By Neil Patrick Healy

How many of you are picking Nevada to win against Arizona? Not many of you, huh? OK then, how many of you think the game will be close? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Yes, Nevada goes up against a team that won 10 games last season and won the deep Pac-12 South with then first-year quarterback Anu Solomon throwing for 3,793 yards with 28 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Wildcats also return sophomore running back Nick Wilson (1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014) and junior wide receiver Cayleb Jones (78 catches, 1,103 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014) to add to their steamroller offense. Beating the Wildcats will be extremely difficult, but don’t think it’s impossible.

Leading the Pack

Nevada ran the ball well last week against UC Davis, and senior running back Don Jackson is a major reason why. Out of Nevada’s 232 rushing yards, Jackson had 124 on 13 carries and two touchdowns with a staggering 9.5 YPC average. What makes Jackson’s outing more impressive is that he didn’t play the entire fourth quarter. With Arizona’s All-American linebacker Scooby Wright III (awesome name I know) missing the game after undergoing knee surgery, Nevada will be able to run Jackson early and often against the Wildcats weakened front seven.

Stat to watch for