Recognized as one of the greatest football teams in Nevada history, and among the top all-time squads in recent college football history, the 2010 Football Team will be inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025 this October.

Running head coach Chris Ault’s famed “Pistol” offense, the 2010 Wolf Pack finished the campaign with a 13-1 record, a WAC title, a Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl victory over Boston College, and a final ranking of No. 11 in the Associated Press Poll, the highest in the program’s FBS history.

Nicknamed “The Dream Team” for its historic accomplishments, the 2010 team captured a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship with a 7-1 record and capped off the season with a 20-13 win over Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, which was attended by an overwhelmingly Nevada total of 41,063 fans.

Ault, in his 26th year overall and his seventh season since returning as the Wolf Pack’s head coach for the third time, led the team to a 6-0 start before what would be the only setback of the campaign, a 27-21 loss at Hawai’i. But the Wolf Pack roared back, winning six-straight to close the regular season. No win that season, or even in recent Wolf Pack history, would be as epic as Friday night, Nov. 26, against No. 3 Boise State in what would go on to be dubbed the “Mackay Miracle.”

In a contest which featured 27 future NFL players (14 from the Wolf Pack), Nevada went down 24-7 at halftime to a Bronco squad that had Rose Bowl hopes in its sights. But the Wolf Pack fought its way back to even things at 31-31 late in the fourth quarter on Rishard Matthews’ second touchdown of the night. But when Boise State reached the nine-yard line on a 53-yard pass from Kellen Moore to Titus Young, setting up a chip shot field goal, all Wolf Pack hope seemed lost.

But fate intervened. Kicker Kyle Brotzman’s 26-yard attempt went wide right, sending the crowd into a frenzy and leading to overtime. There, things repeated—the Broncos had the opening possession and Brotzman missed again, this time wide left on a 29-yarder.

Nevada would seal the win moments later, as Anthony Martinez’s 34-yard field goal gave the Wolf Pack the dramatic 34-31 victory.

Ault was named WAC Coach of the Year and quarterback Colin Kaepernick was named the WAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year at the conclusion of the regular season. Kaepernick led five Wolf Pack players on the All-WAC First Team, including running back Vai Taua, tight end Virgil Green, offensive lineman John Bender and defensive end Dontay Moch. Four more players (Matthews, Chris Barker, James-Michael Johnson, Isaiah Frey) earned second-team recognition.

Nevada would cap its dream season at the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on January 9. Facing Boston College, the Wolf Pack answered an early Eagle touchdown with 17-straight points to take control. Behind two touchdowns from Richards, including a 72-yard punt return, Nevada ended the campaign with a 20-13 victory.

Among the players from the 2010 team who went on to star in the NFL were tight end and current Nevada tight ends coach Virgil Green, drafted by the Denver Broncos and a future Super Bowl 50 Champion. Kaepernick was selected in the second round of the 2011 Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and went on to lead them to a Super Bowl XLVII appearance in 2012. Joel Bitonio, a redshirt freshman in 2010, would go on to be a second-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2014, and the seven-time Pro Bowler will enter his 12th season with the Browns in 2025.

The rest of the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025, and information on the 2025 Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame induction event will be announced at a later date.

The class will be inducted during Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 24-26), and honored at Nevada’s Homecoming football game Friday, Oct. 24, against Boise State. Single-game tickets for Nevada’s four Mountain West home contests go on sale August 1.

Since its inception in 1973, the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame has inducted 240 individuals and five teams.