Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Fall To UNLV, Loses 16th Straight Game

Nevada suffers worse defeat by UNLV since 2004 in 45-27 loss to Rebels in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon

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Nevada Takes Their 16th Straight Loss in a 45-27 Contest to UNLV

 

Stop reading this article if you have read this statement before:

 

The Nevada Wolf Pack lost another football game. 

I was kidding about the stop reading this article part. I hope you read and enjoy this article about the Wolf Pack’s most recent contest which was another loss.

The Nevada Wolf Pack played their rivals, the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels on Saturday in Reno. It was the 49th meeting between the Wolf Pack and the Rebels as the play for college football’s most awesome trophy: The Fremont Cannon.

The results for Nevada Football were similar to the previous 15 contests: The Wolf Pack ended the game with a loss. 

The Wolf Pack lost their 16th straight game to their bitter rivals to the south 45-27 and for one more year, the Fremont Cannon will remain red.

It was another game where inconsistencies, penalties and costly turnovers were the order of the day for Nevada football. Nevada QB Brendon Lewis had his best game statistically as he threw for 287 yards and two touchdown passes and ran for 115 yards and a score. Despite a strong performance from Lewis, he did throw two interceptions and his play was not enough for Nevada to pull off the upset.

The Wolf Pack defense started off abysmal and could not get itself out of the hole they created. UNLV QB Jayden Maiava completed 19 of 24 passes for 259 yards (averaging 10.8 yards per completion) and threw for two touchdowns.  The Rebel offense racked up 518 yards of total offense as they blew past Nevada’s porous defense.

The action started early when after Nevada’s offense went three and out on their first offensive series UNLV’s offense scored quickly. On UNLV’s second play of their first possession  on offense Maiava connected with WR Ricky White (seven catches 166 yards , two touchdowns)  on a 59 yard touchdown pass to put the Rebels up 7-0.

The Wolf Pack offense did wake up on their third offensive possession when Lewis connected with WR Dalevon Campbell on a 43 yard touchdown pass to cut the Rebel lead to 14-7. That touchdown pass was Lewis’s first TD pass this season. 

Goes to show how horrid Nevada’s pass offense has been when it takes six games for Brendon Lewis to get his first pass TD. 

Both teams exchanged punts to start the second quarter. When Nevada punted the ball back to UNLV, the Rebel offense only needed three plays to score when Donavyn Lester scored his second touchdown of the game on a 16 yard run to put UNLV up 21-7. 

Nevada got the ball back and moved the ball into position to score and cut into the Rebel lead. But on 3rd and goal at the UNLV seven yard line, Lewis threw a pass that was intercepted by UNLV’s Jackson Woodard.

That turnover proved costly for the Wolf Pack as the Rebels cashed in on that Nevada error. On 3rd and 11 at their own 18 yard line, Maiava connected with Ricky White again on an 82-yard touchdown pass to put the Rebels up 28-7 at the end of the first half. Early in the third quarter, UNLV scored again when Lester scored his third touchdown  on a 66 yard touchdown run to put the Rebels up 35-7.

That score by UNLV ended the competitive phase of the contest for Nevada. The Wolf Pack did score a few more times to keep the game from being a complete blow out. But it was not even close for Nevada to make the game competitive as the Rebels left Reno with a win and the Fremont Cannon. 

Coach Ken Wilson said after the UNLV game that “I have a team in that locker room that fights its ass off. We have to get them in better positions to win these games” Wilson also said that “We have to stop teams early to give our offense a chance. This thing can turn around real fast.”

My question for Coach Wilson is this; Your roster this season is better than the roster you inherited last season and this year’s team is WORSE. How is that going to get better?  

Coach Wilson’s background is supposedly defense and the defense has been terrible this season. Yes, Nevada has faced some very talented offenses but still, the defense should at least be able to contain some of these offenses. After six games, Nevada has been incapable of stopping a nosebleed let alone an opposing team’s offense. 

And on offense, it is no better for Nevada this season. The offense has moments when they can put up points but those moments are not consistent enough for Nevada to win. 

I have no good answers for what Nevada needs to do in order to snap this long losing streak. Changes will need to be made during the season and definitely after the season. 

We will see if Nevada can snap their losing streak next week against San Diego State. 

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