Nevada Appeal
Jeff Choate is not worried about his Nevada Wolf Pack football team.
"I don't think we're in a bad place," Choate said on Monday on nevadawolfpack.com. "We're still in a really good place."
The Wolf Pack (2-4, 0-1) remained at No. 5 in this week's Nevada Appeal Mountain West football rankings despite a 35-31 loss at San Jose State last Saturday.
"It's one thing if we were just bad," Choate said. "But nobody in this organization feels that way at all."
The Wolf Pack has lost three of its last four but three of its four losses this year have been by five points or less.
"We're just a team that is going to play a lot of close games," Choate said.
The Wolf Pack led No. 4 San Jose State (4-1, 2-0) for much of the second half. San Jose State, though, seemed to utilize all of the tricks in its bag to pull out the victory. The Spartans benched starting quarterback Emmett Brown in the second half for a seldom-used backup and then won the game on a 16-yard receiver (Nick Nash) pass to running back Jabari Bates with 55 seconds to play.
"This was a hard one for me," Choate said. "But I've bounced back. The sun came up again on Sunday morning. I think we're overachieving, if you ask my opinion."
Choate, in his first season as a FBS head coach, has remained positive this season. The Wolf Pack now has to win four of its final seven games to qualify for a bowl game.
"We're going to get through this and we're going to get better," Choate said. "It might be this week (at home on Saturday against Oregon State). You never know. This is a team we can compete with. We got them at home."
No. 1 Boise State trounced (4-1, 1-0) No. 9 Utah State (1-4, 0-1), 62-30, in its Mountain West opener. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty shredded the Aggies for 186 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 13 carries. Jeanty, who now has a NCAA-best 1,031 yards and 16 touchdowns on just 95 carries this season, scored on runs of 6, 63 and 75 yards in the first half.
The Broncos scored 35 points alone in the second quarter and are now averaging 50.6 points a game.
"I do not have a vote in the Heisman," Utah State coach Nate Dreiling told the Deseret News. "But if I did, I would be voting for him (Jeanty).
Jeanty is on pace to set the Mountain West single-season records for rushing yards (2,248 by San Diego State's Rashaad Penny in 2017) and rushing touchdowns (31 by Kapri Bibbs of Colorado State in 2013). The 5-foot-9 junior now has 3,199 yards and 37 touchdowns in just 31 career games. San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey (2013-16) owns the Mountain West career records at 62 touchdowns and 6,405 yards.
"He only played the first half," said Dreiling of Saturday's game in front of 37,210 fans at Boise State. "Let's be honest. He would have run for a lot more. What an unbelievable player."
The No. 2 UNLV Rebels (4-1, 1-0) lost at home to Syracuse, 44-41 in overtime, in front of a crowd of 31,329. The Rebels fell behind 14-0 after one quarter after outscoring their four previous opponents 52-14 combined in the opening 15 minutes.
"We didn't start well but we stayed in the fight," UNLV coach Barry Odom told the Associated Press. "I hate it (the loss) because we have a tough team. We're a close team but this will get us closer."
UNLV quarterback Hajj Malik-Williams was 21-of-25 for 227 yards and three touchdowns. Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, was 40-of-63 for 355 yards and three scores. UNLV receiver Ricky White caught 10 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown and also blocked a punt.
"This game won't define us," Odom told the Las Vegas Sun. "It's how we respond that will."
UNLV was up by seven with three minutes to play but Syracuse went 75 yards on 11 plays to force overtime. "The players are gutted," Odom said, "because they've invested so much."
No. 6 Colorado State (2-3, 0-0) also lost in overtime, falling at Oregon State, 39-31. Colorado State had leads of 7-0, 10-7, 24-21 and 31-24. Three former Wolf Pack players led Colorado State's offense. Quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was 20-of-30 for 263 yards and two touchdowns, wide receiver Tory Horton had nine catches for 158 yards and a touchdown and running back Avery Morrow had 140 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
"Our focus and execution was pretty good in a tough environment," Colorado State coach Jay Norvell told coloradoan.com. "We've just got to finish. That's the bottom line."
No. 7 San Diego State (2-3, 1-0) got past No. 8 Hawaii (2-3, 0-1), 27-24, in front of a home crowd of 31,307. Hawaii had taken a 24-20 lead on a 23-yard pass from Brayden Schager to Nick Cenacle before San Diego State's Marquez Cooper scored on a two-yard run with 7:07 left to win it.
Schager was 26-of-44 for 272 yards and three touchdowns while Cooper had 109 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. San Diego State has won its last four games against Hawaii by just 19 points combined.
"We've shown a character, an attitude and a resolve that embodies our blue-collar and nastiness approach," San Diego State coach Sean Lewis told goaztecs.com.
No. 12 Air Force (1-4, 0-2) was run over by Navy, 37-7. Air Force has now lost eight of its last 10 games beginning last November. The Falcons have lost four in a row this season, scoring just 36 points in the four losses combined.
The Nevada Appeal Mountain West football rankings for the week of Oct. 7:
1. BOISE STATE (4-1, 1-0): Last week: Boise State 62, Utah State 30. This week: Boise State at Hawaii (Saturday).
2. UNLV (4-1, 1-0): Last week: Syracuse 44, UNLV 41 (OT). This week: UNLV at Utah State (Friday).
3. FRESNO STATE (3-2, 1-1): Last week: Bye. This week: Washington State at Fresno State (Saturday).
4. SAN JOSE STATE (4-1, 2-0): Last week: San Jose State 35, Nevada 31. This week: San Jose State at Colorado State (Saturday).
5. NEVADA (2-4, 0-1): Last week: San Jose State 35, Nevada 31. This week: Oregon State at Nevada (Saturday).
6. COLORADO STATE (2-3, 0-0): Last week: Oregon State 39, Colorado State 31 (2 OT). This week: San Jose State at Colorado State (Saturday).
7. SAN DIEGO STATE (2-3, 1-0): Last week: San Diego State 27, Hawaii 24. This week: San Diego State at Wyoming (Saturday).
8. HAWAII (2-3, 0-1): Last week: San Diego State 27, Hawaii 24. This week: Boise State at Hawaii (Saturday).
9. UTAH STATE (1-4, 0-1): Last week: Boise State 62, Utah State 30. This week: UNLV at Utah State (Friday).
10. WYOMING (1-4, 1-0): Last week: Bye. This week: San Diego State at Wyoming (Saturday).
11. NEW MEXICO (1-4, 0-1): Last week: Bye. This week: Air Force at New Mexico (Saturday).
12. AIR FORCE (1-4, 0-2): Last week: Navy 34, Air Force 7. This week: Air Force at New Mexico (Saturday).