Open practice gives fans look at Pack

Less than three weeks remain until fans find out how the 2015 season will start for the Wolf Pack football team.

Can Nevada build on last year’s improvement? Will the defense finally catch up with the offense’s progress and win games for the Wolf Pack? Can Nevada knock off another Pac-12 team when Arizona visits Reno next month?

Although the season doesn’t kick off until September, fans will get an opportunity this weekend to see some Wolf Pack football. After hosting the annual scrimmage to close out spring camp in April, Nevada will have an open practice/controlled scrimmage on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Mackay Stadium in Reno. Free to the public, the weekend event will be about two hours with the first hour being an open practice and then moving to a scrimmage for the second hour.

While it’s not the same experience as the spring scrimmage and obviously nothing like a regular season game, it’s a fun and free opportunity to watch Nevada’s players develop during fall camp. Fans may see who might emerge as the starting quarterback as there’s a battle to replace Cody Fajardo. They will be able to tell if the defense looks any better than last year, which surprisingly, it didn’t fare too bad last year as in all but one loss, Nevada was within a touchdown of either tying or winning.

This season already has promise as coach Brian Polian enters his third year with the program.

Nevada opens with a winnable game against FCS foe U.C. Davis on a Thursday night at Mackay. Then comes another Pac-12 opponent, nationally ranked Arizona, the following week and the Wildcats will try to snap a losing streak of the Pac-12 facing Nevada in Reno.

The road schedule, minus Buffalo, isn’t friendly as Nevada takes on its first SEC team (Texas A&M) before traveling to conference opponents Wyoming, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State. Luckily for the Wolf Pack, Polian’s group has a home schedule that should see no more than one loss (Arizona) with UNLV, New Mexico, Hawaii and San Jose State visiting the Biggest Little City.

But when you’re in Nevada’s position, the strength of schedule means nothing. As long as Nevada can hit the sacred six wins and become bowl eligible, nothing else matters. And with a friendly home schedule that could see the Wolf Pack go undefeated at Mackay with an upset over a ranked opponent, Nevada should be able to go bowling for the second year in a row.

But all these predictions and what-if scenarios will start to solidify, beginning with a glimpse at the new Wolf Pack this weekend at Mackay. Then the countdown begins for the Sept. 3 home opener against the Aggies.

Will this be Nevada’s year to rise up in the conference and surprise the naysayers? Or will the Wolf Pack slip up and get the fan base excited for the next new thing on campus, men’s basketball?

Thomas Ranson can be contacted at lvnsports@yahoo.com.