Nevada football (3-8, 2-5) held off a late push from the Wyoming Cowboys (4-7, 2-5) in a 13-7 victory on Nov. 22. This is the second conference win in two weeks for the Wolf Pack after previously not winning a conference matchup in over two years.
The game began with the Cowboys winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half. The Pack began their drive on the 25-yard line following a touchback. Running back Caleb Ramseur took a rush three yards to the left for the Wolf Pack’s first offensive play. Then, a short reception from tight end Jace Henry set up a third and long where the Wyoming defense jumped offside.
The Pack’s first chunk play came on a jet toss from freshman quarterback Carter Jones to receiver Ky Woods, which went for 11 yards and a first down. After two more first-down rushes from Ramseur and quarterback Chubba Purdy, the Nevada drive began to falter. Two short rushes and an incomplete pass brought a fourth down and a 42-yard field goal attempt for kicker Joe McFadden, which he missed to the left.
The following Wyoming drive began with a short rush from running back Samuel Harris, followed by a swing pass to two-way player Tyson Deen that went six yards. Then a short rush was stonewalled by standout defensive lineman Dylan Labarbera, forcing a fourth down. The Cowboy offense elected to go for it and secured a first down with a quarterback sneak from Kaden Anderson.
From there, the Cowboys continued to move the ball, highlighted by a 20-yard reception from receiver Michael Fitzgerald. However, the Pack caught a break when Wyoming kicker Erik Sandvik pushed his 32-yard attempt to the right to keep the game scoreless. One Referee signaled that the kick was made, while the other signaled the kick was missed. After a short conference, they concluded that the attempt was no good.
Both offenses went dormant for each of their next two drives before Wyoming punted the ball back to Nevada.
A penalty on the punt started the Nevada offense on their own 10 line. Short rushes from both quarterbacks, Jones and Purdy, brought the Pack’s drive to a third down. With five yards to go, Jones took a deep shot to receiver Dakota Thomas, which was overthrown and incomplete.
Nevada came out in punt formation on a fourth down, though their drive did not end there as punter Bailey Ettridge took the snap and ran 14 yards for a first down. Jones attempted his second long ball on the following play, where receiver Nate Burleson II dropped the pass.
The incompletion had little impact on the Pack’s drive as Ramseur took back-to-back rushes for a combined total of 26 yards. Then a couple of failed plays forced a field goal attempt from the Pack, where McFadden nailed his attempt, but the Cowboys jumped offside, gifting Nevada a first and goal opportunity.
Nevada’s first play inside the 10 went for only a single yard when Purdy was brought down quickly, as the clock hit the two-minute warning. After another unsuccessful rush from Purdy, Jones fired a third-down pass to the team’s leading receiver, Jett Carpenter, which he hauled in for the touchdown to put his team up 7-0.
Wyoming’s two-minute drill brought them all the way to the Pack’s 44-yard line, where a string of incompletions forced the Cowboys to attempt a field goal. Kicker Keelan Anderson missed the 54-yard attempt to conclude the first half of play.
Wyoming’s first play of the second half was a screen pass that was blown up by cornerback AJ Odums, causing the Cowboys to lose five yards. Two completions were unable to net the Cowboys a first down, forcing a punt.
The Pack took over possession on their own 16-yard line, where a first-down rush to Ramseur went five yards. Then a screen pass to Ramseur in the flat went for 21 yards and a first down. On the following play, Jones elected to keep the ball on a read option, taking it 27 yards all the way to the Cowboys’ 31-yard line. Three short plays left Head Coach Jeff Choate with a fourth-down decision, where he decided to attempt a 41-yard field goal. The decision turned out to be a good one as McFadden nailed the kick to give Nevada a two-point lead at 10-0.
Wyoming picked up a single first down on their following possession before being forced to punt the ball away.
On the ensuing drive, Jones fumbled the ball on the Pack’s second play to give Wyoming the ball with only 21 yards to go.
After a penalty on the Nevada defense, the Cowboys got a first and goal from the four-yard line. That’s when Anderson zipped a ball past the outreached hand of the defender and into the hands of tight end Evan Svoboda for a touchdown to bring the score to 10-7.
A touchback started the Nevada offense on their own 25-yard line, where they gained a quick first down off a 10-yard rush from Ramseur. Choate then opted not to run a play and let the time left in the third quarter run out. The Wolf Pack offense continued to have success on the ground as four straight rushes moved them into Cowboy territory. Nevada’s methodical drive brought them all the way to Wyoming’s 33-yard line before the drive stalled and forced a field goal attempt. McFadden netted his second field goal of the contest to extend the Pack’s lead to 13-7.
The Cowboys’ offensive woes continued as a three-and-out gave Nevada the ball back.
The Pack’s drive began by attempting to drain as much of the game clock as possible, as Nevada burned nearly two minutes before punting the ball back to Wyoming.
The Wolf Pack defense continued excellent plays, forcing a three-and-out from the Cowboys.
Nevada’s quest to waste the clock got a big break when Purdy took a direct snap 14 yards for a first down. The Wolf Pack’s drive bottomed out as Ettridge punted the ball down to the Cowboys’ 18-yard line. This gave the Cowboys one more opportunity with just over two minutes to play and no timeouts remaining.
Wyoming’s final drive was one of chaos, with the Cowboys driving all the way down to the five-yard line. There, the Wolf Pack defense stood tall as cornerback Bishop Turner blew up a short pass for a loss of four yards that allowed the clock to run out, before Wyoming could take another snap.
Nevada’s next challenge will come at home against rival UNLV (9-2, 5-2) on Saturday, Nov. 29.
