Slow start, mistakes doom Nevada in loss to CSU

The curse of former football coach Jay Norvell fell upon the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday night at Mackay Stadium.

For the second time since he departed Nevada for Colorado State in late 2021, the Rams defeated Nevada on its home turf, 38-21, before 16,081 fans on the annual Salute to Service game.

Ironically, it was Norvell who led Nevada to its last win against Colorado State three season ago.

Colorado State (6-3, 4-0 Mountain West Conference) has won four games in a row and five of its last six. Nevada is at the bottom of the Mountain West standings, tied with Air Force with 0-4 league records.

The Pack is 3-7 overall and is riding a three-game losing streak.
Rams running back Avery Morrow — a former Wolf Pack player — ran for two touchdowns, and Justin Marshall also ran for a TD.

Colorado State dominated the Pack by building a 14-0 first-quarter lead and added a field goal in the second quarter to go into halftime leading 17-0. By the middle of the third quarter, Colorado Stare added 11 points for a 28-0 lead.

Nevada quarterback Brendon Lewis figured into all of Nevada’s scoring late in the game. He threw for a touchdown and crossed the goal line on a pair of 3-yard touchdowns. He was also 22-for-28 in passing for 252 yards. His favorite target of the night, Cortez Braham Jr., snared nine passes for 141 yards.

The road becomes tougher for the Pack as they next head to 12th-ranked Boise State for a Saturday night game beginning at 5 p.m.