-low 118 yards and 3.9 yards per carry. Damanhoury and Echeveria are expected to make their third straight starts as the Wolf Pack offensive line remains banged up.

INJURY UPDATES

Special teams player Travis Wilson dislocated his shoulder and is out one-to-two weeks.

The news on the offensive line was a little better as starting guard Jeremy Macauley, who injured his knee against UNLV on Oct. 3, practiced Monday and is expected to play around 40 plays against Hawaii.

The team’s other two top guards, Joey Angelmire (knee) and Adam Khouri (concussion), are both out against Hawaii. Angelmire could be back in a week or two. Khouri, who began the season as a starter but hasn’t played since his concussion Sept. 26 against Buffalo, might not return this season.

“It’s not day-by-day with him, it’s week-by-week, but as we go further along if we don’t see continued development we’ll probably error on the side of caution and shut him down for the year,” Polian said.

BETTING LINE

Nevada was listed as a 6-point favorite over Hawaii, but the early money was put on the Wolf Pack and the line moved to 7.5 points. The Wolf Pack is 2-2 in games in which it has been favored this season, including wins over UC Davis and New Mexico and losses to UNLV and Wyoming.

WOLF PACK FOOTBALL

Who: Hawaii (2-5, 0-3 MW) at Nevada (3-4, 1-2)

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

Where: Mackay Stadium (capacity, 30,000)

TV/Radio: None/94.5 FM

Internet: Mountain West Network

Betting line: Nevada favored by 7.5

Weather: High of 74; low of 41