Lippincott is a humanitarian despite season-ending injury

BOISE, Idaho - Although he was injured for most of the season, that didn't slow down Nevada running back Luke Lippincott for his service off the field.

The Salinas, Calif., senior, was selected as the Western Athletic Conference's recipient of the 2008 Idaho Sports Medicine Institute Humanitarian Award, an honor given to one player from each team competing in Boise.

Lippincott was singled out for his humanitarian spirit for his work outside the classroom and off the field. For example, athletes who receive this award give of themselves through participation with youth groups, hospitals, the elderly or leadership programs.

The Maryland player selected for this award was Jordan Steffy, the Terps' back-up quarterback.

Jaekle tied for field goal record

Nevada place kicker Brett Jaekle set the Humanitarian Bowl record two years by attempting and making all four against Miami. However, he is still tied with Boise State's Nick Calaycay, who also attempted four field goals in 1999 against Louisville. Calaycay, on the other hand, successfully kicked two field goals. Jaekle did not have an opportunity to kick a field goal, but he was 4-for-4 on extra points.

Scott makes a difference

Seven Maryland players — Trey Covington, Derek Drummond, Moise Fokou, Danny Oquendo, Antwine Perez and Da'Rel Scott — did not start for the Terps because of curfew voilation.

Scott, though, made a big difference in the second half, rushing for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

Humanitarian Bowl's future

The future of Roady's Humanitarian Bowl takes a major step beginning next year. The bowl's contract with the ACC expired after time ran out Tuesday, and organizers hope to make some monumental announcements within weeks.

The bowl committee would like to align itself either with the Pacific-10 or Mountain West conferences in 2010, the year many bowls will re-examine their affiliations. One of the major problems having an East Coast team in Boise has been the ACC's inability to bring more than 2,000 fans to the Treasure Valley. A Pac-10 team from either Oregon or Washington or an MWC team could easily double the visiting team's fan base.

The 13th annual bowl game will have a transitional team facing the WAC representative. Bowl officials said more than likely the fourth-place MWC team would be invited.

Roady's Truck stop will enter its final year of a three-year contract with the Humanitarian Bowl, and bowl officials have expressed interest in extending the contract. MPC Computers of neighboring Nampa, the previous sponsor of the Humanitarian Bowl, filed for bankruptcy on Monday with the Idaho Department of Labor.

Kaepernick sprains ankle

Colin Kaepernick, Nevada's starting quarterback, did not play in one series in the second half. Back-up quarterback Nick Graziano went in, but the Pack's offense sputtered on two incomplete passes.

Nevada coach Chris Ault said Kaepernick sprained his ankle, and the staff was assessing the situation.

"The guy has tremendous heart," said running back Vai Taua. "Coach pulled him out, and he still wanted to play."

Dismal bowl season for WAC

Nevada's loss ended a dismal bowl season for the Western Athletic Conference. In five games,the WAC finished 1-4 with the only win coming from Louisiana Tech Sunday night. The bulldogs defeated Northern Illinois, 17-10.

Except for Hawaii's devastating loss to Notre Dame, the other games were close.