Kaepernick stands out again for UNR

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- With his strong arm and quick legs, Colin Kaepernick is giving UNR every reason to hope for another bowl game.

Kaepernick, a redshirt freshman, threw a 31-yard touchdown strike to Mike McCoy with a minute remaining, lifting the Wolf Pack to a stirring 40-38 victory over New Mexico State on Friday night.

"We kind of expected a shootout, the way they threw the ball and the way they're capable of putting up points," Kaepernick said. "We knew it would come down to us scoring at the end."

The Wolf Pack (5-4, 3-2 Western Athletic Conference) won its third straight and held on after Brett Jaekle missed the extra-point attempt after McCoy's touchdown.

"He's such a good kicker. My reaction was there's no excuse," UNR coach Chris Ault said. "Game's on the line. You're expected to make that. I'm surprised. I'm shocked he did that."

The Aggies (4-6, 1-4) drove to UNR's 27-yard line on their final possession, but Paul Young's 44-yard field goal attempt sailed low and wide left, touching off a celebration on UNR's sideline.

"We didn't lose on the field goal," New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme said. "Paul missed, but he hit it long enough. He just pulled it. You can't put it on him. We had our chances to win."

It was a huge victory as UNR seeks its third straight bowl bid. With WAC front-runners Hawaii and Boise State on target for bowl bids, both teams needed to keep up with resurgent Fresno State (5-3, 4-1) in the postseason drive.

"We'd better not be thinking about a bowl," Ault said. "We have Hawaii first."

Kaepernick had a spectacular game, breaking two long TD runs in the fourth quarter and throwing for two scores in his fourth start since replacing injured Nick Graziano.

"Kaepernick is a great kid, and he made some great plays. He made a heck of a play on the post route," Mumme said, recalling the game winner. "He beat us. But our kids played hard and had a good chance to win."

Kaepernick's 35-yard sprint on third-and-15 gave the Wolf Pack a 34-31 lead with 7:13 remaining, and his 31-yarder on third-and-4 put UNR ahead 27-24 early in the fourth quarter.

He finished with 136 yards rushing, and since taking over Kaepernick has accounted for 18 TDs.