Perfect 'Kap' to season

It might be weeks before Colin Kaepernick stops smiling.

The face of Nevada football is a happy one after leading his team to the biggest win in program history.

The national football world still was buzzing Saturday after No. 19 Nevada's improbable 34-31 overtime upset of No. 3 Boise State.

For Kaepernick, who has steadily gained attention as he extends his list of individual records, the victory was a culmination of everything he has strived for since graduating Pitman High in 2006.

"It's just an exciting time," Kaepernick said. "It's a great feeling to finally get this win. It's been a long time coming for us."

Nevada surely will rise in the polls while Boise State drops out of BCS bowl contention. Playing spoiler to the Broncos' national title hopes was secondary for Kaepernick, who just wanted to win the Western Athletic Conference.

Clinching a share of the title meant getting past Boise, which hasn't gotten much of a challenge from anyone in the WAC in years. Except from Nevada.

But this year, it didn't appear the Wolfpack was going to provide much of a fight in the first half, as Boise led 24-7.

The Broncos sacked Kaepernick twice and intercepted him for the first time in four meetings. They held the 6-foot-6 quarterback to 7 yards rushing and 145 yards on eight of 13 passes.

"In the first half we just stopped ourselves a few times and in the second half we cut those mistakes out," Kaepernick said.

The second half was a different story. Kaepernick ran for one touchdown and threw for another. He totaled 259 yards on 19 of 35 passing and finished with 61 yards on 10 carries.

Most importantly, he didn't lose his mind when Boise counterpart Kellen Moore put the Broncos in field-goal range with a 53-yard pass to Titus Young.

Boise kicker Kyle Brotzman, the school's all-time leading scorer, missed wide right from 26 yards and the game went to overtime.

"They gave us one more shot and they didn't need to do that," Kaepernick said after the game, nearly laughing at his luck.

Nevada won the toss, but deferred possession to Boise State. But the Broncos were stopped by Nevada's defense. When Brotzman missed again, this time a 24-yarder, Teresa Kaepernick said she just knew her son was going to be victorious.

He didn't let his mom — or the Nevada faithful among the 30,712 fans in the stands — down.

"He was still smiling from ear to ear," Teresa Kaepernick reported Saturday afternoon. "He said he didn't sleep very well. He wanted to sleep but couldn't. He's just very, very satisfied."

Who could sleep after hearing the roar of the crowd? Wolfpack fans poured onto the at Mackay Stadium field from every angle after Nevada's Anthony Martinez nailed his 34-yard field goal in overtime.

Adrenaline replaced shut-eye for Kaepernick, who was in high demand Saturday. He conducted interviews with ESPN, spent time with family and attended a Nevada women's basketball game.On Friday, he and running back Vai Taua set a record for most career rushing yards by two teammates — 1,130 — previously held by Southern Methodist's Eric Dickerson and Craig James — known as "The Pony Express."

Kaepernick also became the first quarterback to throw for more than 2,000 yards and run for more than 1,000 in three consecutive seasons. He did it, Nevada coach Chris Ault said, against one of the best teams in the country.

"That's the best defense I've seen in this stint since I've been back (at Nevada)," Ault said. "We knew that front was awesome. I thought Kap was just very, very special. He showed why he one of the great quarterbacks in the country."