The Nevada football team (3-5, 2-2) spent their Halloween at Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California, where they were defeated by the then No. 7 (now ranked No. 5) University of California, Los Angeles Bruins (8-0, 5-0), 27-0.
The Bruins, unsurprisingly, went into the game favored and their top-10 defense did not disappoint. Senior quarterback Luke Duncan opened the game with three straight interceptions, including one pick-six from UCLA’s senior defensive back Derrick Barksdale.
Duncan was neck-and-neck in the quarterback race with sophomore Carter Jones over summer and into fall camp, though he dropped to the number-two spot just a week before the Pack’s opening matchup.
While Jones quickly proved why he deserved the number-one spot with a strong performance against Western Kentucky University, Duncan has justified his spot as a backup, or even a third-string option, due to his play so far this season.
Duncan, who transferred from UCLA, was pulled from the game following the atrocious start and was replaced by fifth-year quarterback AJ Bianco.
Though Duncan’s play was undoubtedly terrible, one has to wonder if all of the blame can be placed on him. Nevada has yet to develop an above average quarterback in the Jeff Choate era, and their best one yet, Carter Jones, is very hit-or-miss in his play. There may be bigger issues afoot than the ones that plagued Duncan’s start in Pasadena — though his poor performance was inexcusable.
As Bianco continued the game, it was clear he was still battling the injury he sustained during the North Dakota State matchup a few weeks prior. With only six completions on 13 attempts and 71 yards, Bianco did not look to be as quick or comfortable in the pocket as we have seen in previous games, such as Montana State where he went 12/20 with 116 yards.
However, quarterback performance wasn’t the only flaw in Nevada’s offense. The Pack tried to set the tone on the ground all game, rushing the ball 35 times, though offensive coordinator Brett Bartolone’s group gained just 65 yards which was good for 1.9 yards per carry.
On the other side of the ball, Nevada’s defense took on UCLA senior quarterback Ty Dieffienbach, who is normally the backup, though he got the start on Saturday due to regular starter Nico Iamaleava’s injury. While the Bruins’ offense struggled for a good portion of the contest, Dieffienbach scored the first rushing touchdown of his career in the waning seconds of the first half, furthering his team’s lead.
Despite an overall weak offensive performance from the Pack, they went into halftime only down 17-0, which was a closer score than most may have expected, and a credit to Nevada’s defense. Throughout the game, the Pack was able to hold the Bruins only 5/13 on third-down attempts.
Even as Duncan and company delivered three turnovers to UCLA in Nevada territory — surrendering a touchdown on one of them — Nevada’s defensive unit only allowed two touchdowns.
The second half saw more of the same. Nevada struggled to complete passes, while UCLA slowly worked their way through the Pack’s defense.
Nevada faced an opportunity to get on the scoreboard with just over three minutes left in the third quarter; however, the team’s sure-footed sixth-year kicker Joe McFadden missed the 48-yard field goal attempt.
From there on, the game was in full garbage-time mode, as another interception thrown by Nevada all but sealed the deal for UCLA.
Was Nevada expected to win this game? Of course not, especially not at the Rose Bowl of all places. The game was really a tale of two sides for the Pack, with their abysmal offense ruining the defense’s commendable performance against one of the best teams in the country.
As far as expectations moving forward, it’s safe to say that Duncan shouldn’t be trusted to throw another pass. Both Jones and Bianco have been fighting injuries this season, but if neither of them — especially Jones — can get back on the field soon, there won’t be much of a season to play for anyways.
Nevada will return to Mackay Stadium where they will face the No. 22 New Mexico Lobos in a Friday night conference matchup on Nov. 6 at 6 p.m.
