FRESNO, Calif. - The offense started slow, and the defense could never get off the field at critical times.
Those two failures plus a critical fumble early in the third quarter were the keys to Nevada's season-opening 28-19 loss to Fresno State Friday night before a crowd of 39,261 at Bulldog Stadium.
The win was Fresno State's fourth straight over Nevada at Bulldog Stadium. Nevada hasn't won in Fresno since the 1998 season.
"I thought at times we played fairly well, but it wasn't enough tonight," Nevada coach Chris Ault said. "Obviously it's nice to make a good comeback like that, but it wasn't enough. In the end, we didn't make enough defensive stops, and adding to that, when you don't have the ball much, you have to move consistently on offense which we didn't do.
"I think the turning point was at the beginning of the third quarter where that fumble led to a 14-point turnaround. There's no excuse for that, and they just controlled the ball, it's as simple as that."
The play Ault was referring to came on the third play of the second half.
Nevada, on the heels of a half-ending TD that cut Fresno State's lead to 14-6 at the half, got a 16-yard run by Robert Hubbard (17 carries, 103 yards) and a 9-yard run by Kyle Eklund that put the ball on the Nevada 45. Things were looking up.
The momentum that Nevada had established was wiped out moments later. Quarterback Jeff Rowe and Eklund had a problem with the exchange. When Rowe tried to hand the ball off to Eklund, the senior already had his arms closed, and the ball hit the ground. Tyler Clutts recovered at the Nevada 40.
"It was a miscommunication," Rowe said. "He thought it was a play-action pass."
"It was a run all the way," Ault said. "There was no miscommunication. There's no excuse for that."
Things went from bad to worse on the next snap, as Dwayne Wright (26-158- 3 TDs), thanks to a nice downfield block by wide receiver Joe Fernandez, roared untouched into the end zone. Clint Stitser's PAT made it 21-6 with 12:58 left in the third period. It was Wright's fifth 100-yard game, and the second in his last three games dating back to 2003 when he last played.
It would have been easy for Nevada to throw in the towel, but the Pack came back with a vengeance, scoring on two of its next three possessions.
Nevada rebounded with its most impressive drive of the game, going 89 yards in 15 plays with Rowe rolling right and finding Mike McCoy deep in the end zone for the second time to make it 21-12 with 5:24 left. Nevada went for two points, but Rowe's high toss to 6-4 Marko Mitchell was batted down.
With the two scores, McCoy already has doubled his touchdown total of a year ago, He finished with four catches for 56 yards. The four catches tied a career high.
"The play took a long time to happen," McCoy said. 'The defensive back went inside and he was supposed to be over the top. I'm glad it worked out."
The Pack defense, which gave up 336 yards total offense, stepped up with a nice series, forcing the Bulldogs to punt from their own 22 after Tom Brandstater's third-down pass went awry.
It didn't take long for Nevada to get back in the end zone - seven plays to be exact.
Hubbard dashed 28 yards on a second-and-10 play to the Fresno State 21.
After that, it was all Luke Lippincott. The redshirt sophomore gained 14 and 6 yards, respectively, down to the 1 and then bulled over on the next play. Brett Jaekle's PAT made it 21-19 with 14:15 left in the game.
"We played well in the third quarter, allowing us to come back," Rowe said. "We just weren't able to make the big play in the fourth quarter."
Then came what made Ault nuts.
Fresno State continued with its punishing running game, and mixed in a few passes. The result was a game-deciding 15-play, 76-yard drive that used more than seven precious minutes off the clock and was capped by Wright's 9-yard run.
It was a chamber of horrors for the defense.
* On third-and-5 from the Fresno 29, Brandstater completed an 11-yard pass to Fernandez for a first down at the 40.
*On third-and-5 from the Nevada 44, Brandstater and Fernandez hooked up for 20 yards down to the 24.
* On fourth-and-1 from the Nevada 15, Wright grinded out a tough yard for a first down at the 14.
* On third-and-5 from the Nevada 9, Wright pounded his way into the end zone.
Three third-down conversions and one fourth-down conversion. No doubt Ault will be pounding that home today to his team.
Nevada had two more possessions, driving to its own 46 and then the Fresno State 16. Rowe was sacked for a 9-yard loss to end the game.
"We're disappointed that we weren't able to complete the comeback," Nevada cornerback Joe Garcia said. "We had chances to make plays tonight, but didn't convert. He (Fernandez) is quick off the line, and he runs quick routes. We needed to do a better job on him."
The first half was one the Nevada offense would rather forget.
After fumbling inside the red zone on its first possession, Fresno State bounced back with a 6-yard scoring pass from Brandstater to Fernandez, who had five catches for 58 yards. Stitser's PAT made it 7-0.
The Bulldogs' second scoring drive started at their own 44, and Nevada made them work for every yard. Wright bulled in from the 1 on a fourth-and-goal play. Stitser's kick made it 14-0.
After an exchange of punts, Nevada closed out the half with a nifty 56-yard scoring drive capped by Rowe's 23-yard scoring pass to McCoy in the right side of the end zone to make it 14-6. Rowe escaped pressure on the play and rolled to the right and was able to get the pass off.
"I saw Jeff roll out and just ran across the field," McCoy said. "I'm glad we were on the same page."
The key play in the drive was Rowe's 26-yard pass to tight end Adam Bishop along the right hashmark for a first down at the Bulldogs' 23. Nevada scored on the next play, but Jaekle's PAT was blocked by Jason Shirley.
"We're disappointed, just disappointed," said Rowe, who rebounded after a slow start to throw two touchdown passes. "It's a long season. We have Arizona State next week. We have to strap it up."
For Fresno State, it may have been redemption from last year.
"The most important thing about tonight was the win," FSU coach Pat Hill said. "Nevada is a heck of a football team. This was a heck of a win for us against a good football team."