Foul play is not suspected in a death that occurred at University of Nevada Reno last weekend, UNR officials say.

A person was found unresponsive in a porta potty bathroom before the Montana State-Nevada football game on Saturday. UNR officials say first responders were called immediately, and university police and REMSA responded to the scene.

The person was declared deceased, and the body was taken to the medical examiner.

A UNR official says police investigated area, and they found no sign of foul play and no suspicious activity.

The deceased was not affiliated with the university.

The Washoe County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.

Top performances

Boys soccer

– Desmond Guevara, Arbor View: The senior had a goal and two assists in the Aggies’ 3-1 victory over Desert Oasis.

– Tohotom Hajdu, Faith Lutheran: The senior finished with two goals and an assist in the Crusaders’ 4-2 victory over Liberty.

– Hector Ochoa, SLAM! Nevada: The senior logged two goals and three assists as the Bulls notched a 5-2 victory over Basic.

– Victor Requenez, Sunrise Mountain: The senior scored two goals as the Miners rolled to a 6-1 win over Mojave.

– Ryan Rezai, Bishop Gorman: The junior’s second-half goal was enough to give the Gaels a 1-0 victory over Eldorado.

– Brian Sosa, Desert Pines: The junior scored two goals to lead the Jaguars past Valley 5-0.

– Braeden Wynalda, Palo Verde: The senior scored two goals to help the Panthers slip past Sierra Vista 3-2.

Scores

Boys soccer

Arbor View 3, Desert Oasis 1

Bishop Gorman 1, Eldorado 0

Chaparral 3, Mater East 0

Cheyenne 8, CIVICA 2

Coronado 2, Western 0

Cristo Rey 1, Moapa Valley 0

Desert Pines 5, Valley 0

Faith Lutheran 4, Liberty 2

Foothill 3, Sloan Canyon 0

Green Valley 0, Cimarron-Memorial 0

Las Vegas 3, Canyon Springs 1

Pahrump Valley 3, Boulder City 1

Palo Verde 3, Sierra Vista 2

SLAM! Nevada 5, Basic 1

Sunrise Mountain 6, Mojave 1

The Meadows 1, Equipo 1

Girls soccer

Cheyenne 7, CIVICA 0

Girls volleyball

The Meadows 3, Cristo Rey 0

Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.

Much of the momentum Nevada football built with its 49-14 season-opening win over Western Kentucky evaporated Saturday when the Wolf Pack dropped a 20-7 division over the defending FCS national champions, Montana State. Nevada played without starting quarterback Carter Jones, whose status was unknown for much of the game against the Bobcats. That confusion drew a number of questions in this week’s Monday Mailbag, so let’s address them. Thanks, as always, for the inquiries.

Nevada’s starting quarterback, Carter Jones, was unavailable to play against Montana State last Saturday due to an unspecified injury.

While Nevada head coach Jeff Choate didn’t specific what kind of injury Carter Jones is dealing with, our Mike Stefansson reported he was dealing with a shoulder bruise. Choate said Jones tried to warm up pre-game but didn’t have the velocity required to play against the Bobcats.

Yes. The team knew Carter Jones was dealing with an injury well before game day and prepared Friday night for the potential Luke Duncan would get the start. It’s not like Jones got hurt in warmups. After being limited in practice, Jones tried to warm up before the game started and was not deemed healthy enough to play. Given this was a non-conference game (albeit a big one), the decision was made not to play Jones, with the hope this helps him be healthy for the long haul.

No.

This was a mistake, in my view. It was odd (a) Carter Jones was fully dressed; (b) the national television crew didn’t know Jones was injured; (c) the local radio crew didn’t know Jones was injured; (d) Nevada’s social media team posted a pre-game tweet saying, “Locked in. Ready to go. Carter Jones leads the Wolf Pack into tonight’s matchup with Montana State;” and (e) Jones was announced as the starter on the videoboard in the stadium. Add all of that up and it’s understandable Nevada fans were confused why Jones wasn’t playing. Was he hurt? Was he being disciplined? Was he benched for play quality after leading Nevada to 49 points the week prior? It was exacerbated when the national TV sideline reporter didn’t ask Jeff Choate at the first-quarter break or halftime break what Jones’ availability was. Most coaches want to keep injuries secret to maintain a competitive advantage. I get that. But in this case, it went too far into the game with nobody knowing why Jones wasn’t playing. It wasn’t truly clear until after the game. And it was a huge talking point for Wolf Pack fans in the stadium and online. Some clarity could have been provided when the game started. Now, most of this will be alleviated once Mountain West play begins and injury reports are mandatory during the week and pre-game. But for non-league games, MW schools don’t have to release injury reports, which partially led to Saturday’s in-game confusion.

As noted above, I believe it could have been handled more effectively so Nevada fans knew what was going on. I don’t think the intent was to be “fishy.” But I also don’t think Nevada approached game day thinking Carter Jones was going to be able to play. So, a little more transparency on the situation could have alleviated confusion for the fan base. Every coach doesn’t want to give its opponent an advantage, so keeping Jones’ situation under wraps was likely viewed a competitive edge.

All coaches hate being asked about injuries. That’s the No. 1 topic that will set coaches off. But the media has to ask those questions. Despite what I wrote above about how Nevada handled the Carter Jones injury information, I have no issue with how Jeff Choate treats the media. He’s treated us with respect since landing in Reno three years ago. Can he get a little testy at times? Yes. He did with me during today’s Monday press conference. But that’s part of the job when you work in the media. Choate has been nothing but professional to the local media over the years. And we get to interview him Monday (regular presser), Friday (remote shows from Mackay), Saturday (post-game) and Sunday (Wolf Pack All Access) during game weeks. That’s plenty of access and insight into his program. Will he get irritated with us at times? Yes. That’s a normal part of the coach-media relationship. Choate gives thoughtful answers and offers interesting and insightful commentary on his team. If every coach I dealt with over the years was Choate, I’d be happy.

A number of plays were well schemed and executed outside of the throw and catch. Luke Duncan’s two interceptions could have been big plays if thrown on time. AJ Bianco missed an open Dominic Kelley on a seam route that could have been a touchdown. Gary Givens III dropped a couple of passes that could have been chunk plays. Nevada ran for 5.2 yards per play. The Wolf Pack just couldn’t make the key pass-and-catch against Montana State, which doomed it. As for who would start if Carter Jones is unavailable this week at Middle Tennessee, I’d guess AJ Bianco based on the Montana State game. I’d like to see Luke Duncan get another shot, but Bianco’s running ability fits Nevada’s offense more than Duncan’s running ability, which made him an odd transfer fit in the first place. I get wanting quarterbacks with different skillsets so you have multiple options. But it’s hard to game plan with quarterbacks with different styles. And if your quarterback is going to carry the ball 8-10 times a game like Jeff Choate’s quarterbacks have historically, odds are the starter is going to get banged up and miss a game here and there during the season. Choate said Monday he expects Jones to play this week against Middle Tennessee, and if that’s not the case practice play will determine whether Bianco or Duncan get the start.

Barring an unforeseen death (and we are all day-to-day in that regard), there is a 100 percent chance Jeff Choate and Dan Mullen face off in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon. There is no other circumstance in which either coach is fired before the regular-season finale.

Probably. But Montana State also seemed to ease off the gas on offense once it felt like Nevada was unable to move the ball. It reminded me a lot of last year’s Super Bowl when the Seahawks quickly knew the Patriots’ offense couldn’t move the ball. So, Seattle went ultra conservative on offense to minimize risk and milk its lead and the clock. If Carter Jones was playing and Nevada’s offense was more effective in the pass game, I imagine Montana State would have been more aggressive on offense. Either way, the game was a tough watch, especially with all those penalties. Montana State was flagged 13 times for 125 yards while Nevada was flagged nine times for 86 yards. The combination of Nevada being down to its backup quarterbacks and the copious amount of yellow hankies robbed us of a potentially excellent game. I picked Nevada to win 27-24 pre-game, so I thought it’d be a much more competitive affair, although that prediction was made before I was aware of Jones’ injury situation.

Obviously NIL colors everything in college sports, but I don’t think Nevada’s lack of a quality FBS transfers in recent years is a result of that. The Wolf Pack has had some good transfer quarterbacks in the last decade in Ty Gangi (who was a walk-on at Colorado before being a good starter at Nevada) and Brendon Lewis (who was a starter at Colorado before one terrible season, 2023, and one good season, 2024 at Nevada). Maybe the Wolf Pack just needs to get Colorado transfers because some of the other ones haven’t worked out, including David Cornwell (Alabama), Malik Henry (Florida State), Shane Illingworth (Oklahoma State) and Chubba Purdy (Nebraska). We’ll see with Luke Duncan (UCLA), but the first impression against Montana State wasn’t ideal. Nevada also pursued Iowa/Appalachian State transfer QB JJ Kohl out of the portal this offseason. He ended up with FIU and has been solid — 52-of-86 (60.5 percent) for 668 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Given Nevada’s NIL budget, it’s not going to add quarterback transfers with a history of starting at the FBS, so there’s going to be some projection, which makes things harder to nail.

I go back to a question I asked Nevada offensive coordinator Brett Bartolone during fall camp.

NSN: “What do you think the X-factor is gonna be in this offense turning that corner and being the group that you want?”

Bartolone: “Quarterback. Quarterback. That’s it. We get consistent play from the quarterback, we’re gonna be lights out and we’re gonna have a lot of success.”

That remains the case. Nevada is solid play at quarterback — not even spectacular play — from being a bowl team. It has the offensive line, running backs, defense and special teams to be a winning team. It comes down to the pass game, as it has each of the previous four seasons. There were positive signs from the pass game in the season opener, albeit after a slow start. But this season comes down to the pass game. The rest of pieces are in place to get to a bowl.

After Montana State’s Adam Jones ran for a first down on third-and-5 with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left in the game, the Bobcats’ win probability, per ESPN’s game tracker, was 99.9 percent. So, that essentially ended the game. Although I agree with you Nevada should have taken its three timeouts before the 2-minute timeout. That would have left Nevada down 20-7 with 2 minutes remaining rather than down 20-7 with 1:04 remaining. At that point, the game is completely over. There’s at least a glimmer of hope down 13 with 2 minutes left.

Montana State would be competitive in the Mountain West. Look at what North Dakota State is doing this year in the FBS. The Bison are 3-0 with wins over Jacksonville State and Air Force, two quality programs. Montana State is at the same level as North Dakota State. The Bobcats could certainly win the MW. So, Nevada losing to Montana State is no shame. On the other hand, Nevada has lost four of its last nine games against FCS opponents with two fortunate wins mixed in (last year against Sacramento State and 2019 against Weber State). So, I understand if Nevada fans are tired of losing to FCS teams. There’s still a long season remaining, and the MW is not looking so good with UNLV getting blasted by North Texas, 44-6; Northern Illinois losing to an FCS school (Illinois State); Hawaii looking so-so; and San Jose State (vs. Cal Poly) and Wyoming (vs. Northern Colorado) struggling with FCS opponents. Nevada could still make a bowl and finish top half of the MW. Montana State is a good program. I think a lot of the fan discontent from that loss is over the uncertainty at quarterback.

It’s costly. North Dakota State paid $17.5 million to go from the FCS to the FBS. That’s a huge chunk of money. I’m on the record saying the Mountain West should have added North Dakota State, Montana State and Montana instead of UTEP, UC Davis and Northern Illinois. But it’s unknown if that would have been financially possible for those FCS schools. Montana’s athletic director, Kent Haslam, has said on the record the Grizzlies will not move to the FBS unless the Power 4 breaks off and a second tier is created between the Power 4 and Group of 6. And since Montana and Montana State are tied together via the state’s Board of Regents, I don’t see either joining the MW anytime soon, sadly.

Here are the longest gaps between games for Nevada football and an opponent, with all gaps separated by at least 40 seasons included.

100 years — Washington, 1903-2003

95 years — Oregon State, 1903-1998

94 years — USC, 1929-2023

71 years — Arizona, 1941-2012

65 years — Texas A&M, 1950-2015

65 years — New Mexico, 1942-2007

62 years — Cal, 1934-1996

61 years — BYU, 1940-2001

59 years — Arizona State, 1947-2006

55 years — Wyoming, 1937 to 1992

52 years — Tulsa, 1948-2000

49 years — Oregon, 1947-1996

49 years — San Diego State, 1946-1995

44 years — San Jose State, 1948-1992

42 years — Utah State, 1950-1992

42 years — Portland State, 1976-2018

In terms of an opponent Nevada has never played that I’d like to see the Wolf Pack face, it’d be Alabama or Michigan. It’d be nice to see Stanford as well. Nevada last played Stanford in 1931. Those teams played 13 times from 1899-1931.

If Nevada finishes this season with five wins (one shy of a bowl berth), last Saturday’s loss would mean a lot. If it finishes with six wins or more, it will mean less. Non-conference games don’t mean a ton unless they are the difference between a College Football Playoff berth (that’s not where Nevada’s program is at right now) or bowl berth.

That’s the glass half-full approach. On the other hand, Nevada scored just seven points against FCS Montana State after the Bobcats allowed 24 points to Butler the week prior. And Butler almost lost to an NAIA school, Georgetown (Ky.), the week prior, a 27-23 win. There were a lot of missed opportunities for Nevada against Montana State, including three dropped interceptions on defense and seven offensive trips into Montana State territory that resulted in just seven points. Things could have been different, but they weren’t. And I don’t think anybody on Nevada’s staff or team is happy with putting up just seven points on Montana State despite being down to its backup quarterbacks.

Both sides could argue they were telling the truth and the other side was lying. Nevada did express interest in hosting Montana, as evidenced by the email the Wolf Pack sent to the Grizzlies. Montana could say it expressed interest in playing the game by replying to said email. Nevada could say it didn’t respond to that response because Montana was asking for $650,000, which is $250,000 higher than the going rate the Wolf Pack has paid FCS schools. Montana could say it never heard back from Nevada, and thus the blame is on the Wolf Pack for not further negotiating. Ultimately, I do think Jeff Choate wanted to play Montana, a team he went 4-0 against at Montana State. But Nevada wasn’t going to pay 162.5 percent its going rate for that game. Also, there seems to be confusion over the date. The initial email indicated Nevada wanted to play Montana in 2027 rather than 2026. So, classic miscommunication. Also, Choate could have throw that Montana jab out there to get the focus off him playing his former school (Montana State) to take some steam out of that storyline. As with the quarterback situation, there are always mind games being played.

I’m more surprised UNLV laid a big turd at North Texas, which is a good Group of 6 school. But losing to the Mean Green by 38 points cost UNLV 30 spots in FPI week over week. That leaves only New Mexico (55) and North Dakota State (66) in the top 85 of FPI among Mountain West schools. UNLV is third in the league at 88 with Nevada fourth at 89. So, the Wolf Pack is projected as a top-quarter MW school despite the loss to Montana State, which cost it 10 spots in FPI. I assumed UNLV would be good because Dan Mullen is a good coach. But after losses to Memphis and North Texas, perhaps that was an unfair assumption given the Rebels’ massive roster turnover.

I’m not sure it really matters whose loss was worse. They were both losses to good schools. They were both embarrassing in different ways. UNLV started the season with College Football Playoff aspirations, and those are now gone. So, you could argue that loss was worse. But I don’t think that makes Nevada’s players and coaches feel any better about its performance last weekend.

What about a quick drone show after every touchdown? That would really set Nevada apart.

(But I do think Nevada is still blasting the cannon after every touchdown.)

It’s a result of Nevada’s fall sports being bad for quite some time. Nevada soccer hasn’t had a winning season since 2006. Nevada volleyball has one winning record in league play in the last 18 seasons. And Nevada football is 11-40 over the last four-plus seasons. But it could always be worse. Nevada women’s soccer scored a program-record 11 goals in Sunday’s win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff, which has allowed 47 goals in its three game against Division I opponents this season, including 24 goals allowed — 24 goals! — in a loss to Northwestern State last Thursday. It. Could. Always. Be. Worse.

Nevada added more speakers at the field level of Mackay Stadium for Saturday’s game against Montana State, and the feedback was they were LOUD. But, yes, the Wolf Pack should ease off them when the offense is on the field. There were rumors the PA system was having issues and that’s why the field-level speakers were added for the Montana State game. That could explain the situation.

That’s a vague question, which I spent about 5,000 words explaining earlier this month in a column titled, “Nevada’s next chapter: Why the Wolf Pack faces a critical and defining 18-month period.”

I would plan on GSR Arena opening for the 2028-29 Nevada men’s basketball season.

Steve Alford has put good teams on the court at Nevada, which has had an average KenPom rank of 77.6 during Alford’s seven seasons. That is roughly the 79th percentile of Division I teams. That’s solid. That’s usually what Alford’s coaching career has delivered. He had some great teams at New Mexico, winning six Mountain West titles in six seasons. That included four regular-season titles. But in his 25 other seasons as a Division I head coach — at Missouri State, Iowa, UCLA and Nevada — Alford’s teams have never won a regular-season conference title. He does have six second-place finishes, including two at Nevada. So, the New Mexico success stands alone in that championship-level success. Alford did win three conference tournament titles at non-New Mexico schools, including one at UCLA and two at Iowa. But in terms of regular-season titles during his D-I coaching career, it has only happened at New Mexico.

Alford’s teams have generally hit that good-but-not-great mark over the years, meaning 20-plus wins, pro-level players and a shot at an NCAA Tournament, but not quite at the championship level. There are a lot worse places to be than that. He runs a healthy program, with his team arguably Nevada’s best during his seven-year run. If all the Wolf Pack programs were at that level, Nevada would be happy. But the Wolf Pack is still waiting to get to that championship level under Alford. Nevada has a good chance of a regular-season title this year with San Diego State, Utah State, Boise State and Colorado State off to the Pac-12. The new MW’s top three should be Nevada, New Mexico and Grand Canyon. The Wolf Pack has the talent to get over that hump and win a conference title in 2026-27.

Perhaps the Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic will be a multi-day event moving forward, but with this year’s offering being a one-day event, there was no way to make it a tournament format. It’s one thing to ask eight teams (six men; two women) to come to Tahoe for one day and another to ask for them to dedicate four days there, which would have been the ask if there was a tournament format among the six men’s teams.

I also would make Mo Seider the owner of the Detroit Red Wings and head chef of Little Caesars Pizza while we’re at it. The GOAT would certainly come up with a winning pizza-making formula.

(For those who don’t know, the Red Wings and Little Caesars Pizza are both owned by the Ilitch family).

Was that not well known about that group even before it won the Olympic gold medal?

I’d rather have my rival in my conference to ensure I get to play that team in all sports year in and year out. We’ve seen a lot of longtime annual rivalries go by the wayside due to conference realignment, including Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State; Oregon vs. Oregon State; Kansas vs. Missouri; and Texas-Texas A&M, among others. It has happened with Nevada-Boise State and Nevada-Fresno State, too. So, give me a guaranteed game against my rivals, and I’ll figure out the non-conference games. It’s not that hard to find four football games a year.

As long as Kyle Shanahan is the 49ers’ head coach, the team will be “playoff good” but not win a Super Bowl.

As long as the Raiders get to play the Dolphins every week, the team will look good.

Only one of those things will remain the same for Week 2.

I haven’t seen either movie, so I will instead offer “Little Giants” as the best football movie ever made.

See y’all next week!

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. He writes a weekly Monday Mailbag despite it giving him a headache and it taking several hours to write. But people seem to like it, so he does it anyway. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.