Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Thumped By #6 USC 66-14
Nevada gets thumped by #6 USC to open up the 2023 season
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Nevada Starts ’23 Season With A 66-14 Loss to #6 USC
My initial reaction after the end of the game where Nevada got drubbed by USC was summed up in three words:
“Not Great, Bob”
But it was to be expected that the Wolf Pack were gonna get blasted by the Trojans. USC is the #6 team in the nation and is a College Football Playoff contender. Nevada is in year two of the Ken Wilson era and in the midst of a very long rebuild.
Nevada had a few positive moments against USC but in the end, the Trojans were way too much for the Wolf Pack. And the 66-14 hammering Nevada suffered by USC goes to show that the Wolf Pack are far from being competitive under Coach Wilson.
Early in the game Nevada had a bit of a spark at least on offense. After the Trojans took a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter after their first offensive series, the Wolf Pack responded with a quick scoring drive of their own.
Nevada QB Brendon Lewis connected with Spencer Curtis on a 73-yard pass play to put the Wolf Pack in the red zone. Then two plays later, running back Sean Dollars scored on a three yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.
But after that, the Wolf Pack were predictably overwhelmed by USC and especially by the Trojan offense. After Nevada scored to tie the game up, both teams exchanged punts and when USC got the ball back, that’s when things went bad for Nevada.
The Trojan offense scored on their next four possessions to put USC up 35-7. While USC’s offense was flourishing, the Nevada offense sputtered as they punted three times and Brandon Talton missed a 54 yard field goal. By that time, the game was beyond out of reach for Nevada.
Even when the Wolf Pack did something positive, they failed to convert that into points. For instance, late in the second half, the Trojan offense was moving to score yet again but the Nevada defense forced a fumble and Wolf Pack LB Drue Watts recovered. That USC turnover could have set Nevada up to score points to close out the first half.
But that opportunity was wasted when the normally reliable Brandon Talton missed another long field goal to close out the first half. The brief momentum Nevada had gained late in the half resulted in zero points scored.
In the second half, it was still all USC as Caleb Williams and company racked up the yards and the points to push the margin of victory up even higher.
Towards the end of the game, there was an early glimpse into the future for Nevada. QB AJ Bianco came in for Brendon Lewis and Bianco did lead the Wolf Pack on a scoring drive. Bianco connected with WR Jamaal Bell on a 77 yard touchdown pass to cut the USC lead to 52-14.
In the end, Nevada was completely and predictably outclassed by USC and now the Wolf Pack losing streak sits at 11 straight losses.
Let’s see if that losing streak gets snapped next weekend at home against Idaho.
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