Nevada, averaging 17.6 points and 302.8 yards per game, will look to get its offense going on Saturday on Utah State.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
A look ahead to Saturday’s (noon) Mountain West football game between the Nevada Wolf Pack (2-7, 2-3) and Utah State Aggies (4-5, 2-3) at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah:
HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN: TV: Nevada Sports Net. Radio: 105.7 FM.
THE POINT SPREAD: Utah State is favored by 15 points.
AT STAKE FOR NEVADA: With three games left in the season the Wolf Pack is hoping to avoid its second consecutive 2-10 season.
AT STAKE FOR UTAH STATE: The Aggies need to win at least two of their final three games (against Nevada and Boise State at home and New Mexico on the road) to qualify for a bowl invite.
UTAH STATE LAST WEEK: Utah State beat San Diego State, 32-24, in two overtimes in San Diego. Quarterback Cooper Legas tossed an 18-yard touchdown to Terrell Vaughn and Robert Briggs ran for a 20-yard touchdown for the Aggies in overtime.
NEVADA LAST WEEK: The Wolf Pack lost to Hawaii, 27-14, at Mackay Stadium to end a two-game winning streak. Sean Dollars scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the loss as Nevada completed just six passes for 112 yards.
UTAH STATE-NEVADA LAST MEETING: The Wolf Pack trounced Utah State, 34-9, during the 2020 pandemic season in front of just 250 fans at Mackay Stadium.
Utah State took a 9-0 lead but the Wolf Pack’s Romeo Doubs caught touchdown passes of 3, 42 and 54 yards from quarterback Carson Strong (411 yards) to highlight a 34-0 run.
LAST MEETING IN LOGAN: The Wolf Pack suffered a 36-10 loss in its last game against Utah State in Logan, Utah. Aggies quarterback Jordan Love was just 13-of-31 for 169 yards and a touchdown.
Utah State’s Savon Scarver returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
Nevada quarterback Malik Henry was 17-of-38 for 213 yards and two interceptions. Henry was kicked off the team three days later and would not play another Division I college game. Love is now the starting quarterback for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.
THE SERIES: Nevada leads the rivalry, 19-7, though Utah State has won three of the last five games.
The rivalry began on Nov. 9, 1904, with a 24-5 victory by Nevada on a Wednesday afternoon. Theodore Roosevelt won the presidential election the day before. John Philip Souza and his band also performed in Reno the night before the game.
The Wolf Pack won 16-of-19 games against Utah State from 1916-2010, though the two schools did not meet between 1950 and 1992.
Nevada and Utah State have been in the same conference three different times: 1992-99 in the Big West, 2005-11 in the Western Athletic Conference and 2013-present in the Mountain West.
BACK-TO-BACK BARN BURNERS: The Wolf Pack and Aggies staged two of the most memorable games in their football histories in consecutive seasons with the Pack winning both, 48-47 in 1992 at Mackay Stadium and 48-44 in Logan, Utah in 1993.
The 1992 and 1993 games were the first meetings between the Aggies and Wolf Pack since a 7-6 Utah State win in Logan in 1950.
Quarterback Chris Vargas relieved Fred Gatlin in 1992 in the second half with the Pack down 28-7. Vargas passed for 388 yards and five touchdowns in a thrilling 48-47 Pack win.
Bryan Reeves caught four touchdown passes, including the game-winner from 28 yards out with 72 seconds to play. Reeves stole the ball out of the arms of Utah State defensive back Damon Smith for the game-winning score.
The following year in Logan almost the same thing happened. Vargas found Michael Stephens from 8 yards out and just 36 seconds remaining in the game for the winning score. Reeves also caught three of Vargas’ four touchdown passes.
Vargas (518 yards) and Utah State’s Anthony Calvillo (336 yards) combined for 854 yards through the air. The two teams combined for 1,189 yards (Nevada had 642).
PACK LIKES LOGAN: The Wolf Pack has had great success in Logan, winning 9-of-14 games against the Aggies.
In addition to the 1993 victory, the Pack also won at Logan in 1921 (41-0), 1944 (13-7), 1995 (30-25), 1996 (54-27), 1998 (26-21), 2005 (30-24), 2007 (31-28) and 2009 (35-32).
Rabbit Bradshaw scored three touchdowns in 1921 against the Aggies while Bill Mackrides found Al Nocciola for a 20-yard touchdown pass to win in 1944.
Kin Minor had 143 yards rushing against Utah State in 1995 and Chris Lemon had 125 in 1996 and 105 in 1998. B.J. Mitchell rushed for 133 in 2005 and Vai Taua had 147 in 2009.
John Dutton passed for 343 yards against the Aggies in 1996 and David Neill had 380 yards in 1998.
THE HEAD COACHES: Nevada’s Ken Wilson, 59 years old, is 4-17 overall and 2-11 in the Mountain West, in his second year as head coach.
Wilson, 2-10 last year and 2-7 this year, is hoping to avoid becoming the first Pack head coach to win fewer than five games over his first two seasons since Gordon McEachron went 2-5 in 1955 and 0-7-1 in 1956.
Utah State’s Blake Anderson, 54, is 21-15 and in his third season with the Aggies. Anderson and Utah State went 11-3 in 2021 and won the Mountain West championship. Anderson was also 72-52 in seven seasons (2014-20) as Arkansas State’s head coach.
The Wolf Pack and coach Jay Norvell beat Anderson and Arkansas State, 16-13 in overtime, in the 2018 Arizona Bowl.
The Wolf Pack and coach Chris Ault lost to Southern Mississippi, 24-17, in the 2011 Hawaii Bowl when Anderson was Southern Mississippi’s offensive coordinator. Wilson coached the Wolf Pack’s defensive ends in 2011.
UTAH STATE OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Starting quarterback Cooper Legas has completed 112-of-168 passes for 1,505 yards and 15 touchdowns this year.
Legas became the first quarterback in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history to throw a touchdown pass on his very first college pass in a bowl game against Oregon State in the 2021 L.A. Bowl. Logan Bonner started for Utah State and was relieved by Legas early in the second quarter. Legas’ first pass went for a 62-yard score to Deven Thompkins.
Legas has shared the position this year with freshman McCae Hillstead (81-of-135 for 952 yards and 10 touchdowns).
Running back Davon Booth had 566 yards and five touchdowns on 97 carries. Rahsul Faison has rushed for 400 yards and five scores and Robert Briggs has 319 yards and two touchdowns.
Wide receiver Terrell Vaughn has caught 64 passes for 730 yards and nine touchdowns. Jalen Royals has 51 catches for 794 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Aggies average 34.9 points a game.
NEVADA OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Brendon Lewis has completed 110-of-206 passes (.534) for 1,133 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. A.J. Bianco is 29-of-51 (.569) for 428 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Lewis also leads the Pack in rushing with 426 yards and three touchdowns on 100 carries. Sean Dollars has 345 rushing yards on 105 carries.
Jamaal Bell, who plays wide receiver and running back (and returns kickoffs), has 107 rushing yards on 24 carries and also leads the team with 29 catches.
Dalevon Campbell (19 catches) leads Nevada with 416 receiving yards. John Jackson has 24 catches for 195 yards.