Category: Nevada

Brock Purdy’s Younger Brother Chubba Decommits from SJSU and transfers to Nevada

Brock Purdy’s Younger Brother Decommits from SJSU and transfers to Nevada

The news of Brock Purdy‘s younger brother, Chubba, transferring from Nebraska to San Jose State lit up the Bay Area last weekend.

The idea of Chubba dominating on a Saturday followed by Brock on a Sunday was storyline gold. Seriously, what could be better than that?

But all those imaginations won’t become reality now that Chubba has decommited from SJSU and transferred to Mountain West-foe Nevada.

The news isn’t surprising after Chubba deleted his initial commitment post on Sunday, Jan. 21 — the same day SJSU announced the hiring of new head coach Ken Niumatalolo who will be taking over for Brent Brennan.

A former four-star from Gilbert, Ariz., Purdy played two years at Florida State, compiling 317 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, 147 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Then, after transferring to Nebraska in 2022 for two years, he threw for 529 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions while also rushing for 353 yards and three scores. He was 0-4 as a starter.

Purdy’s commitment to Nevada also comes on the same day SJSU running back Quali Conley entered the transfer portal. 247 Sports’ crystal ball puts Conley’s chances at transferring to UA at 100%.

If Conley becomes a Wildcat, it could signify former SJSU associate head coach, running backs coach, and recruiting coordinator Alonzo “Zo” Carter joining Brennan in Tucson.

So now, if Niumatalolo doesn’t bring in a quarterback through the transfer portal, SJSU’s options are Oregon transfer Jay Butterfield, freshman Anthony Garcia, redshirt freshman Tyler Voss, and redshirt sophomore Walker Eget.

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Also noteworthy, is that Niumatalolo won’t be running his patented triple option offense at SJSU this season and, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, “is expected to target an offensive coordinator for some type of wide-open and pass-heavy system.”

Niumatalolo utilized the triple option in his 25 years of coaching at Navy. In his 15 years as a head coach from 2007-2022, he became the winningest head coach in program history, went to 10 bowl games, and from 2015-19 was a three-time recipient of the American Athletic Conference coach of the year award as the Midshipmen had four AP Top 25 poll finishes.

Nevada vs. Wyoming: Game Preview, How to Watch, Central Players, Keys & Prediction

The Nevada Wolf Pack travels to the high plains of Wyoming to snap its six-game losing streak against the Wyoming Cowboys.

 

Nevada vs. Wyoming: Game Preview, How to Watch, Central Players, Keys & Prediction

The Wolf Pack travels to the high plains of Wyoming to snap its six-game losing streak against the Cowboys.

Contact/Follow @KayceeClark-Mellott and @MWCwire

WHO: Nevada (15-3, 2-2 in the MWC) vs. Wyoming (9-8, 2-2 in the MWC)

WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 20, 5:30 PM MT

WHERE: Arena-Auditorium “Dome of Doom”, Laramie, Wyo.

TELEVISION: Mountain West Network

STREAM:  FuboTV – Get a free trial

LINE: Nevada +8.5

RANKINGS:

  Nevada Wyoming
AP RV (22) NR
USA TODAY COACHES POLL RV (14) NR
NET RANKINGS 45 204
KENPOM 47 214

The last victory for the Nevada Wolf Pack against the Wyoming Cowboys came in the 2020 COVID-19 season, Wyoming head coach Jeff Linder’s first season. Linder and the Pokes have won six straight from that season sweep of the Cowboys, including four games in Laramie.

Nevada’s season, thus far, is the best since the 2018-19 season, when they played in the NCAA Tournament as a seven-seed. The Wolf Pack is one of the best defensive teams in the Mountain West Conference (MWC), allowing the fewest points in the league. Coupled with three players scoring in double figures, Nevada has become one of the top teams in the conference. However, the team has lost two straight matchups against Boise State and San Diego State.

Both losses included some of Nevada’s worst shooting percentages of the season and the most fouls committed in a game against the Aztecs. The Wolf Pack allowed 41 rebounds in both games, the most in a season. Although both teams are in the top four in the conference for rebounding, Wyoming and Nevada are in the middle of the MWC.

The Cowboys have a season of many unknowns. They lost four starters from last season to graduation or the transfer portal. The only returning players for Wyoming are Brendan Wenzel, Caden Powell, Kenny Foster — who experienced a season-ending injury in the preseason — and Cort Roberson — who mainly works on the scout team.

As the team has already matched its win total from last year, the Cowboys are looking to reach double-digit wins with an upset over the Wolf Pack. Games at the “Dome of Doom” have favored Wyoming thus far this season, with a 6-1 record, including two conference victories, courtesy of Akuel Kot’s game-winning buzzer-beaters over San Jose State and Fresno State.

Turnovers have troubled the Pokes all season as the 20th most per game in the NCAA. Sam Griffin and Kot lead the team with 3.1 turnovers each per game. Only two games have seen the Cowboys commit less than 10 turnovers.

While Nevada looks to get back on track in conference play, Wyoming aims to achieve a winning record in the conference.

Key Players to the Game:

G Kenan Blackshear–Nevada

23-24 Stats: 16.3 PPG, 4.7 APG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG & 51.4% FG

Last time out: 14 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals on 6-12 (50%) shooting, including 2-5 from the line, at San Diego State.

Kenan Blackshear is an all-around player for the Wolf Pack. He leads the team in assists and steals and is second among starters in scoring, rebounds and shooting percentage. His four highest-scoring games have all come this season, with a career-high of 31 points at Washington in November. 

Both guards — Blackshear and Jarod Lucas — are prominent players for Nevada, but the stature of Blackshear may pose difficulties for Wyoming’s defense. His passing vision and abilities can help propel the Wolf Pack while drawing attention away from others.

F Caden Powell-Wyoming

23-24 Stats: 7.2 PPG, 1.0 APG, 5.9 RPG, 0.9 BPG & 50% FG

Last time out: 2 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a block on 0-2 shooting against Fresno State.

The obvious answer for the Pokes is leading scorer Griffin or Kot with the buzzer-beaters and scoring double digits in all but one game this season. However, Powell must be a dominant force on the glass. As Nevada has allowed over 40 rebounds in their last two games, it’s central for the Cowboys to continue that trend.

Powell also makes half the shots he puts up, and while playing the best scoring defense in the conference, throwing up the most efficient shots is vital. Since MWC play started, Powell has yet to post double figures, only averaging 4.8 points on 46.2%. A dominant big-man performance can send Wyoming into the driver’s seat of this game. 

Keys to the Game

For Nevada:  Control the glass. Improve shooting efficiency. Get back on defense.

The game plan must focus on rebounds after allowing over 40 rebounds in back-to-back games. The Wolf Pack has been outrebounded in half of its games this season. Additionally, the team’s rebound margin is even at zero, ranking 193 in the NCAA. The combination of Nick Davidson and Blackshear must be highly prominent in the paint, offensively and defensively. 

The Wolf Pack also must find efficient shots to take. Since MWC play started, the team’s field goal percentage has dropped 4.4 percentage points. Nevada shot 36% against Boise State. Additionally, the team has become less effective at the line, dropping nearly six percentage points in that same time. The goal is always to have more points than the opponent, and decreasing numbers is not a good sign for winning. 

Against San Diego State, Nevada gave up 15 fast break points. In MWC games, the average Nevada has allowed is 7.75, but it has only scored 7.83 on the season. It is pertinent to ensure that the Cowboys can’t get fast points against an unset defense, notably when Wyoming is ranked 19th lowest in fast break points.

For Wyoming: Get to the charity stripe. Box out and snag the rebounds. Beyond the arc action.

The Cowboys are one of the best from the line in the league. At 75.3%, Wyoming only trails Colorado State in free throw percentage. In addition, Nevada fouls the third most in the MWC, sending San Diego State to the line for 34 shots. Not a single player for Wyoming shoots under 50% from the line, with seven players shooting 80% or better.

Rebounding is a fundamental key to winning games. As a middle-tier rebounding team in the conference, Wyoming posts a 6-3 record when winning the rebound margin while 3-5 when opponents outrebound the Pokes.

Wyoming is one of the best from beyond the arc. Despite the low number of shots beyond the arc per game, the team shoots 38.6% from three and is ranked 16th in the NCAA. Wyoming has shot over 40% in eight games this season and won seven of them. Even when the team shoots above its average, it holds an 8-2 record while 1-6 when below. The magic number for the Pokes is 38.6%.

Prediction:

Nevada 68, Wyoming 60

Wyoming will cover the spread of +8.5 but ultimately come up short. While Nevada has not been able to grab a board the past two games, this came against the conference’s top teams. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they are neither a top team in the MWC nor prolific at grabbing boards. The Wolf Pack will also clean up some of their foul troubles and return to the win column. Nevada will halt the Pokes’ domination over them and move to 16-3.

Kaycee Clark-Mellott covers college football and basketball for the Mountain West Wire, mainly covering the Wyoming Cowboys.

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Mountain West Football’s Updated 2024 Matchups Released

Mountain West Football’s Updated 2024 Matchups Released The Mountain West revised its college football schedule to include games against wayward Oregon State and Washington State. Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire What’s new? The vagaries of …

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Mountain West Football’s Updated 2024 Matchups Released

The Mountain West revised its college football schedule to include games against wayward Oregon State and Washington State.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

What’s new?

The vagaries of college football realignment didn’t directly impact the Mountain West Conference over the last calendar year, but the shockwaves of moves across the country resulted today in a revised slate of matchups that includes the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars, the two Pac-12 programs left behind by their conference mates’ exodus.

When it was announced that the conference would do away with the Mountain and West divisions in 2022, the conference announced a rotation that would protect two games for each team and extend through the 2025 season. A multitude of Power 5 programs had other plans, however, and when the Big 12, Big Ten, and ACC raided the Pac-12 for ten of its teams throughout 2023, it left Oregon State and Washington State standing alone.

Here are the home and away games that the Mountain West had previously unveiled for 2024:

Air Force, Nevada, and San Diego State will host the Beavers while Boise State, Fresno State, and New Mexico will do the same for the Cougars. Conversely, Colorado State, San Jose State, and UNLV will travel to Corvallis; Hawaii, Utah State, and Wyoming will head to Pullman. None of the games will count as part of the conference standings, however, meaning that each Mountain West team will have seven conference games rather than the usual eight.

The changes, as you might expect, have differing impacts on every Mountain West team’s pre-existing schedule. Air Force, for instance, will get to face Oregon State at home instead of Hawaii, but Colorado State now travels to Oregon State and Nevada rather than Boise and San Diego. As DNVR Sports’s Justin Michael noted, it will be the first time since 2010 that the Rams and Broncos do not face each other. Similarly, Wyoming will now host San Diego State and Utah State rather than Nevada and UNLV.

One interesting twist is that the two teams who played in the Mountain West championship game this month, Boise State and UNLV, are now set to square off at Allegiant Stadium rather than Albertsons Stadium next year. Exact dates for the Mountain West schedule will be released at a later time, but next year’s title game is slated for Saturday, December 7, 2024.

Air Force

Home – Colorado State, Fresno State, San Jose State, Oregon State
Away – Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, Wyoming

Boise State

Home – Nevada, San Diego State, Utah State, Washington State
Away – Hawaii, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming

Colorado State

Home – New Mexico, San Jose State, Utah State, Wyoming
Away – Air Force, Fresno State, Nevada, Oregon State

Fresno State

Home – Colorado State, Hawaii, San Jose State, Washington State
Away – Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV

Hawaii

Home – Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV
Away – Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, Washington State

Nevada

Home – Air Force, Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State
Away – Boise State, Hawaii, San Jose State, UNLV

New Mexico

Home – Air Force, Fresno State, Wyoming, Washington State
Away – Colorado State, Hawai‘i, San Diego State, Utah State

San Diego State

Home – Air Force, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon State
Away – Boise State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming

San Jose State

Home – Boise State, Nevada, UNLV, Wyoming
Away – Air Force, Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State

UNLV

Home – Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State
Away – Hawaii, San Jose State, Utah State, Oregon State

Utah State

Home – Hawaii, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV
Away – Boise State, Colorado State, Wyoming, Washington State

Wyoming

Home – Air Force, Boise State, San Diego State, Utah State
Away – Colorado State, New Mexico, San Jose State, Washington State

Oregon State

Home – Colorado State, San Jose State, UNLV
Away – Air Force, Nevada, San Diego State

Washington State

Home – Hawaii, Utah State, Wyoming
Away – Boise State, Fresno State, New Mexico

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Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Officially Hire Jeff Choate As Head Coach

Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Officially Hire Jeff Choate As Head Coach Nevada has officially hired Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate for the head coaching position Contact/Follow @BrandonGBlake & @MWCwire Jeff Choate Is The New Head Coach For …

Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Officially Hire Jeff Choate As Head Coach

Nevada has officially hired Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate for the head coaching position

Contact/Follow @BrandonGBlake & @MWCwire

Jeff Choate Is The New Head Coach For Nevada

The Nevada Wolf Pack officially hired Jeff Choate as their football head coach on Monday.

Choate will be the 28th head football coach in the history of the Nevada football program. 

Nevada targeted Choate for its vacant head coaching position very early in their coaching search. By early Monday, Choate was named the new head coach. Choate will replace Ken Wilson as Nevada’s head coach after Wilson went 4-20 in his two seasons in Reno.

Jeff Choate was officially named the head coach at a press conference on Monday afternoon in Reno. Nevada athletic Director Stephanie Rempe and Nevada school president Brian Sandoval formally introduced Choate as the new head coach.

“ I am sincerely thankful to President (Brian) Sandoval and athletic director Stephanie Rempe, as well as the entire Nevada Athletics staff for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead Nevada football into the future,” Choate said after he was named the new head coach at Nevada. 

Choate also went on to say “Together we are ready to climb the mountain , instill the Battle Born mentality and create a transformative experience for our players.”  “Our goal is to reignite the fire within the Wolf Pack and elevate the program to championship heights.” 

With Choate as the new head coach for Nevada, the Wolf Pack got a head coach with a winning pedigree. Choate was the head coach at Montana State from 2016 until 2021. During his time at Montana State, Choate went 28-22 and guided the Bobcats to back to back FCS playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019. Choate’s win total improved during his time in Bozeman from four to five to eight to 11 wins. In 2019 he did lead the Bobcats to FCS Final four in football which was their first FCS semifinal appearance since 1984.

Choate also boasts extensive experience as an assistant coach. Choate began his coaching career in 1992. In 2002, Choate got his first FBS assistant job at Utah State as a graduate assistant. From there, Choate was an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois, Boise State, Washington State, Florida and Texas. It is at Texas where Choate is currently the co-defensive coordinator under head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Per Nevada Sports Net’s Chris Murray, Choate will stay on as the co-defensive coordinator for Texas as the Longhorns are in the College Football Playoff. Choate will stay in Reno to get settled until the 15th of December when the Longhorns start preparing for their CFP semifinal game.

Choate looks to bring his brand of “blue-collar” toughness to Nevada football. During his time as head coach of Montana State, Choate’s offenses ran the ball close to two-thirds of the time on offense. Now one would see that stat and think that the offense would not produce many points. However, Montana State’s offense under Choate averaged 28.5 points per game during his time at Bozeman.

For a Nevada offense that did not even average 20 points per game under Ken Wilson, this will be a welcomed change. We have to wait and see who Choate hires as an offensive coordinator but expect a run-oriented offense. Hopefully, for Nevada fans, a more successful run-oriented offense under Choate.

This is a very solid hire for Nevada’s football program. Choate’s extensive coaching experience as an assistant and as a head coach is perfect for this program. Especially Choate’s head coaching time at Montana State, an FCS school with limited money and resources. Despite those limitations, Choate built the Bobcat program up to a FCS playoff team. So Choate has experience dealing with limitations and Nevada football has clear limitations.

Choate’s task is to get Nevada football back into bowl contention and championship contention. And not only is he task to get the Wolf Pack back into bowl/championship contention but to keep them in contention. As I said after Nevada fired Ken Wilson, the Wolf Pack must have a consistent converted effort to be a championship contenting football program. 

With Jeff Choate, Nevada has a coach that has the track record to build a winner. A tough, blue-collar style of football that Choate wants to establish in Reno. It is on Choate to establish that mindset and it is up to Nevada AD Stephanie Rempe and school President Sandoval to set Choate up for success.

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Nevada Football: Jeff Choate Named Head Coach

After underperforming the last two years, the Wolf Pack introduce a new leader with defensive chops and head coaching success on his resume.

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Nevada Football: Jeff Choate Named Head Coach

After underperforming the last two seasons, the Wolf Pack introduce a new leader with defensive chops on his resume.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS and @MWCwire

A new chapter begins in Reno.

Three days after firing Ken Wilson, the Nevada Wolf Pack introduced Jeff Choate as its new head football coach this afternoon. The news was first broken yesterday by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Choate has spent the last three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach for the Texas Longhorns, where he’s overseen a unit that, by Bill Connelly’s SP+ metric, has improved from 86th in 2021 to 15th in 2022 to 10th this season, following last Saturday’s Big 12 championship game against Oklahoma State. Under his recent tutelage, Jaylen Ford has been named a first-team all-Big 12 performer in each of the last two years.

He isn’t an unfamiliar name in the Mountain West, either. Choate spent 2002-04 at Utah State and 2006-11 at Boise State, serving as a position coach and special teams coordinator at both stops. He later spent four years as the head coach at FCS Montana State, from 2016 to 2019. In that stint, he guided the Bobcats from 4-7 in his first year to back-to-back playoff appearances, reaching the semifinals in his final year before electing to leave for Austin in January 2021. He posted an overall record of 28-22.

His defensive pedigree, which includes the development of stars like Troy Andersen, Danny Shelton, and Ford, and previous success as a head coach are almost certainly the calling cards that Nevada is hoping to draw upon after allowing 6.89 yards per play (last in FBS) and 2.64 points per drive (106th) this season.

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Mountain West Wire’s 2023 Postseason All-Conference Football Team

Who did our staff pick as the best of the best in Mountain West football this season?

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Mountain West Wire Presents Its 2023 Postseason All-Mountain West Football Teams

Our staff has made its selections for the best of Mountain West football as we close out the 2023 season.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Only the best of the best make the cut.

Mountain West Wire’s 2023 postseason honors:

All-Conference Teams | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Special Teams Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year

With the Mountain West’s regular season in the books and the conference championship game just one day away, our staff here at Mountain West Wire has once again put its collective heads together to create our fifth annual postseason all-Mountain West football team.

If you’re interested in seeing how these selections stack up against our preseason picks, click here. Alternatively, you can click the following links to find our postseason honorees from 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.

As always, our all-conference roster goes four deep and attempts to best reflect the variety of offenses and defenses we see week in and week out throughout the conference:

  • We vote for a Defensive Flex player to better reflect that some units — like Boise State, San Diego State, and Wyoming — often operate with five defensive backs or a nickelback/linebacker hybrid in their 3-3-5 or 4-2-5.
  • We split our linebacker selections into two, inside and outside, as we’d previously differentiated between centers, guards, and tackles on the offensive lines and between interior linemen and edge rushers on defense.
  • We vote for three wide receivers instead of two.

If you disagree with our choices, feel free to let us know what you’d have done differently on Twitter or Facebook.

First Team

Offense

QB – Chevan Cordeiro, San Jose State
RB – Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
RB – Jacory Croskey-Merritt, New Mexico
RB – Kairee Robinson, San Jose State
WR – Tory Horton, Colorado State
WR – Ricky White, UNLV
WR – Jalen Royals, Utah State
TE – Dallin Holker, Colorado State
C – Thor Paglialong, Air Force
G – Mark Hiestand, Air Force
G – Wesley Ndago, Air Force
T – Adam Karas, Air Force
T – Cade Beresford, Boise State

Defense

DT – Jordan Bertagnole, Wyoming
DT – Payton Zdroik, Air Force
DE – Mohamed Kamara, Colorado State
DE – Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State
OLB – Jackson Woodard, UNLV
OLB – Bo Richter, Air Force
ILB – Easton Gibbs, Wyoming
ILB – MJ Tafisi, Utah State
CB – Cameron Oliver, UNLV
CB – Jay’Vion Cole, San Jose State
CB – Carlton Johnson, Fresno State
S – Ike Larsen, Utah State
S – Wyatt Ekeler, Wyoming
FLEX – Morice Norris Jr., Fresno State

Special Teams

K – Jose Pizano, UNLV
P – James Ferguson-Reynolds, Boise State
KR – Jacob De Jesus, UNLV
PR – Jacob De Jesus, UNLV

Second Team

Offense

QB – Jayden Maiava, UNLV
RB – Malik Sherrod, Fresno State
RB – Emmanuel Michel, Air Force
WR – Steven McBride, Hawaii
WR – Terrell Vaughn, Utah State
WR – Pofele Ashlock, Hawaii
TE – Mark Redman, San Diego State
C – Jacob Gardner, Colorado State
G – Mose Vavao, Fresno State
G – Wes King, Wyoming
T – Frank Crum, Wyoming
T – Kage Casey, Boise State

Defense

DT – Soane Toia, San Jose State
DT – Cole Godbout, Wyoming
DE – P.J. Ramsey, Air Force
DE – Tre Smith, San Jose State
OLB – Levelle Bailey, Fresno State
OLB – Andrew Simpson, Boise State
ILB – Alec Mock, Air Force
ILB – Bryun Parham, San Jose State
CB – Noah Tumblin, San Diego State
CB – Donte Martin, New Mexico
S – Trey Taylor, Air Force
S – Jack Howell, Colorado State
FLEX – Seyi Oladipo, Boise State

Special Teams

K – Jonah Dalmas, Boise State
P – Marshall Nichols, UNLV
KR – Jaelen Gill, Fresno State
PR – Tory Horton, Colorado State

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Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Must Commit To Winning Football After Firing Of Ken Wilson

Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Must Commit To Winning Football After Firing Of Ken Wilson The Wolf Pack must put the effort into building a winner after firing Ken Wilson on Friday. Contact/Follow @BrandonGBlake & @MWCwire Nevada Fires Ken Wilson After …

Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Must Commit To Winning Football After Firing Of Ken Wilson

The Wolf Pack must put the effort into building a winner after firing Ken Wilson on Friday.

Contact/Follow @BrandonGBlake & @MWCwire

Nevada Fires Ken Wilson After Two Season And A 4-20 Record

On Friday, Nevada fired Ken Wilson after two seasons as the head coach of the Wolf Pack program. 

 

Show of hands, who is surprised by the firing.

 

If you are surprised, then you are lying.

 

Anyone who has paid attention to the Nevada football program knew that Wilson’s time was up.  The 4-20 record in two seasons as head coach and an offense and defense that was horrendous doomed Wilson. Also, the third thing that brought the Wilson era to an end was Nevada athletic director Stephanie Rempe did not hire Wilson.

During his two year tenure as head coach at Nevada, Wilson failed to keep the Wolf Pack as a competitive team in the Mountain West. Wilson’s predecessor, Jay Norvell, elevated Nevada into the championship picture despite not winning the Mountain West.

Wilson never got the Wolf Pack football program to those heights under Norvell. Instead, Nevada found itself at the bottom of the conference standings. Nevada only won two conference games during the Wilson era. Those conference wins came this season when Nevada defeated San Diego State and New Mexico.

After the 2022  season, Wilson did infuse the Wolf Pack with talent via the transfer portal. Players like RB Sean Dollars and QB Brendon Lewis to name a few were brought in to pump life to an anemic offense. But the results did not improve as Nevada’s offense was statistically worse this season than last season. The Wolf Pack offense in 2022 averaged 18.8 points per game and this season they averaged 17.3 points per game.

The Nevada defense  gave up 33.4 points per game this season. That number is worse than last season when they gave up 30.9 points per game. An offense that got worse and defense that failed to improve. Add in the coaching staff that looked incapable of getting the best out of the players, you have a disaster that is Nevada under Ken Wilson. And now he is out as head coach of the Wolf Pack. 

 

 

So where does Nevada go from here?

 

Well if you look at the list of potential candidates per Nevada Sports Net’s Chris Murray, it is a very unique pool of candidates.

(I do like that Nevada can hire a head coach from Yale whose last name is Reno. And also, if Nevada wants publicity, there are better ways to get it than to hire Jon Gruden)

Whoever Nevada hires as head football coach, I will say that there has to be a concerted effort from the athletic director on down to elevate Nevada football to a championship level.

In the past, Nevada has had a lot of success with a limited amount of money and resources. In this era of the transfer portal and NIL, the Wolf Pack will need to step up their commitment to winning football.

Nevada has shown recently that they are more committed to winning football such as raising the head coaching salary. But Nevada can’t just dip their feet into the pool of competitive college football in the 21st century, they need to jump all the way into the pool.

Yes, I know of the struggles Nevada has in terms of money, resources and in state talent. But Boise State has almost all of those disadvantages that Nevada has and Boise State has been successful for 25+ years.

It is past time for Nevada to get serious about winning football. Firing Ken Wilson is a step in the right direction, now it is up to AD Stephanie Rempe and the Wolf Pack nation to elevate the program.

Ken Wilson seems to be a good man who loves Nevada and the football program. But the Wolf Pack have to see the bigger picture and bring in a head coach who can get Nevada back into contention. And most importantly, the Nevada athletic department and the school must set that coach up for success year in and year out.

Nevada is one of three programs in the Mountain West who have not played in a conference championship game in football. The Wolf Pack’s rivals to the south, UNLV, will play in their first conference championship game on Saturday.

 

Time to step up your football program, Wolf Pack.

 

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Nevada Fires Head Coach Ken Wilson After Just Two Years

Nevada Fires Head Coach Ken Wilson After Just Two Years The reduced buyout had to be a key factor. Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire 4-20 record won’t cut it Nevada football did what had to be done and saved a few bucks in the process. Nevada Sports …

Nevada Fires Head Coach Ken Wilson After Just Two Years

The reduced buyout had to be a key factor.

Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

4-20 record won’t cut it

Nevada football did what had to be done and saved a few bucks in the process. Nevada Sports Net is reporting that after just two seasons Ken Wilson is out as the Nevada Wolf Pack head coach.

The Wolf Pack athletic department has not yet made a public decision on Wilson’s future.

This had to be done. Wilson previously was Oregon’s defensive coordinator and was a defensive coach at Nevada from 1989 through 2012. So, a return to a school he was very familiar with would pay off, unfortunately it didn’t.

The move to relieve Wilson of his duties today as opposed to right after the regular season was due to a lower buyout on Dec. 1. Nevada will save $500,000 by being patient and have to pay coach Wilson $1 million per the buyout.

Per Chris Murray of Nevada Sports there were conversations about his future to see if it was worth it to keep Wilson around.

Wolf Pack administration spent this week having in-depth conversations with Wilson and his staff to assess the program and why it has struggled the last two seasons.

The higher ups decided to go with a fresh start after a 4-20 record that was not showing much if any improvement. Wilson did inherit a tough situation with Jay Norvell leaving for Colorado State and that caused a ripple in talent to follow Norvell and other locations.

The lack of improvement and fight had to be the doing in for Wilson. The offense was inept with rotating quarterbacks throughout the year either due to ineffectiveness or injury made life difficult.

The defensive coach also never fielded a great defense in his time in the Mountain West.

Not being competitive is the worst part of the situation. Sixteen of Nevada’s 20 losses under Wilson were by double digits. They lost to two FCS teams in two years against Incarnate Word and Idaho, were winless in year one in the Mountain West, and endured a 16-game losing streak.

The stats don’t lie either when looking at scoring points and allowing points. Nevada was 128th in scoring in 2023 and 120th in 2022. The team scored 1.4 fewer points per game in that time.

Defensively it was not much better. In 2023 that unit gave up 33.4 points per game which was 115th in FBS, and in 2022 allowed 30.9 and 103rd in all of college football.

This Nevada football program has had lots of success but very little has happened in the Mountain West. Their FCS tenure under Chris Ault was elite as was their final years in the WAC where they were pulling off upsets with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback. They have gone to bowl games in the conference with seven since they joined the Mountain West back in 2012.

Nevada is at a crossroads because it is widely known they are not extremely committed to football. Compare that to basketball where things are a bit better with facilities and a well known coach in Steve Alford.

This next hire is important for Nevada as they need to find someone to get them back to the success of being at worst a bowl-eligible team with upside.

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Nevada Football: Head Coach Ken Wilson Fired

The Wolf Pack are on the hunt for a new leader after Wilson couldn’t get the program out of its current hole.

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Nevada Football: Head Coach Ken Wilson Fired

The Wolf Pack are on the hunt for a new leader after Wilson couldn’t get the program out of its current hole.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

The next chapter begins soon.

After leading the Nevada Wolf Pack to back-to-back 2-10 seasons, head coach Ken Wilson has been fired.

The news, first reported by Matt Zenitz of On3Sports and confirmed by Chris Murray of Nevada Sports Net, doesn’t necessarily come as a shock. Nevada failed to turn the page after previous head coach Jay Norvell left the program for Colorado State in December 2021, a move that launched a substantial transfer portal exodus which may have ultimately defined Wilson’s tenure in Reno.

He won his first two games as head coach in the 2022 season, but the Wolf Pack then suffered a 16-game losing streak that extended into 2023. After another pair of consecutive victories against San Diego State and New Mexico in October, the team lost its last four games, sealing Wilson’s fate.

Despite starting with significant holes on the roster, the Wolf Pack never found many long-term solutions on either side of the ball after two seasons. By Brian Fremeau’s FEI efficiency metric, Nevada fell from 53rd in 2021 to 124th last year and 128th this season; by Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings, they dropped from 67th to 125th to 131st. The Wolf Pack are also the only team in the Mountain West to average fewer than 20 points per game in each of the last two years, a period in which they also finished either next-to-last or last in the conference by yards per play on offense and yards per play allowed on defense.

As Murray noted, Wilson’s 24-game stint as head coach is the program’s shortest since Jeff Horton’s infamous Red Defection to UNLV in 1993.

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Mountain West Football: 2023 Postseason All-Conference Team, Individual Honors Announced

The regular season is in the books. Here are the all-Mountain West teams, players of the year, and coach of the year.

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Mountain West Football: 2023 Postseason All-Conference Team, Individual Honors Announced

The regular season is in the books. Here are the all-Mountain West teams, players of the year, and coach of the year.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Only the best of the best.

The Mountain West football season is nearly complete, but before Saturday’s championship tilt between Boise State and UNLV and bowl games after that, the conference media announced its selections for the all-Mountain West two-deep and individual awards.

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty earned the nod as the Mountain West’s offensive player of the year, becoming the first sophomore to do so since Nevada’s Carson Strong in 2020. Though he was limited to just ten games because of injury, the Broncos’ super sophomore led the conference with 110.9 rushing yards per game and 164.6 all-purpose yards per game and finished second with 18 total touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Jeanty’s 92.4 overall grade also led the Mountain West and ranked third among all FBS running backs.

Colorado State’s Mohamed Kamara was tabbed as the Mountain West’s defensive player of the year, the first Ram to be decorated as such since Shaquil Barrett in 2013. His 13 sacks and 17 tackles for loss both paced the conference, as did the 35 quarterback hurries for which he was credited by PFF, while his 83.2 overall grade is third-best among all Mountain West defenders.

Meanwhile, UNLV kicker Jose Pizano stepped up to win the conference’s special teams player of the year award. After transferring in from Missouri State, Pizano led the Mountain West in connecting on 23-of-25 field goals, including a perfect 16-of-16 inside of 40 yards, and finished second overall with 119 total points. That made him just the second Rebel to crack the century mark dating back to 2009.

UNLV quarterback Jayden Maiava was named the conference’s freshman of the year, becoming the fourth Rebel in the last seven seasons to earn the honor. He stepped into a difficult situation when incumbent starter Doug Brumfield was sidelined by injury in September, but the Vegas native stepped up and finished the regular season with a 64.1% completion rate, 2,626 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and a 2.1% interception rate. More than any of the other individual awards, this one may have been a foregone conclusion after Maiava had already earned freshman of the week five times throughout 2023, a conference first.

Lastly, UNLV’s Barry Odom became the first Rebels head coach since John Robinson in 2000 to be named the Mountain West’s coach of the year. After taking over from Marcus Arroyo, Odom shepherded the Rebels to a 9-3 record, the team’s highest single-season win total since 1984, engineering an offense that led the conference with 35.5 points per game and a defense that tied for first with 22 total giveaways and led the way in allowing a 34.6% third-down conversion rate.

As for the all-conference teams, every program has at least one player on this year’s postseason honor roll. UNLV leads the way with six first-team selections, while three players — Wyoming’s Easton Gibbs and Colorado State’s Jack Howell and Tory Horton — each earned their second postseason first-team appearance.

2023 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM

Offense

QB – Chevan Cordeiro, San Jose State
WR – Tory Horton, Colorado State
WR – Ricky White, UNLV
WR – Jalen Royals, Utah State
RB – Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
RB – Kairee Robinson, San Jose State
TE – Dallin Holker, Colorado State
OL – Thor Paglialong, Air Force
OL – Cade Beresford, Boise State
OL – JC Davis, New Mexico
OL – Tiger Shanks, UNLV
OL – Frank Crum, Wyoming
PK – Jose Pizano, UNLV
KR – Jacob De Jesus, UNLV

Defense

DL – PJ Ramsey, Air Force
DL – Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State
DL – Mohamed Kamara, Colorado State
DL – Tre Smith, San Jose State
LB – Bo Richter, Air Force
LB – Jackson Woodard, UNLV
LB – MJ Tafisi, Utah State
LB – Easton Gibbs, Wyoming
DB – Trey Taylor, Air Force
DB – Jack Howell, Colorado State
DB – Emany Johnson, Nevada
DB – Ike Larsen, Utah State
P – James Ferguson-Reynolds, Boise State
PR – Jacob De Jesus, UNLV

2023 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM

Offense

QB – Jayden Maiava, UNLV
WR – Steven McBride, Hawaii
WR – Nick Nash, San Jose State
WR – Terrell Vaughn, Utah State
RB – Emmanuel Michel, Air Force
RB – Jacory Croskey-Merritt, New Mexico
TE – Mark Redman, San Diego State
OL – Adam Karas, Air Force
OL – Kage Casey, Boise State
OL – Jacob Gardner, Colorado State
OL – Mose Vavao, Fresno State
OL – Cade Barnett, San Diego State
PK – Jonah Dalmas, Boise State
KR – Terrell Vaughn, Utah State

Defense

DL – Jalen Dixon, UNLV
DL – Devo Bridges, Fresno State
DL – Soane Toia, San Jose State
DL – Jordan Bertagnole, Wyoming
LB – Alec Mock, Air Force
LB – Andrew Simpson, Boise State
LB – Chase Wilson, Colorado State
LB – Levelle Bailey, Fresno State
DB – Carlton Johnson, Fresno State
DB – Morice Norris Jr., Fresno State
DB – Noah Tumblin, San Diego State
DB – Cameron Oliver, UNLV
P – Jack Browning, San Diego State
PR – Tory Horton, Colorado State

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