Nevada travelled to Logan, Utah, to take on Utah State for the last time as Mountain West foes. The Aggies came into this game a perfect 4-0 at home and extended that to 5-0 after a lopsided 51-14 win
over the Wolf Pack.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Nevada was pretty bad. The offense struggled to pick up first downs, let alone get on the scoreboard. Utah State’s offense dominated all the way through and put up over 40 points in the first half alone.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter:
13:19: Bryson Barnes 53-yard TD pass to Brady Boyd (Tanner Rinker PAT)
Nevada 0 – Utah State 7
8:21: Miles Davis 3-yard TD run (Tanner Rinker PAT)
Nevada 0 – Utah State 14
2:42: Tanner Rinker 32-yard FG
Nevada 0 – Utah State 17
1:54: Brevin Hamblin 38-yard interception return for a TD (Tanner Rinker PAT)
Nevada 0 – Utah State 24
2nd Quarter:
11:13: Tanner Rinker 44-yard FG
Nevada 0 – Utah State 27
7:59: Bryson Barnes 15-yard TD pass to Anthony Garcia (Tanner Rinker PAT)
Nevada 0 – Utah State 34
0:04: Miles Davis 1-yard TD run (Tanner Rinker PAT)
Nevada 0 – Utah State 41
3rd Quarter:
7:51: Bryson Barnes 21-yard TD pass to Brady Boyd (Tanner Rinker PAT)
Nevada 0 – Utah State 48
4:24: Chubba Purdy 41-yard TD pass to Caleb Ramseur (Joe Mcfadden PAT)
Nevada 7 – Utah State 48
4th Quarter:
8:22: Chubba Purdy 34-yard TD pass to Jett Carpenter (Joe Mcfadden PAT)
Nevada 14 – Utah State 48
5:13: Tanner Rinker 21-yard FG
Nevada 14 – Utah State 51
Final: Nevada 14, Utah State 51
Offense
It was another quiet first drive for Carter Jones and Nevada’s offense with a three-and-out.
The offense continued to be extremely dead in the first quarter. The Wolf Pack didn’t pick up a first down until the 2:33 mark, but that was quickly wiped away after Jones threw a pick-six to make it 24-0 Utah State.
It looked like Nevada had a big break on a 43-yard run by Herschel Turner, but a holding penalty wiped the small momentum Nevada gained on that play.
Jones simply didn’t look. comfortable against Utah State’s defense. He threw two picks in the first half and ended the night going 1-6 with minus one yard.
Only one first down was recorded by Nevada in the first half as well. The offense picked up 47 total yards in that span and finished the game with 242. It was arguably one of the worst first halves of football in program history.
AJ Bianco got the ball to start the second half, followed by Purdy getting a few snaps at the QB spot. Bianco got the quarterback room into the positive passing yard section, going 6-11 with 43 yards. Purdy was responsible for Nevada’s two touchdowns, a 41-yard pass to Caleb Ramseur and a 34-yard pass to Jett Carpenter.
Purdy finished with 80 passing yards, 45 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Nevada picked up 11 first downs, with only one of them coming in the first half and gave up three turnovers.
Defense
It only took four plays for Utah State’s offense to find the endzone. Nevada forced a quick third down, but Aggies QB Bryson Barnes made two complete passes, including a 53-yard dot for the touchdown.
Utah State continued to dominate the first quarter with a 24-0 lead and went into halftime leading 41-0. Barnes started the first half, going 19-26 with 267 yards and two touchdowns. The Aggies collected 335 yards in the first half alone and a total of 522.
Barnes ended the night 20-27 with 288 passing yards, 40 rushing and three touchdowns. He led Utah State to 41 points before halftime and closed out a dominant night against a Nevada defense that had been playing well. Barnes wasn’t sacked once and had no real pressure in the pocket.
What’s Next
Nevada will head back home to host San Jose State on Saturday, Nov. 15, for an early 12:30 p.m. matchup. The Spartans fell victim to Air Force tonight, 26-16, on their home turf.
