Nevada Dismantled in the Islands, losing 34-13 to Hawaii

Nevada football fans had to stay up late Saturday night to watch the Wolf Pack take on the Rainbow Warriors in Hawaii. Unfortunately, the late night ended in a bitter 34-13 loss for Nevada, plagued by injuries, undisciplined football, and an incomplete team effort.

Perhaps there’s a Timmy Chang curse. Chang, the current head coach of Hawaii and former Nevada assistant coach from 2017-21, is now 3-0 against Nevada despite being 4-23 against non-Nevada FBS schools.

Either way, Nevada was dominated physically. There was no Brendon Lewis. Savion Red got hurt during the game. Nevada’s chances of a bowl game have almost diminished, and the team will continue to look for its first conference win of the season.

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

10:10- Brayden Schager 1-yard TD run (Kansei Matsuzawa PAT)

Nevada 0 – Hawaii 7

0:28- Brayden Schager 1-yard TD run (Kansei Matsuzawa PAT)

Nevada 0 – Hawaii 14

2nd Quarter

0:09- Kansei Matsuzawa 29-yard FG

Nevada 0 – Hawaii 17

3rd Quarter

14:29- Marcus Bellon 63-yard TD pass from Chubba Purdy (Matthew Killam PAT)

Nevada 7 – Hawaii 17

1:57- Brayden Schager 3-yard TD run (Kansei Matsuzawa PAT)

Nevada 7 – Hawaii 24

4th Quarter

14:07- Brayden Schager 6-yard TD run (Kansei Matsuzawa PAT)

Nevada 7 – Hawaii 31

8:43- Marcus Bellon TD pass from AJ Bianco (2-pt conversion attempt failed)

Nevada 13 – Hawaii 31

2:53- Kansei Matsuzawa 30-yard FG

Nevada 13 – Hawaii 34

Final: Nevada 13, Hawaii 34

Offense

With Lewis out, it wasn’t expected that the running game would be the same. Still, it took a huge hit.

Nevada only rushed for 94 total yards on 29 attempts. The Pack’s leading rusher was QB Chubba Purdy, who got the start but was subbed in and out with AJ Bianco. Purdy rushed for 41 yards on attempts.

Red only had one carry until he came out with a toe injury. With how heavy Nevada relies on its run game, not having Lewis or Red hurt more than anything. It was the second straight game Nevada was held under 100 rushing yards.

However, Nevada’s passing game outperformed Hawaii’s. Purdy went 13-18 with 155 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Bianco went 13-21 with 131 yards and a touchdown pass.

Both QBs relied heavily on wide receiver Marcus Bellon, who finished the night with 111 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns.

Defense

Hawaii QB Brayden Schager channeled his inner Lewis as he dominated the Pack’s defense with his legs.

On 19 carries, Schager rushed for 120 yards and four rushing touchdowns. He also went 14-25 in the air with 135 yards and an interception by Nevada CB Michael Coats Jr., his fourth of the year.

Outside of Schager’s dominant run performance, Nevada reverted to bad habits in the penalty department. Nevada was flagged 12 times for 108 yards, many of them coming from unsportsmanlike penalties.

Overall, it was a sloppy, undisciplined game mixed with a lot of injuries.

What’s Next

Nevada is now one of two teams to be winless in the Mountain West (Air Force is the other.) The Pack now sit at 3-6 and 0-3 in conference play, with the already slim chances at a bowl game going even lower.

Nevada will return home to face old friend Jay Norvell and the Colorado State Rams. The Rams are 5-3 and 3-0 in the MW, and one more win would send Colorado State bowling for the first time since 2017.