Preview Review the Third

(Note: Lindy's west coast cover of their college football preview features four players. All Pac 10 players. Thanks for representing the west coast conference who's sent a team to the BCS two years running!)

Lindy's Take on the Pack:

It appears that Nevada is the popular pick for third in the WAC behind Boise and Fresno. I take this as meaning that the preseason magazines are recognizing that Nevada will have a good team this year and will be fighting for a chance to win the conference, but also historically Boise and Fresno have been so good that they aren't ready to crown Nevada ahead of them until they actually do it a few times. They also put Nevada at #73 in the nation, which is the lowest of the three magazines we've previewed. An obvious mistake that went unnoticed at the time of print.

Lindy's Preseason All WAC team:

Wolf Pack players on the First Team: RB Luke Lippincott, OL Dominic Green, LB Josh Mauga

Wolf Pack players on the Second Team: QB Colin Kaepernick, WR Marko Mitchell, OL Greg Hall

I think they went real conservative here and also only did a 1st and 2nd team. I believe they missed out on Kevin Basped and Mundrae Clifton on defense. It looks like all the mags agree we'll have a couple of OL make the cut at the end of the season, but they don't seem to agree on which ones. A good indicator that overall we are strong at the position.

Lindy's Brief Take:

Good News: QB Colin Kaepernick and RB Luke Lippincott can handle the pistol offense

Bad News: Shutout loss in the NM bowl has created doubts about the team as a contender

Lindy's Call: Nevada can challenge the leagues best on any given weekend but consistency may not be enough to get to a championship

I suppose that's a fair assessment of the team.

Lindy's Take on the Biggest Games Each Weekend:

8-30: Hawaii @ Florida (Good luck with that one!)

9-1: Fresno State @ Rutgers (Would be good for the conference if they win that one)

9-6: La Tech @ Kansas (Tech could make it respectable we think)

9-13: Nevada @ Mizzou (We need to keep this one close heading into the 4th and then anything could happen)

9-20: BSU @ Oregon (Tough one for the Donks)

9-27: Nevada @ FUNLV (Blue cannon, again)

10-3: BYU @ USU (Nothing would make us happier to see the good Mormons get beat by the bad ones....everyone knows if you are a good Mormon you go to BYU and if you want to shame your family, go to Utah or USU)

10-4: Hawaii @ FSU (I don't think this one will even be close. Fresno wins.)

10-17: Hawaii @ BSU (Ditto)

11-7: Nevada @ Fresno (Bulldogs say Bye Bye BCS dreams...and WAC title for that matter)

11-21: Fresno @ SJSU (Fresno tail spin begins)

11-28: Fresno @ BSU (Fresno now takes the lead for 3rd place in the WAC)

11-29: WSU @ Hawaii (Cougars do what the Huskies couldn't: Hold on to a lead and grab a W on the island)

12-6: Cinci @ Hawaii (Bows give the fans a nice win to end a not so nice season)

We are listed as having three critical games, all on the road. They missed two of the biggest home games that will be played in our history. Texas Tech and their Heisman candidates come to visit on 9-6 and then BSU for the WAC title in late November. Those will be huge!

Lindy's Top NFL Talent:

#6 RB Luke Lippincott

We were a bit surprised that Dom Geen or Mauga didn't make this list.

Lindy's Honor Roll:

A fun little section that describes attributes of the conferences best which include...Most Accurate Passer (Colin Kaepernick), Best Scrambler (Colin Kaepernick), Most Dangerous Deep Threat (Marko Mitchell)

Now we scratch our heads a little that Kaepernick, who did not have a very good completion percentage, would be listed as the most accurate passer. It is possible that they are expecting a big improvement from frosh to soph. Or maybe it was a misprint and they meant for him to be strongest arm and for Chase Holbrook to be most accurate (Chase was listed as strongest arm). We also think that Best Pass Rusher will belong to Basped by the end of the season.

Lindy's Lack of Respect:

No Wolf Pack players listed amongst the top players at their position in the country. Ugh!

Well that wraps up the Preseason Mags for the moment. As more things come out over the summer we'll do our best to keep you all updated.