Senior Devon Wylie fumbled a punt return and the Wolf Pack
recovered in the end zone for a momentum-shifting touchdown
that gave Nevada a 30-24 lead late in the game.
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian
Fresno State traveled to Reno, Nev. for a battle between the remaining two undefeated teams in the Western Athletic Conference — and the showdown didn’t disappoint.
The Wolf Pack started off fast when freshman quarterback Cody Fajardo hit senior wide receiver Rishard Mathews with a 58-yard pass to put Nevada in scoring position. Fresno State would come up with a big stop to hold the Wolf Pack to a 22-yard field goal by junior Allen Hardinson to give Nevada the 3-0 lead.
Mathews wasn’t done making plays on the next Wolf Pack possession. He returned a punt to the house from 86 yards out to give Nevada the 10-0 lead.
Following Mathews’ electrifying return, it was Fresno State’s time to answer back with junior running back Robbie Rouse putting the ‘Dogs within striking distance of the Nevada lead, 10-7.
On the next drive, Nevada converted another big play with senior wide receiver Shane Anderson catching a 55-yard pass to put the Wolf Pack in Bulldog territory. Fresno State’s defense bent but didn’t break, holding Nevada to another Hardinson field goal to give the Wolf Pack the 13-7 lead.
Sophomore quarterback Derek Carr made his presence felt on the following drive, leading the ‘Dogs on a 15-play drive, the longest drive for either team in the game. On the drive, Fresno State mixed up the pass and the run to drive down the field. Carr found his top target sophomore wide receiver Jalen Saunders for a 6-yard touchdown pass to give Fresno State its first lead of the game, 14-13. Carr finished the game going 20 of 37 for 315 yards and three touchdown passes. Nevada let the pack loose on the next drive with junior running back Mike Ball outrunning the Bulldogs’ defense for a 35-yard gain. Ball finished off the drive with an 18-yard reception from Fajardo to give the Wolf Pack the 20-14 lead in the back-and-forth affair.
Sophomore Derek Carr did his part to keep the
‘Dogs in the game with 315 passing yards and
three touchdown passes. The offense put up 38
points on the Nevada defense, but it wasn’t enough.
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian
It was Carr’s turn on the next drive to shake things up, leading Fresno State down the gridiron with a variety of runs and passes. The ‘Dogs had to settle for a Kevin Goessling 22-yard field goal after the Nevada defense came up with the stop in the red zone. The Wolf Pack still clung to a 20-17 margin.
With only seconds left on the clock, Nevada raced down the field before the half to get into Hardinson’s field-goal range. He hit a 48-yarder to give the Wolf Pack the 23-17 halftime lead.
It took more than half of the game, but senior wide receiver Devon Wylie finally got his hands on the ball, but he made it worth the wait with a 71-yard catch. Freshman wide receiver Victor Dean made the biggest play of his young collegiate career with a 9-yard touchdown catch from Carr to give the ‘Dogs the 24-23 lead, their lone lead of the second half.
Fresno State’s defense finally got a stop with junior defensive end Matt Akers getting the first Bulldog sack of the game, but Wylie would lose a fumble in the end zone. Nevada would recover to take the lead 30-24.
The game then turned into a defensive battle after that as both teams came up short on multiple drives. The Wolf Pack defense forced a Bulldog fumble to give Nevada the ball with a short field to work with. Nevada got down into field goal range, but Fresno State blocked another field goal. The block was the eighth of the season.
With only six minutes left in the game, Nevada drove down the field with a heavy dose of Ball that ended in a 16-yard touchdown to extend Nevada’s lead to 37-24.
Fresno State would not quit as it raced down the field with Carr utilizing his weapons. The best weapon was Rouse as he put the exclamation point on the drive with a 25-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 37-31 with a couple minutes remaining. Rouse carried the bulk of the Fresno State load with 24 carries for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
Nevada utilized the pass and the run, ending the drive with a Fajardo 23-yard touchdown run to give the Wolf Pack a 45-31 lead. Fajardo finished the game 19 of 27 for 313 yards and one touchdown pass.
Carr and company were still not done as he lead another late drive to bring the ‘Dogs within seven points, 45-38.
Ball proved to be Nevada’s closer as he got the key first down to put the game out of reach, 45-38. Ball pounded the rock all game with 26 carries for 198 yards and one touchdown. Rouse talked about the outcome of the game.
“Coming here and losing is heartbreaking,” Rouse said. “Especially when both teams are undefeated in the WAC, but we got to continue to go 1-0 every week and the scoreboard will do the rest.”
Fresno State no longer controls its own destiny for a WAC championship. The ‘Dogs are now forced to rely on a Nevada loss in order to gain even a share of the conference title.
With the loss, head coach Pat Hill will likely leave the WAC next season without winning an outright WAC title, but was relatively pleased with his team’s effort, just not the outcome.
“I thought the kids played hard,” Hill said. “I think both sides played hard today. Bottom line, Nevada made more plays than we did.”
Fresno State will get back to conference play against Louisiana Tech in couple weeks. The Bulldogs have the upcoming weekend off, their lone bye week the 2011 season.