The Nevada Wolfpack have only existed as a FBS program for 25 seasons since joining the Big West Conference in 1992, so there hasn’t been a whole lot of time for Notre Dame to develop anything close to a rivalry with them.
But in 2009, the Irish opened their season at home against the Wolfpack. Ranked 23rd in the preseason polls, Notre Dame was expected to roll over Nevada behind the lead of quarterback Jimmy Clausen, and that’s exactly what the Irish did, kicking off the final season of Charlie Weis’s reign with a 35-0 victory.
Clausen’s stat line from that day reads like a video game: 15-for-18 passing, 315 yards, four touchdowns.