Pack outplays, outcoaches Broncos — but leaves with an L

A look back at the key moments, players and plays from the Nevada Wolf Pack’s 28-21 loss to the Boise State Broncos on Saturday at Mackay Stadium:

KEY PLAY

We’d like to think that Jeff Choate had a moment of clarity late in the second quarter when he channeled his inner Chris Petersen and reminded Boise State of its own past. But it was certainly one of the more innovative and creative plays the Wolf Pack has called and executed in recent memory, whether former Broncos coach Petersen would have approved. The Pack, down 14-7, faced a fourth-and-1 at the Boise State 44 with six-plus minutes in the second half. The simple fact the Pack was brave enough to go for a first down and send a message it intended to win the game, and not just keep it close, was refreshing enough. But they took it even a step further as Choate, a former Boise State assistant coach, plagiarized a page out of the daring, courageous and inventive Petersen playbook of about 15 years ago. Pack quarterback Brendon Lewis took the snap from center, turned and flipped the ball back to wide receiver Marcus Bellon, who headed toward the right side. The Broncos defense took the bait, thinking that was the limit to the Pack’s creativity. Bellon, though, then flipped a pass to a wide-open Caleb Ramseur down the sideline and the backup Pack back then dodged and weaved his way into the end zone to tie the game at 14. It was the most creative play of the game by far and it came on Boise’s blue turf from a defensive-minded coach who simply loves to run the ball. And it came on the very same turf where Boise did the same thing to the Pack defense for decades.

KEY MISTAKE

The Wolf Pack, down 28-14, had the ball a yard away from the Boise State end zone with just over five minutes left in the game. Sean Dollars, who already had dropped the ball twice in the game, then muffed a handoff from Lewis as Boise State recovered the ball in the end zone to secure its 14-point lead with 5:24 to go. The Pack would indeed score a touchdown roughly three minutes later on a beautiful catch and throw down the right sideline from Lewis to Jaden Smith from 36 yards out to cut Boise’s lead to 28-21 with 2:19 left. But that Lewis-to-Smith connection, all Pack fans knew at that moment, should have tied the game at 28-28 had Dollars simply not fumbled the ball away about three feet away from the end zone.

KEY CONSPIRACY THEORIST MOMENT

There was no secret that a Boise State victory on Saturday was what everyone in the Mountain West — except maybe the Pack players, coaches, cheerleaders and fans — wanted to happen. The Broncos, after all, were only a few steps away from a huge payday in the 12-team College Football Playoff. But then, well, the officials put their stamp on the game that might suggest to some Pack loyalists that there were other forces at play on the blue turf. The Wolf Pack, down just 21-14, appeared to have intercepted a Maddux Madsen pass at their own 1-yard line on a second-and-goal throw from the 2. The Pack’s Chad Brown clearly picked off the ball that was intended for receiver Chase Penry and the officials agreed, signaling the change of possession. But, after further review, the officials changed the call and declared Brown did not catch the ball before he continued out of bounds. Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty then scored on the very next play for a 28-14 lead on what would turn out to be the game-winning touchdown.

KEY WHAT-IF MOMENTS

Boise State nearly handed the Wolf Pack the upset on a silver-and-blue platter on two almost-disastrous special teams blunders. The first one took place when the Pack, full of optimism and energy coming off a 14-14 halftime tie, kicked off to the Broncos to start the second half. Boise’s Dylan Riley muffed the kickoff at the 8-yard line. The ball then proceeded to bounce around and off Boise and Nevada players before ending up out of bounds at the 5 and in Boise’s possession. The second Boise State white-knuckle moment occurred three plays into the fourth quarter on a Pack punt. The returner let the punt slip through his hands at the Boise 38-yard line where, fortunately for the Broncos, it was recovered by teammate Cole Miller. The Broncos then went 62 yards for the third and final touchdown run by Ashton Jeanty and a 28-14 lead with 10 minutes to play.

KEY REALITY CHECK

For much of the game the Wolf Pack, it seemed, was keeping Boise State running back (and legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate) Ashton Jeanty in check. The Pack forced Jeanty to fumble the ball away once, trapped him on a pair of 5-yard losses and held him to two yards or less on 13 different carries. This is the same guy, after all, who ran for 267 yards and six touchdowns against Georgia Southern, 259 yards and four touchdowns against Washington State, 217 yards and a score against Hawaii and 186 yards and three touchdowns on a mere 13 carries against Utah State this season. But, when the game was all said and done, the Pack defense didn’t exactly bottle up the Bronco back at all. Jeanty carried the ball 34 grueling times (his most carries this year) for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Yes, the touchdowns were from just 4, 1 and 2 yards out but he also had runs of 46 and 31 yards, as well as 10 others of seven or more yards. Jeanty, who had 107 yards in the first half and 102 in the second half and averaged 6.1 yards a carry, also put the game away with runs of 17 and 10 yards on Boise’s final drive.

KEY BOISE CONCERN

Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen was the luckiest man on blue turf on Saturday. Madsen, whose main job this year is to take the snap from center and flip the ball back to Jeanty, nearly destroyed the Broncos’ chances at earning a spot in the College Football Playoff by himself. He was just 9-of-20 through the air for a mere 119 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Maddux, though, actually saw three of his passes intercepted. One was overturned by the officials (Chad Brown was ruled out of bounds) and another (by Kitan Crawford) was wiped out by a convenient pass interference penalty on the Pack’s Keyshawn Cobb. Madsen did rush for 58 yards on eight carries (39 of them came on three runs) but the more he threw the ball, the more the Wolf Pack upset remained a distinct possibility.

KEY NEVADA CONCERN

None. Why spoil the moment with some silly, contrived area of concern? This was the Wolf Pack’s most impressive performance in three years, by far. Yes, it was a loss. But it came on the road at Boise State, against a Heisman Trophy candidate and a team that firmly believes it should be given the opportunity to compete for a national championship. We just might have witnessed the turning point of this Pack program. Yes, the Pack lost but it gained a world of confidence that will carry it to opening day next fall, no matter what happens in the final two games this year against Air Force (Nov. 23) and UNLV (Nov. 30). The last time we felt this way, it happened on this very same Boise State blue turf in 2007 (Choate was on the Bronco sideline that night) in a heartbreaking 69-67 four-overtime loss when a cocky and confident Colin Kaepernick and an entire program came of age. Three years later, the Pack was 13-1 and ranked in the Top 25.

KEY COACHING MOMENT

Colin Kaepernick came of age in an unforgettable loss on Boise’s blue turf 17 years ago and Saturday night we might have seen the rookie Pack coaching staff do the same. The Wolf Pack coaching staff clearly outcoached the Boise State coaching staff on Saturday. They kept Ashton Jeanty from completely dominating the game and the football (even though the final numbers might suggest otherwise) and they turned Maddux Madsen into a jittery, unsure-of-himself, hesitant quarterback. The Pack literally took the normally productive Bronco wide receivers out of the game, holding them to just two catches (by Cameron Camper) the entire game. Boise looked bored, frustrated, vastly overconfident and uninterested the entire game. All they did was hand the ball off to Jeanty, relying on luck, some timely officials’ calls and a Wolf Pack team that still does not know how to win games. The Pack showed more creativity (the Bellon-to-Ramseur touchdown was a thing of beauty) and heart the entire game, battling its own mistakes and, it seemed, some by the officials, to nearly pull off the stunning upset.

UP NEXT

The Wolf Pack (3-8, 0-5 and in last place in the Mountain West) now gets to lick its wounds with an off week before hosting Air Force on Nov. 23 in the final home game at Mackay Stadium this year. The struggling Falcons (2-7, 1-4) pulled off an upset of their own on Saturday by beating Fresno State at home, 36-28, to end a seven-game losing streak.