Nevada falls backward as Hawaii wins 27-14

With both Nevada and Hawaii eying their third win, Hawaii shockingly came out with the victory. The Rainbow Warriors ran away with it in the first half and never looked back, taking down the Wolf Pack 27-14.

Nevada’s two-game winning streak ended as well, letting all its momentum slip to the other sideline.

Scoring Summary

2nd Quarter

12:55- Matthew Shipley 50-yard FG

Hawaii 3 – Nevada 0

3:54- Dalen Morris 1-yard TD run (Shipley PAT)

Hawaii 10 – Nevada 0

0:17- Pofele Ashlock 26-yard TD pass from Brayden Schager (Shipley PAT)

Hawaii 17 – Nevada 0

3rd Quarter

9:27- Sean Dollars 2-yard TD run (Talton PAT)

Hawaii 17 – Nevada 7

7:13- Pofele Ashlock 5-yard TD pass from Brayden Schager (Shipley PAT)

Hawaii 24 – Nevada 7

2:52- Sean Dollars 7-yard TD run (Talton PAT)

Hawaii 24 – Nevada 14

4th Quarter

12:41- Matthew Shipley 50-yard FG

Hawaii 27 – Nevada 14

Final: Hawaii 27 (3-6) (1-4), Nevada 14 (2-7) (2-3)

Offense

The story of both Hawaii’s and Nevada’s offenses has been struggling in the first half. No points were scored in the first quarter, but Hawaii ran off with it in the second and Nevada had no answer.

Nevada only produced 69 total offensive yards in the first half.

The Wolf Pack’s offense took a major step backward. Despite the Wolf Pack playing clean football the past few weeks, they fumbled the ball twice against Hawaii.

One of those fumbles was by quarterback Brendon Lewis, who only went 1-9 with 36 passing yards. He was taken out of the game after the fumble, letting Hawaii native AJ Bianco finish it out.

Bianco did a little better, going 5-16 with 76 passing yards and an interception. Regardless, this is the same offense we saw at the beginning of the season, which is bad.

Nevada’s offensive line was a big factor in the struggling offense. Hawaii’s defense sacked Nevada’s quarterbacks a combined six times. Hawaii’s defense also picked up 10 tackles for loss. The rest of the offense wasn’t great either, but it’s hard to get anything going when that happens to your O-line.

Running back Sean Dollars made his return after suffering a concussion a few weeks ago. He ran for 55 yards on 16 carries and was responsible for Nevada’s only scores of the game.

Defense

Most of Nevada’s two-game win streak came from its defense. That unit also took a step back after giving up 24 points.

Hawaii had been struggling to run the ball this season. As a team, the Rainbow Warriors ran the ball for 136 yards.

The passing game for Hawaii also did well. Quarterback Brayden Schager went 21-38 with 203 yards and two touchdowns. Schager also didn’t throw an interception in the game, marking it the third game of the season that he didn’t throw an interception.

Nevada gave up a total of 339 yards. It truly doesn’t make sense why Nevada’s defense took such a step back, especially against a struggling offensive team. Momentum quickly shifted, and sometimes that’s all it takes.

What’s Next

Nevada will go on the road next week to take on Utah State. The Aggies beat the San Diego State Aztecs in their Week 10 matchup with a 32-24 thriller in overtime. The Aggies now sit at 4-5 to take on the 2-7 Wolf Pack.

Game time is set for noon on Saturday, November 11.