A series of costly mistakes in critical moments led to the Nevada football team falling 24-21 to the Fresno State Bulldogs at home on Oct. 18. Blunders, including botched punts, untimely sacks and missed tackles allowed Fresno State to take control of a tightly contested matchup that slipped away from the Pack.
Nevada received the opening kickoff, and its offensive momentum from the Oregon State game appeared to carry over. Brendon Lewis, Nevada quarterback, sparked the drive with a 12-yard run to jumpstart the offense.
After a short completion, Lewis dropped back and launched a 55-yard deep pass to Jaden Smith, Nevada wide receiver, setting up a first-and-goal at the nine-yard line. Following a short run, Savion Red, Nevada running back, capped off the drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Pack a 7-0 lead with 11:03 left in the first quarter.
On the Bulldogs’ first possession, Mikey Keene, Fresno State quarterback, took what the defense offered, completing several short passes. He connected with Mac Dalena, Fresno State wide receiver for gains of 13 and 12 yards, moving the ball near midfield. However, after two short runs and an incomplete pass on third down, the drive stalled and the Bulldogs settled for a field goal, cutting Nevada’s lead to 7-3 with 5:42 left in the first quarter.
Penalties and an incomplete pass on third down forced Nevada to punt the ball back to Fresno State. After two short runs, Keene connected with Dalena for a 16-yard gain. However, this was followed by a 12-yard sack from Keyshawn Cobb, Nevada defensive back, who came off the edge. Keene quickly recovered, delivering a 27-yard strike to Raylen Sharpe, Fresno State wide receiver, at midfield.
Bryson Donelson, Fresno State running back, then ripped off runs of 14 and 12 yards, pushing the Bulldogs deep into Nevada territory. After a few more short runs, Elijah Gilliam, Fresno State running back, broke free for a 10-yard rushing touchdown, giving Fresno State a 10-7 lead with 12:32 left in the half.
Now trailing, the Pack opened their next possession with a series of short runs, including a nine-yard scramble by Lewis, which set the offense up near midfield. On the following snap, Lewis looked downfield and launched a 46-yard touchdown pass to Nate Burleson II, Nevada wide receiver, for his first career touchdown. It put the Pack back on top 14-10 with 9:49 remaining in the half.
After a quick three-and-out by the Fresno State offense, Nevada regained possession. The Pack was stopped on two rushing attempts and an incomplete pass on third down forced them to punt. Guy Gillespie, Nevada punter, lined up to kick, but after bobbling the snap, a missed block allowed a free rusher to tackle Gillespie at the Nevada 16-yard line, setting up an immediate red zone drive for the Bulldogs.
A short run followed by a quick completion from Keene set Fresno State up at the four-yard line. On the next snap, Gilliam powered into the end zone, giving the Bulldogs a 17-14 lead with 5:45 remaining in the half.
As the half wound down, Lewis scrambled for a 14-yard carry. After a few short gains, he rushed for another 18 yards before being hit in the head by Dean Clark, Fresno State defensive back. The hit was deemed targeting, advancing the Pack an additional 15 yards and ejecting Clark from the rest of the game.
Following the penalty, Nevada relied on Red, who carried the ball multiple times to bring them down to the 15-yard line. After a short completion, Lewis ran the ball into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown, putting the Pack up 21-17 to close out the first half.
Both teams exchanged punts to open the half, with AJ Bianco, Nevada quarterback, pinning the Bulldogs at their five-yard line. After a short run and an incomplete pass, Fresno State faced a third down at their 12-yard line.
With Nevada applying pressure, Keene managed to dump a pass off to Gilliam, who evaded defenders and rumbled down to the Nevada 17-yard line for a 71-yard catch and run. Following a few short completions, Joshua Wood, Fresno State quarterback, sprinted for a seven-yard run into the end zone, putting the Bulldogs ahead 24-21 with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
Another three-and-out by the Pack’s offense handed the ball back to Fresno State. On their first snap, Keene attempted to throw a check-down pass but overshot it, allowing Drue Watts, Nevada linebacker, to intercept the ball and giving the Pack a prime opportunity at midfield.
This opportunity was short-lived, however, as an intentional grounding call against Lewis on third down forced the Pack to punt. On the ensuing punt, Gillespie was hurried by another free rusher, who tackled him before he could get the punt off. This miscue gave the Bulldogs another short-field opportunity at Nevada’s 27-yard line.
Fresno State relied on Gilliam, whose multiple short runs carried the Bulldogs to the four-yard line. After being stuffed on back-to-back attempts, they turned to the air, but Keene’s pass fell incomplete on third down. To try to make it a two-possession game, the offense remained on the field, but on fourth down, Michael Coats Jr., Nevada defensive back, broke up the pass, giving the Pack’s offense the ball at their own six-yard line.
Short-yardage carries provided the Pack with some breathing room, but a nine-yard sack on Lewis by Malachi Langley, Fresno State linebacker, halted the drive and forced another punt. Gillespie managed to get the kickoff this time, placing the Bulldogs at midfield.
A three-and-out by the Fresno State offense forced a punt that pinned Nevada at its four-yard line. Following another hit on Lewis, he was taken out for precautionary measures. Chubba Purdy, Nevada quarterback, entered the game to lead the offense. A 31-yard catch and run by Smith advanced the Pack to their 37-yard line, but an incomplete pass and a sack on Purdy on third down forced the Pack to punt with 3:18 left in the game.
With the ball at its own 45, Fresno State continued to run the ball for short-yardage gains, running down the clock. Nevada forced a punt, but with just 11 seconds left, the Pack could not conjure any magic and ultimately fell to the Bulldogs 24-21 in a game where they were shut out in the second half.
Jeff Choate, Nevada’s head coach, recognized the crucial errors made by his team in the game.
“Credit to Fresno State, I thought they were the more physical team tonight,” Choate said. “Our defense did some nice things in the second half, but we put them in some really bad spots. Obviously, we had some issues with punt protection tonight, and we were not able to flip the field in the second half and give us a position to put a drive together.”
The Wolf Pack’s (3-5, 0-2) next challenge will come on the road as they travel to Honolulu, HI, to take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (2-5, 0-3) at 9 p.m. on Oct. 26.
James Wolfgang Perez can be reached via email at dominicgutierrez@unr.edu or via Twitter @JamesWPerezUNR
