Nevada defender Jonathon Amaya, right, knocks the ball loose from Idaho receiver Daniel Hardy in the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday Oct. 24, 2009, in Reno, Nev. Nevada won 70-45. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)
RENO - The strength of the pack might indeed be the wolf. But there's no denying now that the strength of the wolf is the Kap.
"Kap was outstanding," Nevada Wolf Pack head coach Chris Ault said of his 6-foot-6, do-everything quarterback Colin Kaepernick. "What you saw today was special."
The junior dazzled a crowd of 16,611 at Mackay Stadium on Saturday, running for 230 yards and four touchdowns and also passing for 178 yards and two more scores as the Wolf Pack destroyed the Idaho Vandals, 70-45.
"Our whole offense was special," Ault said. "But there's no secret it's the trigger man who makes it go."
Kaepernick, who ran for more touchdowns against Idaho than he had all season (3) coming into the game, pulled the trigger in the Pack's Pistol offense at all the right times. The 70 points is the second most (75 in 1977 against Sacrament State) in Ault's 25-year head coaching career.
"There's always mistakes in a game," said Kaepernick, who set a career-high with his four rushing scores. "You are always looking to improve."
Ault, whose team is now riding a four-game winning streak (4-3) and finds itself all alone atop the Western Athletic Conference at 3-0, admitted that there isn't much room for offensive improvement. The Pack, which gained 662 total yards against Idaho, has now reached at least 70 points in a game six times since 1920.
"We did some things today we haven't shown before," Ault said. "The total offense was outstanding, from Kap to the backs to the receivers to the line. We did a real nice job of responding to adversity."
The Pack defense, once again, provided much of the adversity, allowing a season high in points. The 45 points is also the most that Idaho has ever scored against the Pack in the 85-year, 27-game series in which the Pack leads 18-9.
"It's frustrating," said Ault of the defense. "That defense is better than what they're showing."
Kaepernick and friends (Vai Taua rushed for 146 yards and two TDs), though, were always around to clean up all of the Pack defense's frustrations.
The Wolf Pack scored touchdowns on its first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead. Kaepernick scored on runs of 11 and 61 yards and Taua found the end zone from 89 yards out.
"The offensive line again did an amazing job," Kaepernick said. "I don't even think Vai was touched on his long run. I know I wasn't touched on my two (long) touchdowns."
Kaepernick also ran for touchdowns on runs of 35 and 75 yards to give the Pack a 42-24 lead early in the third quarter.
"He is doing a great job of reading the defense," said Ault of Kaepernick's TD runs. "He has to make two reads, based on the defense and the front. It's not just taking the ball and running. Now, when he gets on the edge like that, he's real tough to bring down because of his speed."
Idaho (6-2, 3-1), thanks to quarterback Nathan Enderle's 342 yards and four touchdowns, did make things interesting for a while. The Pack led just 28-24 at halftime and Enderle hooked up with Max Komar (10 catches, three touchdowns) on a 20-yard TD pass to pull within 49-38 late in the third quarter.
"Defensively, it was another frustrating week," said linebacker Mike Bethea, who had a timely interception early in the fourth quarter. "We're not where we want to be."
The Pack offense, it seemed, was always where it wanted to be - in the end zone. Kaepernick went to the air to put the game away in the fourth quarter, finding tight end Virgil Green from 44 yards out and running back Luke Lippincott on a 9-yard strike for a 63-38 lead.
"Our running attack has been outstanding," Ault said. "But we have to be balanced if we want to win a championship. Kap did a nice job of throwing the ball."
The Pack's eight rushing touchdowns against Idaho tied a school record, set in 1981 against Central Arkansas.
"We just have a lot more weapons this year," Taua said. "We have Kap, me, Luke, (Brandon) Wimberly, Chris Wellington, our offensive line has been great. That just opens up a lot of things that we can do."