San Diego State quarterback Lucas Johnson tries to get away from Hawaii defensive back Solo Turner on Nov. 6, 2021, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
The Nevada Wolf Pack is back where it wanted to be all along.
On top of the Mountain West.
The Wolf Pack heads this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West Football Rankings after a dramatic 27-24 victory Saturday at Mackay Stadium over the San Jose State Spartans.
The Pack jumped up two spots to No. 1, beating the Spartans on Brandon Talton’s 45-yard field goal with three seconds to play. Talton, whose first three field goal attempts in the game were either missed (twice) or blocked, also had a 51-yard field goal late in the third quarter that put Nevada up 17-7.
The Wolf Pack survived the upset scare from the No. 7 Spartans mainly because of two plays on defense. Linebacker Daiyan Henley went 56 yards for a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the first quarter and defensive back Berdale Robins went 86 yards for a touchdown on an interception early in the third quarter as the Nevada offense struggled most of the game.
“Our defense is insane,” Nevada quarterback Carson Strong wrote on Twitter after the game.
San Jose State coach Brent Brennan said the plays by Robins and Henley were the difference. “I’d rather get hit in the face with a baseball bat,” Brennan said.
The Wolf Pack (7-2, 4-1), which plays at No. 2 San Diego State (8-1, 4-1) this Saturday with a West Division title likely on the line, scored just one touchdown on offense compared to three for San Jose State.
“To have a special season sometimes you have to win a game like this when you don’t play so well,” Nevada coach Jay Norvell said.
San Jose State, now 5-5, 3-3, would have jumped into the race for the division title with a win at Nevada.
“We win this game, we’re in it,” said Brennan, whose Spartans won the conference championship last season. “We’re right in the middle of it. But you can’t make mistakes and hope to beat that team (Nevada) on the road.”
San Diego State (like Nevada) also didn’t play well on offense but still turned back No. 8 Hawaii, 17-10. The Aztecs’ Jack Browning ran 13 yards for a touchdown on a fake field goal in the second quarter for a 14-7 lead.
The Aztecs, head coach Brady Hoke said, were motivated before the game when they learned that Fresno State lost to Boise State 40-10 earlier in the day. Fresno State, San Diego State and Nevada were all tied with just one loss in the West Division heading into this weekend, with Fresno State holding the tiebreaker over San Diego State because of its 30-20 win over the Aztecs the two weeks ago.
“I think that matters to 18-to-23-year-olds and it also matters to 63-year-olds,” said Hoke, who turned 63 last week. “That was something that was a little extra that you wanted to play for and coach for. The other thing is that it really makes this 5 ½-hour plane fight (from Honolulu) a little better.”
Nevada and San Diego State are now alone atop the division with just one loss. “It’s up to us to go out there and win it and get to the championship,” said Aztecs tight end Daniel Bellinger, a graduate of Palo Verde High in Las Vegas.
Boise State moved up two spots to No. 3 with its convincing win at Fresno State. The Broncos got 117 yards rushing from George Holani, who has missed the bulk of the season with injuries. Boise also sacked Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener five times and intercepted three passes.
“I had a pretty good idea we’d be able to do this, watching the way we worked this week in practice,” Boise State head coach Andy Avalos said.
Boise State has won three of its last four games, since a 41-31 loss at home to Nevada.
“That’s what we’re building,” Avalos said. “But it takes a lot of work. It’s not done yet. It takes time.”
Fresno State lost at home to the Broncos in front of a sell-out crowd of 41,031.
“That’s obviously not how we saw that going tonight,” Fresno State coach Kalen DeBoer said of the 30-point loss to Boise State. “It’s simply on all of us together. And it starts with me. We’ve got to be better and I have to coach better.”
No. 5 Utah State whipped New Mexico State 35-13 in a non-conference game in front of just 7,802 fans in Las Cruces, N.M. New Mexico State, which is now 0-7 against Mountain West teams this year (1-7 overall), surprisingly led 13-7 at halftime. Utah State, though, scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and finished the game with six sacks and 14 tackles for a loss.
No. 6 Air Force lost to Army 21-14 in overtime despite piling up more first downs (22-12) and yards (401-316). Air Force, now 6-3 overall, has seen its offense struggle its last two games, losses to San Diego State (20-14) and Army.
A couple of Mountain West teams broke long losing streaks with victories this weekend by the same score.
Wyoming moved up two spots to No. 9 with a convincing 31-17 win over No. 10 Colorado State, ending a four-game losing streak. Quarterback Levi Williams passed for 92 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 116 yards and a score.
UNLV broke its 14-game losing streak with a 31-17 win over New Mexico. UNLV moves up to No. 11 while New Mexico falls into the basement of the rankings at No. 12.
UNLV’s Cameron Friel passed for 227 yards and two touchdowns and running back Charles Williams ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Williams also set the UNLV career rushing record at 3,758 yards, breaking Tim Cornett’s (2010-13) record of 3,733.
Just three weekends remain in the Mountain West season. Five (Utah State, Air Force, San Diego State, Nevada and Fresno State) teams have already become bowl eligible. Boise State, Wyoming and San Jose State would become eligible this week with a victory.
The Nevada Appeal’s Mountain West football rankings for the week of Nov. 8:
1. NEVADA (7-2, 4-1). Last week: Nevada 27, San Jose State 24. This week: Nevada vs. San Diego State at Carson, Calif., Saturday.
2. SAN DIEGO STATE (8-1, 4-1). Last week: San Diego State 17, Hawaii 10. This week: Nevada vs. San Diego State at Carson, Calif., Saturday.
3. BOISE STATE (5-4, 3-2). Last week: Boise State 40, Fresno State 14. This week: Wyoming at Boise State, Friday.
4. FRESNO STATE (7-3, 4-2). Last week: Boise State 40, Fresno State 14. This week: New Mexico at Fresno State, Saturday.
5. UTAH STATE (7-2, 4-1). Last week: Utah State 35, New Mexico State 13. This week: Utah State at San Jose State, Saturday.
6. AIR FORCE (6-3, 3-2). Last week: Army 21, Air Force 14 (overtime). This week: Air Force at Colorado State, Saturday.
7. SAN JOSE STATE (5-5, 3-3). Last week: Nevada 27, San Jose State 24. This week: Utah State at San Jose State, Saturday.
8. HAWAII (4-6, 1-4). Last week: San Diego State 17, Hawaii 10. This week: Hawaii at UNLV, Saturday.
9. WYOMING (5-4, 1-4). Last week: Wyoming 31, Colorado State 17. This week: Wyoming at Boise State, Friday.
10. COLORADO STATE (3-6, 2-3). Last week: Wyoming 31, Colorado State 17. This week: Air Force at Colorado State, Saturday.
11. UNLV (1-8, 1-4): Last week: UNLV 31, New Mexico 17. This week: Hawaii at UNLV, Saturday.
12. NEW MEXICO (3-6, 1-4). Last week: UNLV 31, New Mexico 17. This week: New Mexico at Fresno State, Saturday.
