Pack travels to Hawaii, with both teams seeking first MW win

A look ahead to the Nevada Wolf Pack football game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Saturday night in Honolulu:

KICKOFF: Saturday, 9 p.m., at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex (capacity 15,194) in Honolulu.

RECORDS: Nevada (3-5, 0-2); Hawaii (2-5, 0-2).

THE SPREAD: Nevada favored by 1.5 points; the total is 45.

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN: The game can be seen on Nevada Sports Net and heard on 105.7 FM.

AT STAKE: Both teams are looking for their first Mountain West victory of the season. The Wolf Pack has lost 18 of its last 21 Mountain West games since early November 2021. Hawaii has lost 17 of its last 24 Mountain West games dating back to the middle of October 2021.

THE RIVALRY: Nevada leads, 15-13, in a rivalry that began in Honolulu on Christmas Day 1920. The Wolf Pack beat Hawaii 14-0 in 1920 as the first team from the mainland United States to ever play in Hawaii. The Wolf Pack (then known as the Sage Hens) took 17 players in 1920 on an eight-day trip to Honolulu that involved a train ride to San Francisco and a boat ride to the islands. Nevada left Reno on Dec. 14, 1920, played two teams (they also played to a scoreless tie with the Outrigger Canoe Club on Jan. 1, 1921) and didn't arrive back in Reno until Jan. 17, 1921. This week the Pack plans on flying to and arriving in Honolulu on Thursday.

THE GAME THAT WASN'T: The Wolf Pack was scheduled to play Hawaii in 1941, but the game was cancelled just hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7. The Wolf Pack agreed to play in Hawaii just two days before the Dec. 7 attack. The Pack was planning to leave Reno on Dec. 12 for a boat trip from San Francisco to Honolulu with the intention of playing Hawaii either for one game on Dec. 20 or for two games on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

San Jose State, which was to play at Hawaii on Dec. 12 and also Willamette at Hawaii on Dec. 16, was already in Honolulu during the Dec. 7 attack. Willamette, which lost to Hawaii, 20-6, on Dec. 6, was also in Honolulu during the attack. The San Jose State games in Honolulu against Hawaii and Willamette were never played.

The Pack eventually returned to Honolulu to play Hawaii after World War II in 1946 (a 26-7 Nevada victory) and 1948 (a 73-12 Pack win).

LAST YEAR: Hawaii beat Nevada last season at Mackay Stadium, 27-14, as Warriors quarterback Brayden Schager was 21-of-38 for 203 yards and two touchdowns to Pofele Ashlock (nine catches, 87 yards). The Wolf Pack split its quarterback duties between Brendon Lewis (1-of-9, 36 yards) and A.J. Bianco (5-of-14, 76 yards). Hawaii sacked Bianco six times. Hawaii also beat Nevada in the last meeting between the two teams in Honolulu, 31-16, in 2022. Schager was 13-of-25 for 173 yards and a touchdown. Pack quarterback Nate Cox was 22-of-37 for 188 yards. Hawaii's Dedrick Parson ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns.

THE HEAD COACHES: Nevada's Jeff Choate is 3-5, 0-2 in his first season as head coach. Hawaii's Timmy Chang is 10-23, 5-13 and in his third season as head coach. Chang is 2-0 against Nevada at 8-23 against everybody else. Chang was a Nevada assistant (tight ends, wide receivers) from 2017-21 under head coach Jay Norvell. Chang went to Colorado State with Norvell after the 2021 season but was named Hawaii's head coach a month later. Chang played quarterback at Hawaii from 2000-04 and set NCAA records at the time for completions (1,388) and passing yards (17,022). Chang played in high school at the St. Louis School in Honolulu that also later produced NFL quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Tua Tagovailoa.

WHEN HAWAII HAS THE BALL: Quarterback Brayden Schager is 165-of-271 for 1,788 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Landon Sims (42 carries, 177 yards, one TD) leads the running game. Pofele Ashlock has caught 43 passes for 470 yards and four touchdowns while Nick Cenacle is 33-316-3. Five other Hawaii players have caught between 10-17 passes. Schager has played three games against Nevada, completing 56-of-101 passes for 581 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions. Four of the interceptions came in a 34-17 loss to Nevada in 2021 by Daiyan Henley (two), Lawson Hall and Trevor Price. Hawaii averages just 19.7 points a game, largely due to 28-7 (Boise State) and 42-10 (Washington State) losses the last two weeks.

WHEN NEVADA HAS THE BALL: Quarterback Brendon Lewis is 125-of-186 for 1,290 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. Lewis has also run the ball 104 times for 551 yards and five touchdowns. Savion Red has run for 649 yards and eight touchdowns on 99 carries while Patrick Garwo has 237 yards and five touchdowns on 53 carries. Jaden Smith (36 catches, 541 yards, three touchdowns), Cortez Braham (30-326-3) and Marcus Bellon (21-260-2) have been Lewis' top targets. The Wolf Pack averages 26.5 points a game.

RUN AND SHOOTING THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT: Hawaii's run-and-shoot offense has been its own worst enemy this season. The reason the Warriors are averaging under 20 points a game is because they haven't been able to run the ball consistently (just 3.4 yards a carry and a mere three touchdowns) all season. Hawaii also hasn't been able to protect Schager all that well, allowing 15 sacks in seven games.

PACK HOLDING ONTO THE BALL: The Wolf Pack is one of just 25 FBS teams in the nation that has lost one or fewer fumbles this season. Four other Mountain West teams are also in the top 25 (Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and UNLV). The Wolf Pack, though, despite its ability to hang onto the football, is tied for 59th in turnover margin in the FBS (at plus-2) mainly because its defense has yet to recover an opponent's fumble all season. Hawaii, which has lost three fumbles, is tied for 102nd in turnover margin (at minus-4) mainly because Schager has been intercepted seven times.

PACK FACING EX-TEAMMATES: Two former Wolf Pack players will suit up for Hawaii on Saturday. Wide receiver Spencer Curtis, who caught 54 passes for 662 yards and two touchdowns the last two seasons combined for the Pack, has nine catches for 80 yards and no scores for Hawaii this year. Defensive lineman Dion Washington, who had 35 tackles (10 for a loss) and three sacks for the Pack the last three years, has 14 tackles (four for a loss) and 1.5 sacks for Hawaii this season. Hawaii is Curtis' fourth college team (after Weber State, Oregon and Nevada) while Hawaii is Washington's second. Washington was recruited to Nevada (for the 2021 season) by current Hawaii head coach Timmy Chang.

CHOATE QUOTES: Wolf Pack coach Jeff Choate during his Monday press conference (on nevadawolfpack.com):

• "This (Hawaii) is a team, they're kind of like us."

• "They are hard to run the football against, but we've got to find a way to do that."

• "You can see the pride they take in defending their home turf."