During Saturday’s runaway victory over Western Kentucky, Nevada quarterback Carter Jones, at times, displayed many of the same traits that plagued him throughout last season. He went 9-15 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and one interception through the air off the back of an extremely strong rushing performance. His performance was far from perfect; though, that is something Jones may not need to be for this team to be successful this season.
This emphatic victory over the Hilltoppers has given the Wolf Pack, and their fans, everything they need to be hopeful for an improved 2026 campaign. That, of course, starts nowhere else than under-center, where a sophomore Carter Jones — fresh off winning an intense quarterback battle that lasted late into fall camp — looked much improved in Nevada’s blowout win to open the season. Though it was not all positives for the still 19-year-old quarterback, as Jones threw an interception to go along with some early accuracy issues.
These struggles were no better exemplified than in the first half, where Jones riffled a pass past a short out-breaking route and into the opposing sideline in the first quarter. Then, while the game was still a one-score difference, 14-7, the gunslinging signal-caller floated a pass on the run straight to the Hilltopper defense, instead of throwing the ball away. This gave Western Kentucky the ball back inside Nevada territory, with an excellent opportunity to tie the game. While they ultimately failed to even the score, Jones’ irresponsible decision could’ve easily led to a much different outcome.
Though, to Jones’ credit, his offense was able to quickly bounce back after these early miscues. On his next offensive snap, Jones uncorked a 73-yard bomb up the right sideline to receiver Gary Givens, who then carried the ball all the way down to Western Kentucky’s own 20-yard line. Jones continued to play well from there, as he was able to net his first touchdown of the new season on a 32-yard play-action pass where he hit his receiver in stride to put his team up three scores. The young quarterback has much to prove in his second season in Reno, and his strong performance against Western Kentucky serves as a great launch-pad to do so.
So while Jones still showed some of the general inconsistency and tendencies that were common during his freshman season, he also showed an ability to rebound that was not often seen 10 months ago. Last year, a mistake such as that interception in a one-score game could have easily shifted the momentum and led to a blown lead from Nevada. This time, it did not, and that is a testament to the development that Jones has clearly undergone over the off-season.
The Pack’s seemingly much-improved ground game should also serve Jones well this year, taking some of the offensive pressure off of him, and serving as the engine to this offense. Rushing for 323 yards against the Hilltoppers on 8.4 yards-per-carry meant that Jones only had to throw the ball 15 times during the entire game, a number that he eclipsed in all but one of the games he started in 2025. The superb offensive line and running back play also allowed for some easy play-action passing for Jones. This of course was demonstrated on both of his touchdown passes, where motion concepts led to some very open receivers, naturally making Jones’ job easier.
And with a defense that is expected to finish near the top of the Mountain West Conference, a top-notch offense may not be particularly necessary for Nevada to sport a much improved record. Head coach Jeff Chote’s defense charted near average (by their own conference’s standards) last season, even with an offense — who turned the ball over at the second highest rate in the nation — consistently straining the unit by putting them in tough situations. So for Jones’ offense to come out in week one and look not just competent, but actually decent, one could reasonably expect the defense to perform at a higher level as well in 2026.
All of this is to say that while Jones may not have turned into a Heisman candidate over the offseason, his noticeable improvement, along with the rest of the offense, could be just what this talented defensive unit needs to catapult the Wolf Pack back to relevance.
