Nevada football returned to Mackay Stadium for the first time in 28 days on Saturday for its Mountain West home opener against San Diego State.
The Wolf Pack went three-and-out on its opening drive with true freshman Carter Jones leading the Wolf Pack at quarterback. Jones became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Nevada since Kaymen Cureton in 2017.
SDSU’s Jordan Napier returned the ensuing punt 75-yards for a touchdown to get the Aztecs on the board 59 seconds into the game. A little later, Chris Johnson’s pick-6 gave the Aztecs a 14-0 lead with 7:11 to play in the first quarter and the Aztecs never looked back. SDSU scored touchdowns on three straight first half drives, giving the Aztecs a 35-0 lead at halftime. The Wolf Pack’s longest drive of the first half was 9 plays for 68 yards and resulted in a turnover on downs in the end zone.
SDSU scored field goals off of their first three second half drives, extending their lead 44-0. The Wolf Pack got on the scoreboard courtesy of Joe McFadden’s 34-yard field goal late in the third quarter. Jones connected with Marshaun Brown for a touchdown pass with under three minutes to play, but San Diego State rolled out of Reno with a 44-10 win.
Jones completed 16-of-32 attempts for 177 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. SDSU’s Jayden Denegal completed 14-of-17 attempts for 205 yards with two touchdowns. The Aztecs compiled 411 yards of offense against the Wolf Pack’s 254.
Nevada’s Dylan LaBarbera led the Wolf Pack defense with nine tackles, including seven solo tackles and two sacks. LaBarbera entered Saturday’s game with 10 tackles-for-loss, which was tied for first in college football. LaBarbera had four tackles-for-loss on Saturday and now has 14 on the season through six games. The Aztecs improve to 5-1 overall, while the Wolf Pack fall to 1-5 overall.
You can hear Jeff Choate’s post-game press conference comments here.