The Nevada football team entered Friday night’s game with Fresno State coming out on top by defeating Oregon State in what was Jeff Choate’s best win in his first season with the Pack. The Wolf Pack found a lot of success in the ground game against Oregon State, and if Nevada were to repeat last week’s win against Fresno State, it would start and end with the team’s effectiveness. Fast forward to the end of Nevada’s 24-21 loss to Fresno State, and that didn’t happen. After finding great success with explosive play in the first half, Nevada was shut down by Fresno State in the second half. The Wolf Pack lost another game by one possession. That’s Nevada’s fourth one-possession loss this season.

Let’s take a look at how Nevada dropped its fifth game of the season, losing its second conference game in the process.

Offence

The offense picked up where it left off after a win over Oregon State. On the game’s first possession, QB Brendon Lewis connected with WR Jaden Smith on a deep reception, putting Nevada inside Fresno State’s 10-yard line. RB Savion Red would score just a few plays later to give the Wolf Pack an early touchdown lead.

The offense would continue to generate explosives in the first half, with Nevada’s second touchdown of the game coming as Lewis found Nate Burleson II for a 46-yard touchdown. The score marked Burleson II’s first touchdown in the Silver and Blue.

Lewis would continue his great first half by rushing for a touchdown in the waning moments of the first half. Nevada would finish the first two quarters with over 240 yards of offense.

The attack seemed to be heading in the right direction towards the second half. However, some halftime adjustments by Fresno State led to a shutout in the second half.

Nevada mustered just 55 yards of offense in the final two quarters. So what went wrong? Well, first of all, the rushing attack couldn’t get anything going as the team rushed for less than 100 yards. Additionally, the Wolf Pack struggled with poor field position on all of their possessions in the second half, with several coming inside Nevada’s own 10-yard line.

Lewis left this match with a bang towards the end of the match. Backup Chubba Purdy came in and played the final two-game series in his absence. A late heave in the field would bounce incomplete as the offensive struggles largely led to the loss for the Wolf Pack.

Defense

It was an up and down game for Nevada’s defense. The Wolf Pack’s defensive struggles came largely from limiting Fresno State’s explosive play. One play that hurt Nevada in this game came when the Bulldogs got a backup on their end and ran a wide receiver screen that went 71 yards deep into Nevada territory. That play allowed Fresno State to take a late 24-21 lead that would prove to be a game-winner for the Bulldogs.

The defense had its moments, with a Drue Watts interception, a fourth-and-goal stand and two timely sacks.

Special teams

This is a part of the game that I largely don’t discuss in my post-game stories, but special teams played a huge role in Nevada’s loss. Two of Nevada’s punts resulted in Guy Gillisie eating the ball and trying to rush for the first down. Gillespie was of course tackled well before the first down marker. The field position awarded to Fresno State proved beneficial for the Bulldogs as they cashed in for a touchdown. Those breakdowns in point protection led to Nevada putting backup QB AJ Bianco on the field on fourth down for a punt from the shotgun position.

Next

Nevada heads to paradise in a matchup with the Hawaii Warriors. Nevada is still looking for its first Mountain West conference win of the season and will look to do so at the Aloha State.