Notre Dame, returning 18 starters, playing first game against Nevada

Nevada (0-0) at Notre Dame (0-0)

When: 2:42 p.m. at Notre Dame Stadium

TV: Channel 5; Radio: WLS 890-AM

Series: First meeting

Coaches: Chris Ault (198-91-1, 25th year at Nevada); Charlie Weis (28-19, fourth year at Notre Dame)

Players to watch: With his 2,849 passing yards and 1,130 rushing yards last year, Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick became the first in college football history to throw for at least 2,500 yards and rush for at least 1,000 in the same year. He's the WAC's Preseason Player of the Year. The Wolf Pack's defense is sparked by DEs Dontay Moch (11.5 sacks in '08) and Kevin Basped (10 sacks in '08).

Notre Dame junior QB Jimmy Clausen (3,172 yards, 25 TDs, 17 INTs) welcomes back his top four targets from a year ago. That includes junior SE Golden Tate (58 catches, 1,080 yards, 10 TDs), sophomore FL Michael Floyd (48-719-7) and sophomore TE Kyle Rudolph (29-340-2). Senior safety Kyle McCarthy posted a team-high 110 tackles last year, almost twice as many as the next-best Irish returner (LB turned FS Harrison Smith).

The skinny: It's funny how names matter in college football. Nevada and Notre Dame both finished 7-6 last year - and the Wolf Pack actually finished two spots ahead of the Irish (Nos. 55 and 57, respectively) in the final regular-season BCS computer rankings. Yet Notre Dame finds itself at No. 23 in both preseason polls while Nevada is low on the list of "also receiving votes." Maybe that's because Notre Dame returns 18 starters and Nevada returns only 15. The Wolf Pack, by the way, are picked to finish second to Boise State in the WAC.