Nevada Football; Wolf Pack Fall To Utah State 41-24

There were some good moments, but not enough as Nevada loses on the road to the Aggies.

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Wolf Pack Drop To 2-8 After 41-24 Loss To Utah State

The Nevada Wolf Pack lost their eighth game of the season to Utah State 41-24. 

Yes, there were some positive things Nevada did against the Aggies.

But at the end of the day, none of that matters because the Wolf Pack did not win.

Also, the Nevada defense was bad and could not stop the Aggie offense. The Nevada offense while doing some good things, there was not enough of it as the offense was mostly inconsistent.

Welcome back once again to the broken record recap where I say that Nevada is a train wreck under Ken Wilson and offensive coordinator Derek Sage. 

Both AJ Bianco and Brendon Lewis took snaps under center for Nevada against Utah State. And still, despite scoring 24 points(mostly when the game was already over) the Nevada offense still struggled to consistently move the ball on offense and committed errors. 

Here is a fun stat that will make Nevada fans laugh to keep them from crying: Nevada had more punts (nine) than trips to the red zone(three). That Nevada offense is a masterclass in putrid production.

The Nevada defense (remember Ken Wilson is supposedly a defensive guy) could not stop Cooper Legas, Rahsul Faison, and the rest of the Utah State offense.

In short, it was another porous, inconsistent, and dreadful game for Nevada football. Much like Nevada football has been for the last two years.

 

The Aggies put the first points on the board in the first quarter QB Cooper Legas connected with TE Broc Lane on a four yard touchdown pass. That score capped off a 11 play, 75 yard drive that put Utah State up 7-0. 

Nevada did tie the game late in the first quarter when QB AJ Bianco(13 of 25, 161, one touchdown, 13 carries 74 yards) connected with TE Cam Ziegler on a 21 yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7. That touchdown reception by Ziegler was the first touchdown caught by a Nevada tight end in two years.

In the second quarter, Elliot Nimrod connected on a 21 yard field goal to put the Aggies ahead 10-7. Nevada then took over after the Aggies scored and five plays into the Wolf Pack drive, Bianco’s pass was intercepted by Seni Tuiaki. Tuiaki returned the interception 63 yards for the touchdown to put Utah State up 17-7.

On Utah State’s next offensive possession, Legas had his pass intercepted by Bishop Turner. Turner’s interception set the Wolf Pack offense up in good field position. Out of that good field position, Nevada came away with only a field goal. Brandon Talton’s 38 yard field goal was good and cut the Aggies lead to 17-10.

On the Aggies next possession on offense, Legas connected with Micha Davis on a 47 yard touchdown pass to extend their lead to 24-10.

The 24-10 Aggie lead carried over into the second half and in the second half, Utah State extended that lead. Nimrod’s second field goal from 37 yards pushed the lead to 27-10 Aggies.

On Nevada’s second offensive possession of the game, Bianco fumbled the handoff to the running back and Utah State’s Michael Anyanwu recovered the ball.  That Nevada turnover was especially damaging because the Wolf Pack had the ball inside Aggie territory and failed to do anything positive with it. 

After both Utah State and Nevada both exchanged punts, the Aggies got the ball back on offense. Rahsul Faison was the star on that Aggie offensive possession and he ran the ball well and deep into Nevada territory. Faison scored on a two yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 34-10.

Faison’s score basically ended the competitive portion of the contest for Nevada. The Wolf Pack offense, no matter if it was Bianco or Lewis, struggled to get the offense going. Nevada’s offense was abysmal and could not generate much until late in the game. 

The Wolf Pack did score twice late in the game when Sean Dollars (18 carries, 82 yards, one touchdown) scored on a five yard touchdown run. The second late score came when Bianco connected with Dalevon Campbell on a three yard touchdown pass.

But those scores came after the game was already over. Between Bianco’s TD pass in the first quarter and the two late scores, the Nevada offense was mostly putrid and failed to consistently move the ball. 

Meanwhile the Aggie offense carved up the Wolf Pack defense to the tune of 474 yards of total offense. Nevada did not have much of an answer to stop Cooper Legas (18 for 33, 182 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions) and Rahsul Faison (22 carries,181 yards, one TD).

Nevada football under Ken Wilson: Inconsistent and poor offense and porous, mistake-riddled defense. 

With two games left in the season, I don’t see the situation improving for Nevada. And with the situation looking beyond dire, it is time for athletic director Stephanie Rempe to do what is necessary to get Nevada football back right.

Nevada’s next game is next Saturday against Colorado State.

 

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