Cal Football: Smoky Air in Reno Chases Nevada Back to Bay Area For a 2nd Week of Practice

The Nevada football team is back in the Bay Area in pursuit of healthy air.

The Wolf Pack, who will visit Cal a week from Saturday for both teams’ season-opening game, has traveled 250 miles by bus to Stanford for the second straight to escape wildfire smoke that has enveloped Reno in recent weeks.

The team left campus Monday afternoon, hours before Reno’s air quality index reached 193. By Tuesday morning it had soared to 287. A score under 100 is considered acceptable air quality. The 297 score is at the upper end of the “very unhealthy” range, just below what is considered “hazardous.”

The good news for coach Jay Norvell’s team is that the AQI reading for Stanford on Tuesday morning was 28.

Nevada Sports Net reported the two week-long trips to Stanford will cost the Nevada athletic department about $300,000.

“There’s just so much uncertainty from day-to-day,” Nevada athletic director Doug Knuth told Nevada Sports Net. “Even the best weather forecasters in Northern Nevada are really accurate about two-three days out in terms of wind direction and smoke direction and air quality.”

Norvell told ABC KOLO-8 that his friendly relationship with Stanford coach David Shaw has allowed the Wolf Pack to find a safe haven for practice.

“Without that opportunity to go to Stanford we really wouldn’t have had a productive camp at all,” said Norvell. “We’ve gotten so many reps when we went up there. It’s just not fair for these kids to play a football game if they haven’t been prepared properly. We’re just very grateful that we have an opportunity to get these practices in.”

“It was really nice of them to provide this opportunity to go over there,” Knuth said.

By the time the team returns to campus this weekend it will have held 10 practices at Stanford. Including travel, lodging, meals and other expenses, the cost will be about $30,000 per day.

School began this week at Nevada so football players will miss several days of classes.

Nevada will be a significant challenge for Cal. For the first time, the team was picked to win the Mountain West Conference West Division title this season.

The Wolf Pack is expected to rely on its powerful air-raid offense, led by quarterback Carson Strong, the reigning MWC Offensive Player of the Year. Strong recently was projected by Sports Illustrated as a possible No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Strong missed several practices early in fall camp, still recovering from two surgeries on his right knee in recent months — one after the 2020 season ended and an arthroscopic procedure several weeks before camp to clear out scar tissue.

Strong also missed his senior season at Wood High School in Vacaville after undergoing major surgery on the knee.

Norvell said two weeks ago he wasn’t concerned.

“His knee is fine,” the coach said, describing it as “kind of irritated a little bit.”

Cover photo of Reno by Andy Barron/RGJ via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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