UNR QB not blue over bowl

BOISE, Idaho -- The wash of blue that engulfs Bronco Stadium on game days is supposed to be a sea of intimidation for opponents.

Not for UNR quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

The first time Kaepernick set foot on the famous blue turf here -- in his first college start -- he nearly engineered one of the biggest upsets in Wolf Pack history before falling in a wild 69-67 four-overtime loss to Boise State a year ago.

Now he's back for today's Humanitarian Bowl against Maryland, hoping that another standout performance can be the catalyst for a big 2009 that might finally get Kaepernick recognized outside the Western Athletic Conference.

"We definitely have potential to be a great team with all the young athletes we have," Kaepernick said. "But at the same time, we have to fulfill that potential to become a great team."

A victory over Maryland would be a step toward fulfilling that promise and potentially rising to the same level of WAC rival Boise State.

UNR (7-5) has won only two games against BCS conference teams since making the move from Division I-AA to major college football in 1992.

Certainly everyone in the WAC is aware of Kaepernick's rare talents running and throwing, enough that the sophomore was voted conference offensive player of the year, only the second UNR player to win the award since it joined the league in 2000.

Kaepernick ended the regular season with 2,479 yards passing, 1,115 more on the ground and a combined 35 touchdowns. When UNR coach Chris Ault implemented his "pistol" offense three years ago, he could only dream of it being run with the type of efficiency Kaepernick has shown.

"He's learned the offense this year," Ault said. "Last year he played by the seat of his pants. ... The nuances of the offense he is still picking up, but he has a much, much better feel of what we want to accomplish with it."

Maryland's task is not only slowing down UNR's offense, but also finding the motivation to reverse a late-season slide. The Terrapins (7-5) lost a shot at playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game by losing their final two games.