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No. 14 Nevada downs Lousiana Tech amidst flurry of records

Dec 5, 2010 - 12:56 AM Ruston, LA (Sports Network) - Colin Kaepernick completed 13-of-17 throws for 159 yards and carried 20 times for 155 yards and three touchdowns to finish off another record-setting performance in 14th-ranked Nevada's 35-17 win over Louisiana Tech at Joe Aillet Stadium.

The senior signal-caller tied Nebraska's Eric Crouch for the most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NCAA history with 59, and joined West Virginia's Pat White and Brad Smith of Missouri as the only quarterbacks to rush for 4,000 or more yards during their careers. Kaepernick increased his career total to 4,090.

Vai Taua carried 29 times for 162 yards and two scores for the Wolfpack (12-1, 7-1 WAC), who pulled even with Boise State and Hawaii for a share of the conference crown and matched a school record set in 1991 with their 12th win.

Taua passed Charvez Foger to become the second-leading rusher in Nevada history with 4,512 yards.

Nevada head coach Chris Ault notched his 218th career victory at the FBS level to match Mack Brown of Texas for fourth-most among active coaches.

"It was a great finish," an exuberant Ault said. "I am proud of these guys. We played a good Tech team and we played well in the second half. I thought our coaching staff did a great job making adjustments and our players played extremely hard."

Ross Jenkins threw for 188 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-23 efficiency while Lennon Creer carried 18 times for 49 yards for the Bulldogs (5-7, 4-4), who ended the season with losses in three of their last five games.

"This program is the type of program that we expect to go to bowl games," said Bulldogs head coach Sonny Dykes. "You always want to play your best and as a coach when your team doesn't play its best, you're disappointed. We've got some good guys coming back next year, so we'll go back to work on Monday. We've got to learn and expect to win next season."

Kaepernick finished off a 12-play, 83-yard march with a one-yard sprint around left end to give Nevada the lead for good at 21-14 5 1/2 minute into the third period.

Matt Nelson's 25-yard field goal with just under four minutes to play in the period cut LA Tech's deficit to 21-17.

Facing 4th and 9 at the Bulldogs 28, Kapernick, spun away from a potential sack, tightroped the left sideline and then cut back inside the 15 and dashed into the end zone untouched to make it 28-17 with 13:53 to go in the game.

Taua banged one in from six yards away with slightly more than 10 minutes to play to increase the Nevada lead to 35-17.

The Bulldogs marched 79 yards on nine plays on the game's first possession to take the early lead on a 20-yard scoring pass from Jenkins to Eric Harper.

Nevada fashioned a 12-play drive that bridged the first two quarters and was capped by Taua's one-yard scoring run that tied the game with 13 minutes left before the intermission.

The hosts answered on their next drive, covering 74 yards on 12 plays to regain the lead four minutes later on a one-yard TD run by Jenkins. A 36-yard strike down the middle from Jenkins to Taulib Ikharo set up the score three plays later.

The Wolfpack responded on their next touch, as Kaepernick ran five yards for a score to cap a 14-play, 83-yard series that made it a 14-14 game with 2:10 to go in the first half.

Game Notes

Mike Ball added 41 yards rushing for the Wolfpack, who rolled up 379 yards on the ground in the victory...Malcolm Shepherd led Nevada with four catches for 51 yards while Brandon Wimberly made three grabs for 49...Nevada has won the last six meetings between the teams...Jenkins moved past Terry Bradshaw to finish his career in sixth place on the school's all-time completions list with 438...Phillip Livas recorded 162 yards in kickoff return yards and ended his career as the school's all-time leader with 2,758. He finished second in WAC history, 24 behind UTEP's Cedric Johnson...Ikharo paced the Bulldogs with four receptions for 85 yards.