KTVB

RENO, Nev. -- Boise State coach Chris Petersen raises a scary prospect as his ninth-ranked and undefeated Broncos prepare for a Saturday shootout with Nevada with an eye on their second trip to a BCS bowl game in three years.

He says the Wolf Pack's "pistol" offense—which leads the NCAA in rushing and ranks fifth in total offense—is probably better than it was last year when it scored nine touchdowns at Boise before the Broncos won in four overtimes, 69-67.

"I know this: We're going to have to score some points on offense," Petersen said. "They are putting up really good numbers."

The matchup at sold-out Mackay Stadium has all the makings for another high scoring affair between two former Big West rivals now in the Western Athletic Conference.

Boise State (10-0, 6-0 WAC) has developed into a legitimate annual BCS threat, posting an NCAA-best 33 wins over the past three seasons and 66 since 2003—second only to USC's 68 victories during that stretch.

Nevada (6-4, 4-2) can't match that, but has appeared in three straight bowl games and been nipping at the heels of perennial conference powers Boise State and Fresno State since Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault returned to the sidelines in 2004 for his third stint as coach.

Nevada enters the game averaging 38 points per game to Boise State's 37. The difference could be on defense, where the Broncos allow only 10.3 points per game—second to the sixth-ranked Trojans—while the Wolf Pack give up 30.6.

"It is a terrific defense, very sound, very solid in what they try to do," Ault said. "It doesn't matter who they are playing. ... This is what they hang their hat on and they play hard."

It will be the Wolf Pack's third Top 25 foe this year. For a while Nevada gave visiting Texas Tech all it could handle in September, trailing 14-12 in the third quarter before losing 35-19. A week later, the team suffered what Ault called a "fiasco" at Missouri, 69-17.

They've won their last two against Fresno State and San Jose State, and are tied for second in the WAC with Louisiana Tech, where they close the regular season next week. Boise State finishes at home against Fresno State.

"Boise State is all that you've read about," Ault said. "They rank right up there with the Missouris and the Texas Techs that we have played. They play that kind of defense."

Nevada counters with the two leading rushers in the WAC—running back Vai Taua, who averages 128 yards per game, and sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is running for 102 yards per game while completing 58 percent of his passes for 184 yards per game.

They are the only duo in the country to have topped 1,000 yards rushing this year, running out of the modified shotgun that Ault calls the "pistol" because the quarterback lines up only about four yards behind center.

"They've got that offense humming," Petersen said. "It's probably more difficult to defend this year than it was last year. I don't think too many people have figured it out. ... We'll have our hands full."

Nevada's weakness is a secondary that ranks last in the NCAA, allowing 318 yards in the air per game. It will have to contend with Bronco quarterback Kellen Moore, a redshirt freshman who has completed 71 percent of his passes for 2,637 yards and 20 touchdowns. Running backs Ian Johnson and Jeremy Avery each average 54 yards rushing per game.

"We have not seen a running team as good as Boise," Ault said. "They are a power football team."

"They've got nice receivers, a nice front and they will pound the ball at you. They are as good of team as there is in the country in the play-action pass."

Ault is glad the game is in Reno, where Nevada is 22-7 since his return five years ago.

"Everybody says it's a great opportunity for us," Ault said. "Well, I'm not interested in the opportunity. I'm interested in us lining up and playing Boise State, playing hard-nosed football and doing the things we are capable of doing at our house."

"I like to think our guys will rally to the cause, and in Mackay Stadium they will create a lot of electricity by the way they play," he said.

Petersen doubts last year's wild finish will have any bearing on Saturday's game.

"I don't think too many guys are thinking about last year," he said. "I think these guys understand this is our biggest game of the year without question. They know what Nevada's doing, how they've improved every week. Our guys get it."

Dominic Green, Nevada's 6-foot-3, 295-pound, senior all-WAC center, sees it differently.

"It's the number one game marked on my calendar and it's on Senior Day," he said. "We came close last year and the loss digs at you. It's the one game on our minds all the time."