RENO, Nev. — "Wrap-up!" head coach Greg McMackin has exhorted his University of Hawai'i defense.

In the chilly autumn weather here, he could have been advising them against catching cold, but this was more about the Warriors' football health than their physical well-being.

So time and again this week his voice has boomed with urgency across the practice field: "Wrap up the quarterback and running backs!"

It is a mantra the Warriors need to take to heart and onto the field today if they are to be competitive against the University of Nevada in a 10 a.m. Hawai'i time game where they are 28 1/2-point underdogs.

The Wolf Pack is the nation's top running team, averaging 7.2 yards per rush and 320 yards per game. In its most recent effort, Nevada put up 484 rushing yards against Idaho. It had 559 against Nevada-Las Vegas.

They are dazzling numbers and, if you are UH, which ranks 110th among 120 major college teams in rushing defense, worrisome.

And more so because unlike Louisiana Tech, which managed 352 yards against UH or Fresno State that managed 277 on the Warriors, the Wolf Pack comes at you with an array of rushers in its unique "pistol" offense.

The "pistol" has elements of the option, veer and I-formation all operated out of a spread formation with the quarterback four yards behind the line instead of the traditional five and the running back a couple yards directly behind him, helping to disguise the play's intended path.

Running backs Vai Taua and Luke Lippincott average 101.5 and 74.4 yards per game respectively. Third string back Mike Ball had 184 yards and five touchdowns against UNLV.

But for all that, quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the trigger, averaging 98.7 yards rushing and 184 yards passing per game. The 6-foot-6 Kaepernick has remarkable speed bursts and with his long, loping strides can create separation in an instant. Think UH receiver Greg Salas' elusiveness but four inches taller and with a growing ability to pass.

The Warriors had their moments on defense early last week against Boise State until six turnovers took their toll on the over-extended unit in a 54-9 loss. But big plays — UH has yielded 23 of 20 yards or more in 2009 — have been a season-long bugaboo.

This week the defense will need to be more than a speed bump, which means not allowing Kaepernick to turn the corner or the rest of his arsenal to break into open field for the kind of long runs that have been their trademark.

For the Warriors today, it might as well be "wrap-up" or pack it up.