RENO -- A lot has changed in the three years since Chris Ault returned to coach Nevada's football team.

The 2007 schedule is the toughest in school history. The defense is now the strength of a team traditionally known for a high-powered passing attack that ranked among the most productive in the nation. And for the first time in years, there's no heir apparent to the quarterback job.

But some things remain the same as the Wolf Pack prepare to open the season on the road at 20th-ranked Nebraska and Northwestern before taking on the likes of No. 23 Hawaii and No. 24 Boise State in the Western Athletic Conference -- not to mention an instate rival that Ault says is more important than any of the others.

"We have four goals every year,'' Ault said.

"The first goal is to beat UNLV. The second goal is to have a winning season. The third goal is to win the WAC and the fourth goal is to win a bowl game.''

Win a bowl game? That was crazy talk four years ago when the Wolf Pack ran off five consecutive non-winning seasons before Ault's return. Ault is the winningest coach in school history with a record of 185-78-1 over 22 years, including 8-5 last year and 9-3 the year before.

Two years ago Nevada upset Fresno State to share the WAC title and beat Central Florida in the Hawaii Bowl, and last year the Wolf Pack was poised to knock off Miami in the MPC Computers Bowl before Jeff Rowe threw an interception deep in Hurricane territory with 18 seconds left to seal a 21-20 defeat.

Now, with a squad Ault says is one of the strongest he's ever coached and a new caliber of recruits more athletic and faster than the past, Nevada's players say they have the confidence to compete with just about anybody. Even Nebraska, at Lincoln, on Sept. 1.

"I'm actually glad we are opening up with tough games against teams I grew up seeing,'' said Luke Lippincott, the team's leading returning rusher who started three games last year and had 456 yards and nine touchdowns.

"Last year, when we ended with Miami I thought that was a big deal for our school,'' he said. "All of us went into that game thinking we could win that game but we also knew what kind of school Miami was -- a place where each player goes in there with the mentality that after three years they are going pro.

"Now we really feel like we can compete against the good teams. We want to win the WAC and we want to win a bowl game, so I think the only way to get in a good bowl game is to beat good teams.''

Ault's biggest concern is getting more out of a passing attack that's dropped off since he installed the "Pistol'' offense -- a variation of the shotgun that works out of several formations with the quarterback a few steps back from center to open up more opportunities for the running game. He also has to decide who will replace Rowe, now with the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals.

"We have to hang our hat on our defense,'' Ault said.

The unit that has eight returning starters and four or five other players who've started off and on in the past, mostly in the secondary.

"I think we can pick up where we left off last year and become a more stout defense.

"On the offensive side of the ball, of course that is where we have the question marks, starting with the quarterbacks.''

Sophomore Nick Graziano, who passed for 92 yards and a touchdown in brief appearances in eight games, and redshirt freshman Colin Kaepernick are battling for the job.

"It's wide open,'' Ault said. "These are very good athletes.''

Graziano has had more reps but Kaepernick is a "6-foot-6, 215-pound kid who can run as well as any quarterback there is in the West, and he's got a gun,'' Ault said. "That's going to be some stiff competition.''

Graziano said he has benefited from two years of experience under Rowe and backup Travis Moore.

"That is what I'm going to bring this year _ the leadership those guys taught me is what helped me most,'' he said. "I view it as my job to lose.''

Kaepernick was recruited to play baseball at Notre Dame, Tennessee and Michigan, but said football has always been his passion.

"The spot is still up for grabs,'' he said. "We're both out here every day trying to get that spot.''

Ault said Rowe averaged 6.5 yards per carry last season "because he was a competitor.

"These two are a little more natural runners, so you'll see them running the ball. How much? Who knows.

"But we have got to improve our throwing. Our throwing game has to get better with more consistency. Our running game is fine but we have made it very clear to our quarterbacks, very clear to our offensive people, that we have to throw the ball better to win,'' Ault said.

Nevada suffered a setback when center Dominic Green broke his foot earlier this month. The 6-foot-3 295-pound junior who is on the national watch list for the 2007 Dave Rimington Trophy will miss at least the first two games.

The Wolf Pack defense is led by Matt Hines, a 6-foot-1, 285-pound tackle who anchors a defensive front, which has four out of five of last year's starters returning. Hines was a second-team all-WAC selection last year and is on the watch list for both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Outland Trophy.

"Mat Hines is a leader. He is the strongest guy on the football team,'' Ault said.

Overall, Ault said the key to success will be creating enough depth at all positions to compete at Nebraska, then at Northwestern on Sept. 8 before three consecutive home games against Nicholls State, UNLV and Fresno State.

"This schedule is a long schedule. There is no question about it, it is certainly the most challenging schedule this university has ever had to play. And I'm not just referring to opening up twice in the Midwest,'' Ault said.

"I'm referring to playing a Sunday night game at Boise State (Oct. 14 on ESPN) and playing at Utah State the next Saturday. This is a schedule that is going to be a challenge both mentally and physically,'' he said.

"How we conduct ourselves in camp and prepare ourselves for the entire season is where our concern is. It is really critical for us to develop depth on both sides of the ball.''