Keys: Pack beats itself, but CSU gets credit for the win

A look back at the key moments, players and plays from the Nevada Wolf Pack's 38-21 loss to the Colorado State Rams on Saturday at Mackay Stadium:

KEY PLAY

The Rams likely didn't need it to beat the Wolf Pack on Saturday. But the moment the Wolf Pack simply handed a touchdown on a silver and blue platter early in the third quarter on one of the most laughable kickoff returns in Nevada history, well, the game was over. The Pack had just fallen behind 20-0 on Jordan Noyes' second field goal (21 yards) of the game with 11:30 to play in the third quarter. The Rams then kicked off and nobody dressed in silver and blue made any effort to catch the ball. Sean Dollars and Ky Woods, stationed near the goal line, each ran up to about the 15-yard line presumably to block as the kick sailed over their heads and landed at about the 10-yard line and bounced back toward the end zone. Dollars ran back and tried to pick it up inside the 1 and was immediately met by Colorado State's Caleb Goodie. Goodie smacked Dollars backward and also knocked the ball even deeper in the end zone where teammate Jace Bellah fell on it for a Rams' touchdown and what would turn out to be a 28-0 lead. The inexcusable play gave the Rams 11 points in just 13 seconds, turning the rest of the game into a glorified scrimmage. The Rams then had to kick off for the second time in three seconds. "I have never done two kickoff (coverage) reps in a row in my life," Ayden Hector, a member of the Rams' kickoff coverage team, said to The Coloradoan. "That was the craziest thing I've ever seen."

KEY RAM DRIVES

Colorado State all but won the game on its first two drives. The Rams went 67 yards on seven plays for a 7-yard touchdown run by ex-Pack back Avery Morrow for a 7-0 lead on their first drive. On their second drive, they went 80 yards on seven plays with Justin Marshall doing the honors from eight yards out for a 14-0 lead. The Pack never really recovered and never got closer than 14 points the rest of the game. "We wanted to start fast," Rams coach Jay Norvell told The Coloradoan. "We knew they (Nevada) were going to be emotional and passionate, so we needed to start fast."

KEY HIDDEN MOMENT

The Wolf Pack defense settled down the rest of the first half after allowing two touchdowns on the Rams' first two drives. Colorado State did take a 17-0 lead with 5:27 to go in the half on a 60-yard field goal by Jordan Noyes but that was set up by a short punt (34 yards) by the Pack's Guy Gillespie and a hold on the punt return by the Pack's Caine Savage. The Pack offense finally came to life at the end of the first half. Starting at its own 25 with 5:27 to play in the half, the Pack quickly drove down to the Rams' 8-yard line on first-and-goal with 2:18 to go. But that's where things fell apart. Savion Red, playing on a sore foot that limited him to just one carry the previous week at Hawaii, got two yards on first down, four on second down and none on 3rd-and-2 as the Wolf Pack continued to use its top back despite the fact he was limited physically. The Pack then went for the touchdown with 39 seconds left in the half. Instead of having one of the best running quarterbacks in the conference try to pick up the two yards, they had Brendon Lewis attempt a pass. The Rams' Henry Blackburn forced Lewis into an incomplete pass intended for receiver Jaden Smith, leaving the Pack scoreless and void of momentum going into halftime.

KEY HIDDEN PLAYS

While the final five minutes of the first half were obviously frustrating for the Pack, the first three-plus minutes of the second half were a complete disaster. But lost in the nightmare of those first few minutes of the second half was the fact that all of it could have been prevented. All of the destruction in the first few minutes of the second half was put in motion by a fumble by Pack wide receiver Marcus Bellon (after a 7-yard catch) on the very first play of the second half. Colorado State then drove seven plays for a 21-yard field goal by Jordan Noyes for a 20-0 lead. And we all know what happened on the ensuing kickoff (see “Key Play”). But none of it (the Noyes field goal and the Ram touchdown on the kickoff that gave them 11 points in 13 seconds) should have happened at all. Before making his 21-yarder, Noyes actually attempted a 25-yarder and missed, which would have given the Pack the ball at its own 20-yard line, down 17-0 and not having to worry about returning any kickoff. Noyes, though, got a second chance four yards closer because Nevada's Kitan Crawford was deemed offside on the miss. So instead of getting the ball at its own 20 and down just 17-0 after Noyes' miss, the Pack was down 28-0 and wondering when the nightmare would ever end.

KEY HIDDEN STATS

The Wolf Pack actually had more first downs (22-14), more rushing yards (189-170), more passing yards (252-157), more passing touchdowns (1-0), more total yards (441-327), more plays (66-52) and more time of possession (31:02-28:58) than the Rams, despite the Rams leading by 14 or more points for the final 47 minutes of the game.

KEY PLAYER

Wolf Pack quarterback Brendon Lewis was, once again, the best player on the field on Saturday. The Wolf Pack quarterback completed 20-of-28 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown and didn't throw an interception. He also was the leading rusher in the game, carrying the ball 14 times for 109 yards and two 3-yard touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. Lewis found wide receiver Cortez Braham nine times for 141 yards. He connected with wide receiver Jaden Smith for a 13-yard touchdown. He had runs of 16 (twice), 17 and 34 yards. At one point in the game, starting with the final drive of the first half, Lewis put together a stretch of four out of five drives of 75 yards or more.  

KEY CONCERN

What has happened to the Wolf Pack defense? The Wolf Pack has given up 35, 37, 24, 34 and 38 points, in order, over its last five games. That's 33.6 points a game as the Pack has gone 1-4 to destroy any chance it had this season of a winning season and a bowl invitation. The Pack allowed an average of just 23.6 points a game over its first five games when it went 2-3. The defensive slump coincided with the start of the Mountain West schedule.

KEY HISTORICAL NOTE

The Wolf Pack, it seems, simply cannot compete in the Mountain West any longer. The Pack is now 2-18 in Mountain West games since the start of the 2022 season. It is the program's worst 20-game stretch in league play since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1979. The Pack had never won fewer than three Mountain West games in any one season before 2022 since joining the league in 2012. The Pack has also lost nine of 10 games at home in league play since the start of 2021. The Wolf Pack will conclude its Mountain West season this year at Boise State on Saturday, at home against Air Force on Nov. 23 and on the road at UNLV on Nov. 30.

UP NEXT

Nevada, now 3-7, 0-4, will travel to Boise State to meet the 7-1, 4-0 Broncos on Saturday. Boise State steamrolled San Diego State, 56-24, on Friday at home in front of a crowd of 36,838.