Keys to the game: SMU opens up playbook for second-half surge

A look back at some key moments, numbers and plays from the Nevada Wolf Pack's season-opening 29-24 loss to the SMU Mustangs last Saturday at Mackay Stadium:

KEY CALL

The Wolf Pack led 24-13 with about nine minutes to play as SMU faced a third-and-2 play from its own 10-yard line. The Mustangs then opened up their playbook and changed the course of the game. Quarterback Preston Stone connected down the right sideline on a 49-yard pass to tight end R.J. Maryland for a first down at the Wolf Pack 41. The play ignited the SMU offense for the remainder of the game as the Mustangs scored 16 points in a span of just 6:43 to steal the victory.

KEY MISTAKE

Nevada still led 24-21 with eight minutes to go when Ashton Hayes muffed a SMU kickoff in the end zone and downed the ball at the 1-yard line. Hayes called a fair catch on the play, dropped the punt and picked it up at the 1-yard line as his knee touched the ground. SMU would trap Nevada running back Savion Red in the end zone two plays later for a safety to cut the deficit to 24-23 with 7:19 to play. The safety was a big reason why the Wolf Pack offense had the ball for just three of the final 10 minutes of the game while trying to protect a 24-13 lead.

KEY PLAYER

Maryland, the son of former NFL defensive lineman Russell Maryland, took over the game in the second half. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior did not have a catch in the first half as the Mustangs fell behind 17-10 at the break. Maryland, though, caught three passes over SMU's first five plays of the second half as the Mustang offense came to life. Maryland would catch eight passes for 162 yards in the second half. Two of his catches were arguably the most important plays of the game. He caught the 49-yard pass that jumpstarted the SMU comeback midway through the fourth quarter and later caught a 34-yard game winner with 1:18 to play for his lone touchdown. "Unfortunately for Nevada they played man (coverage) against R.J., and they just can't do that," SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said.

KEY NUMBERS

The Nevada offense had the ball for 36:17 while SMU had it for just 23:43. Nevada's offense, though, compiled just 298 yards and 16 first downs while SMU had 408 yards and 22 first downs. Almost a third (five) of Nevada's first downs were because of SMU penalties. Despite controlling the ball for 12-plus more minutes, the Pack offense had the ball for only two more plays (71-69). SMU had 11 plays of 15 yards or more while Nevada had two. One of Nevada's big plays was an 18-yard gain on a trick play as wide receiver Jaden Smith connected with fellow wide receiver Marcus Bellon for 18 yards.

KEY HIDDEN MOMENT

The Wolf Pack led 24-13 with about a dozen minutes to play when the officials called a strange penalty on Nevada. The Pack was moving the ball on its first drive of the fourth quarter and appeared in position to add to its lead, facing a third-and-10 from the SMU 29. Nevada quarterback Brendon Lewis then tossed an incomplete pass which would likely have prompted the Pack to try a 46-yard field goal. The officials, though, called Wolf Pack running back Sean Dollars for "tripping" as he went out for a pass. Dollars, in reality, just brushed a SMU defensive end with his upper body and continued on his pass route. SMU accepted the penalty (pushing the Pack out of field goal range), giving the Pack a third-and-25 at the SMU 44. The Pack punted two plays later and SMU would score 16 points in the final eight minutes to win the game.

KEY HALFTIME ADJUSTMENT

Despite the close score, SMU dominated the second half, outscoring Nevada 19-7. The Mustangs opened up their offense and controlled the tempo of the game in the second half, tiring the Nevada defense in the process. SMU had one drive of longer than 25 yards in the first half but had four of longer than 40 yards in the second half. SMU starting quarterback Preston Stone, who was 3-of-9 for 45 yards and an interception in the first half (and was benched for two drives), was 14-of-21 in the second half for 209 yards  and a touchdowns in the second half, completing more than half (eight) of his completions and most of his yards (162) in the second half to tight end R.J. Maryland.

KEY PACK DEFENDERS

The Wolf Pack was credited with seven breakups of SMU passes. Linebackers Drue Watts and Tongiaki Mateialona combined for three of them. Watts had nine tackles and Mateialona had eight to lead the Pack. Defensive back Chad Brown intercepted Preston Stone's first pass of the game. Defensive end Henry Ikahihifo stood out with four tackles, two for a loss. Ihahihifo also came to a teammate's rescue by knocking down SMU's Justin Medlock after Medlock slapped the helmet of Nevada's Kris Ross, setting the tone that the Pack wasn't going to allow SMU to bully them on their own field. 

KEY TAKEAWAY

The Wolf Pack, debuting a new coaching staff and an almost completely new roster, simply was overwhelmed down the stretch by a team with far more playmakers. The Wolf Pack offense with quarterback Brendon Lewis was conservative for much of the game. Lewis ran well (77 yards on 18 carries) and did equal his entire 2023 season total with two touchdown passes, but his 14 completions went for just 132 yards (9.4 a catch). Lewis did lead the Pack to three touchdowns but one was on a three-play, 9-yard drive and another was kept alive by a personal foul on SMU when one of the Mustangs spit on a Pack player on a fourth-and-15 play from the Pack 28. The Pack's two main running backs (Sean Dollars and Savion Red) combined for just 69 yards on 23 carries (3.0 a carry). The Pack had five rushing first downs and six passing first downs. When it was time to step on the gas and rev up their engines to protect a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter the Pack just didn't have any gas left in the tank.

KEY HISTORICAL NOTE

The Wolf Pack wasted an 11-point fourth quarter lead in a game it eventually lost for the first time since the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 15, 2012 (the last game of Chris Ault's Pack coaching career). The Pack led Arizona in the New Mexico Bowl a dozen years ago, 45-28, before losing 49-48. The Wolf Pack also wasted a 31-20 lead in the fourth quarter against South Florida in that same 2012 season before losing, 32-31.

KEY QUOTES

"We made a step forward. The team we had last year would have given up, but we fought for four quarters."

— Nevada wide receiver Cortez Braham

"This is our new team and we're here. Nevada is here. We're here to compete. We're going to win some games and we're going to be a force in the Mountain West."

— Nevada linebacker Drue Watts

"I have a real hard time with moral victories. This was an opportunity for us early in my tenure to make a statement, to have a statement win, and right now there's a lot of disappointment about the fact we weren't able to make that happen, not just for the men in our locker room but for our staff and our fans."

— Nevada head coach Jeff Choate

UP NEXT

The Wolf Pack (0-1) will go on the road for the first time this season on Saturday (4 p.m.) at Troy (Ala.). Troy, which plays in the Sun Belt Conference, was 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the Sun Belt last year and won the conference championship. The Trojans also went 12-2, 7-1 in 2022.