Wolf Pack seeking upset in Big Ten country

A look ahead to the Nevada Wolf Pack's football game on Saturday against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Minneapolis, Minn.:

KICKOFF: 12:30 p.m. at Huntington Bank Stadium.

RECORDS: Nevada (1-2, 0-0 in Mountain West); Minnesota (1-1, 0-0 in Big Ten).

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN: The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network and heard on 105.7 FM.

POINT SPREAD: Minnesota is favored by 16.5 points.

AT STAKE: Nevada is hoping to continue its trend of not losing two games in a row this year. The Pack this season has lost to SMU, 29-24, beat Troy, 28-26, and lost to Georgia Southern, 20-17 last week. Minnesota, a heavy favorite, is looking to improve to 2-1 on the year before its schedule toughens up drastically. The Golden Gophers will open its Big Ten schedule after playing Nevada with back-to-back games against Iowa and Michigan.

THE RIVALRY: This will be the first meeting between Nevada and Minnesota. Nevada last played a Big Ten team on Sept. 17, 2022, when it lost at Iowa, 27-0 before 69,250 fans at Iowa City. Minnesota is a perfect 11-0 against Mountain West teams, going 4-0 (2016, 2015, 2005, 2004) against Colorado State, 2-0 against Fresno State (2018, 2019), San Jose State (2014, 2013) and UNLV (2012, 2013), and 1-0 against Air Force (2009).

THE HEAD COACHES: Nevada's Jeff Choate is 1-2 and in his first season with the Wolf Pack. Minnesota's P.J. Fleck is 51-35 and in his eighth season with the Gophers. Fleck is also 5-0 in bowl games with Minnesota. Fleck also went 30-22 in four seasons (2013-16) as Western Michigan's head coach (1-2 in bowls).

MINNESOTA HAS SEEN LEWIS BEFORE: Wolf Pack starting quarterback Brendon Lewis has faced Minnesota twice before in his career, both when he was a member of the Colorado Buffaloes in 2021 and 2022. Lewis was 8-of-16 for 55 yards and also lost 27 yards on five rushes in a 30-0 loss to Minnesota on Sept, 18, 2021, at Colorado. The 6-foot-2 Lewis was also 2-of-6 for 14 yards and gained one yard on four carries in a 49-7 loss at Minnesota on Sept. 17, 2022 (the same day Nevada was roughly 280 miles to the south losing 27-0 at Iowa).

NEWEST STADIUM IN BIG TEN: Minnesota's Huntington Bank Stadium is the newest permanent football stadium in the Big Ten. The stadium opened in 2009 as the first new stadium built in the Big Ten since 1960 (Indiana). Minnesota played its games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982-08. Huntington seats 50,805 fans.

Northwestern will play its home games in a temporary stadium on campus this year as their permanent facility (Ryan Field) is renovated.

WHEN MINNESOTA HAS THE BALL: The Gophers are averaging 32.5 points a game after losing to North Carolina (19-17) and beating Rhode Island (48-0). Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer is 37-of-51 for 436 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Marcus Major has rushed for 85 yards and two scores and Darius Taylor has 64 yards and a score. Brosmer's favorite targets so far have been Daniel Jackson (eight catches, 95 yards) and Elijah Spencer (six catches, 80 yards). Minnesota has averaged just 2.7 yards per carry on the ground this year.

WHEN NEVADA HAS THE BALL: The Wolf Pack has averaged 23 points a game this year. Savion Red leads the team in rushing (254 yards, one touchdown), followed by quarterback Brendon Lewis (208 yards, one score) and running back Patrick Garwo III (87 yards). Sean Dollars started the year as the starting tailback but has just 15 carries for 41 yards. Lewis is 54-of-81 for 561 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions through the air. Lewis has gone nine consecutive games and 175 attempts without an interception. Wide receivers Cortez Braham (17-204-2) and Jaden Smith (14-216-0) are Lewis' go-to targets along with Marcus Bellon (7-93-1) and tight end Jace Henry (6-41-2).

PACK IN TIGHT GAMES: Choate is the first head coach to begin his career at Nevada with three consecutive games decided by five points or less. The Pack's three games this year have been decided by just 10 points combined. It is the Pack's first three-game stretch of games decided by five points or less since 2021 when the Pack beat San Jose State (27-24), lost to San Diego State (23-21) and lost to Air Force (41-39) in November. The Pack has never played four consecutive games decided by five points or less. The 2007 Pack also had three in a row in November to cap off a stretch of five games out of six decided by five points or less.

The Pack has gone 41-44 in games decided by five points or less since joining Division I-A in 1992. Chris Ault was 14-15, Jeff Horton was 1-2, Jeff Tisdel was 3-4, Chris Tormey was 3-6, Brian Polian was 7-5, Jay Norvell was 11-8, Ken Wilson was 1-2 and Choate is 1-2.

Ault was also 14-20-1 in games decided by five points or less when the Pack was in Division II and Division I-AA from 1976-91.