The Nevada seniors won’t have a lot of wins to look back on this year. But they will have Saturday.
Sophomore redshirt quarterback Ty Gangi ran for a six-yard touchdown on fourth and goal with just six seconds left to complete a wild 38-37 comeback win over Utah State on Senior Day. The win snapped a four-game losing streak.
Nevada (4-7, 2-5) punted down 37-24 with less than eight minutes but the Aggies (3-8, 1-7) muffed it and Elijah Mitchell jumped on it in the end zone to pull the Pack within 37-31 and start the rally.
Utah State ran for 396 yards and four touchdowns on 50 carries. Nevada was actually outgained 523-341, but won the points-off-turnovers battle, 14-3.
Nevada now prepares for the biggest game of the season on Saturday in Las Vegas against UNLV (4-7, 3-4). The Wolf Pack has lost two of its last three to the Rebels, with its lone win coming in Las Vegas two years ago, 49-27.
Postgame notes
-The one-point victory is Nevada’s first one-point win since it defeated Fresno State, 35-34, on Nov. 13, 2010.
-Junior RB James Butler eclipsed 3,000 career rushing yards during the game. He is the ninth player in Nevada history to do so.
-Butler also passed Luke Lippincott for eighth in career rushing yards at Nevada (3,117). He trails Cody Fajardo for seventh by 365 yards.
-Sophomore QB Ty Gangi went over 1,000 yards passing for the season in his first year with the Wolf Pack. It was just his third start.
-James Butler ran for 119 yards on 26 carries, his fifth 100-yard rushing performance of the season and the 15th of his career.
-Junior WR Wyatt Demps now has nine touchdown receptions on the season. It is the most receiving touchdowns since Marko Mitchell had 10 in 2008.
-True freshman Jaxson Kincaide rushed for his third touchdown of the season in the third quarter to pull Nevada to within a touchdown.
-Senior CB Elijah Mitchell recovered a fumble in the endzone on a fumbled punt return in the fourth quarter, his first career fumble recovery. That touchdown brought Nevada to within six with under eight to play. It was Mitchell’s second career touchdown.
-Junior LB Jaden Sawyer intercepted his second pass of the season, which leads the team, and the third of his career in the fourth quarter. That pick led to the Wolf Pack offense scoring a touchdown, cutting the deficit to three points.
-Senior LB Alex Bertrando set a career-high with 15 total tackles in the game.
-Nevada is now 18-6 all-time against Utah State.
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