Nevada Appeal
The UNLV Rebels and San Jose State Spartans played a wet, wild and weird Mountain West football game Friday.
"It was ugly and in terrible conditions," UNLV coach Barry Odom told the Associated Press after a sloppy, rain-soaked 27-16 win over San Jose State in front of 13,671 drenched fans.
The victory left the Rebels, No. 2 in this week's Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings, at 9-2 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain West. The Rebels are tied with Colorado State (7-4, 5-1) for second place in the Mountain West behind Boise State (10-1, 7-0), which will host the Mountain West title game on Dec. 6.
The College Football Rankings (UNLV is currently No. 24 while Colorado State is not ranked) will decide Boise State's opponent in the title game if UNLV and Colorado State either both win or lose this weekend because UNLV will not play Colorado State this season. UNLV will host Nevada on Saturday while Colorado State hosts Utah State on Friday, meaning UNLV would secure a spot in the title game even before it meets Nevada should Colorado State lose to Utah State.
"We know what's out there," UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard told the Associated Press. "We know what our ceiling is and we're going to do everything we can to go get it."
UNLV and San Jose State struggled to handle the wet conditions Friday. Each team suffered a nearly identical special teams blunder in the first quarter, snapping the ball past their punters. San Jose State's errant snap led to a 31-yard field goal by UNLV and a 3-0 Rebel lead while UNLV's sloppy snap turned into a San Jose State safety and a 16-10 Spartans halftime lead as UNLV punter Marshall Nichols batted the ball out of the back of the end zone on a 47-yard loss.
All 16 San Jose State points came in the second quarter as UNLV outscored the Spartans 17-0 in the second half to steal the victory. San Jose State had just 112 yards of offense while suffering 95 yards of losses on penalties. San Jose State quarterback Walker Eget was just 4-of-22 for 81 yards.
UNLV controlled the ball for just under 41 minutes (13:41 in the fourth quarter) and had 338 total yards. "They (UNLV players) showed good resolve and toughness," Odom said. "It shows a lot about who we are and what the character is within the team."
No. 1 Boise State, which will host Oregon State on Friday in a non-league game, has now won nine games in a row after slipping past No. 11 Wyoming, 17-13, on Friday, a defeat which likely would have destroyed its chances at a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
"Wyoming played its tails off," Boise State coach Spencer Danielson told the Idaho Statesman. "It was tough, back and forth all game long. But our guys are battle tested. They've been here before."
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty had 169 yards on 19 carries, though he sat out a few series in the third quarter because of a lower leg injury. His 61-yard touchdown run gave the Broncos an early 7-3 lead.
Wyoming (2-9, 2-5) took a 13-10 lead on a 35-yard field goal by John Hoyland with nine minutes left to play but Boise scored on a 2-yard run by Jambres Dubar with five minutes left to pull out the victory. Boise barely outgained Wyoming (352-319) and had one more first down (15-14) in the defensive struggle. Boise State was also just 1-of-10 on third down. Wyoming, which has lost 18-of-19 games in its rivalry with Boise State, also had the ball for 34 minutes to Boise's 26.
"We had a game plan of what we wanted to do," Wyoming coach Jay Sawvel told gowyo.com, "to milk the clock and control the ball and we did that. We just have to finish. But we're a better team than our record shows. This now becomes the baseline for how our young players need to play the rest of their careers."
No. 3 Colorado State fell behind Fresno State 28-7 at halftime before rallying to make the final score close (28-22 Fresno) in the second half. Colorado State outgained Fresno State, 402-331 despite running for just 87 yards on 29 carries. Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was 25-of-50 for 302 yards while Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene was 21-of-29 for 186 yards and two scores and running back Bryson Donelson had 140 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries.
"We just didn't play well enough in the first half to give ourselves a chance," Colorado State coach Jay Norvell told csurams.com.
Colorado State would have clinched a spot in the Mountain West title game with a win over Fresno State last Saturday and Utah State this Friday but now needs to beat Utah State and for Nevada to beat UNLV.
"What we control is how we play," Norvell said.
No. 5 Fresno State (6-5, 4-3) became bowl eligible with the victory over the Rams. "It means everything," Fresno State coach Tim Skipper told gobulldogscom. "Bowl eligibility is everything. It's why we're in this business."
The Bulldogs didn't score in the second half and still beat the Rams. "It got a little scarier at the end," Skipper said. "It made it a soap opera-type finish."
No. 10 Nevada (3-9, 0-6) suffered its fifth consecutive loss on Friday, 22-19 at home to No. 8 Air Force (4-7, 2-4). Quarterback Brendon Lewis was 22-of-35 for 268 yards and two touchdowns in the loss but Nevada had just 94 yards rushing to Air Force's 318.
The loss clinched last place in the Mountain West for Nevada for the third consecutive season. Six of Nevada's nine losses this year have been by seven points or less, the most such losses in one season in school history.
"I knew this wasn't going to be an easy job," Nevada coach Jeff Choate told nevadawolfpack.com. "But when we get this thing rolling in the right direction it will be all the more sweeter."
Air Force has now won three games in a row, beating Fresno State, Oregon State and Nevada, after losing 11-of-13 games dating back to last season. Nevada has now lost 30 of its last 39 games starting with its 52-24 loss to Western Michigan in the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.
San Diego State (3-8, 2-4) fell to the bottom of the Mountain West rankings at No. 12 with a 41-20 loss to No. 7 Utah State (4-7, 3-3). The Aztecs have lost 16 of their last 21 games after starting 2-0 last season. Their last two losses the last two weeks have been by identical 41-20 scores (UNLV, Utah State). Utah State outscored the Aztecs 2707 in the second half.
Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes was 13-of-15 for 139 yards and three touchdowns through the air and also ran for 193 yards and a touchdown.
Utah State has outscored Hawaii and San Diego State the last two weeks by a combined score of 96-30 for its first two-game winning streak since beating San Diego State and Nevada last November.
The Nevada Appeal Mountain West football rankings for the week of Nov. 25:
1. BOISE STATE (10-1, 7-0): Last week: Boise State 17, Wyoming 13. This week: Oregon State at Boise State (Friday).
2. UNLV (9-2, 5-1): Last week: UNLV 27, San Jose State 20. This week: Nevada at UNLV (Saturday).
3. COLORADO STATE (7-4, 5-1). Last week: Fresno State 28, Colorado State 22. This week: Utah State at Colorado State (Friday).
4. NEW MEXICO (5-6, 3-3). Last week: Bye. This week: New Mexico at Hawaii (Saturday).
5. FRESNO STATE (6-5, 4-3). Last week: Fresno State 28, Colorado State 22. This week: Fresno State at UCLA (Saturday).
6. SAN JOSE STATE (6-5, 3-4). Last week: UNLV 27, San Jose State 16. This week: Stanford at San Jose State (Friday).
7. UTAH STATE (4-7, 3-3). Last week: Utah State 41, San Diego State 20. This week: Utah State at Colorado State (Friday).
8. AIR FORCE (4-7, 2-4). Last week: Air Force 22, Nevada 19. This week: Air Force at San Diego State (Saturday).
9. HAWAII (4-7, 2-4). Last week: Bye. This week: New Mexico at Hawaii (Saturday).
10. NEVADA (3-9, 0-6). Last week: Air Force 22, Nevada 19. This week: Nevada at UNLV (Saturday).
11. WYOMING (2-9, 2-5). Last week: Boise State 17, Wyoming 13. This week: Wyoming at Washington State (Saturday).
12. SAN DIEGO STATE (3-8, 2-4). Last week: Utah State 41, San Diego State 20. This week: Air Force at San Diego State (Saturday).