RENO, Nev. — — Preston Stone connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass to RJ Maryland with 1:18 left in the fourth quarter and Southern Methodist avoided an upset to open the season, defeating Nevada 29-24 on Saturday night.
A near four-touchdown favorite, SMU needed a fourth-quarter comeback to survive the first game of its inaugural season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I think as a collective we struggled in the first half,” Stone said. “The defense did a good job in the first half of getting stops. We (the offense) were stalling.”
He added: “Unfortunately for Nevada they played man against RJ, and they just can’t do that.”
Down 24-13, the SMU comeback started with 10 minutes left and the Mustangs pinned at their own 10-yard line. On third down and short, Stone connected on a 49-yard pass to Maryland. SMU finished the drive with a Brashard Smith 4-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion to pull within 24-21.
On Nevada’s next possession, SMU defensive lineman Anthony Booker Jr. tackled Nevada quarterback Brendon Lewis in the end zone for a safety to pull the Mustangs within a point with eight minutes left in the game.
SMU began its winning drive on its own 17-yard line with 3:31 left.
The nine play, 83-yard drive ended with Maryland’s winning catch. SMU’s 6-foot-4 junior tight end and son of former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Russell Maryland finished the game with eight receptions for 162 yards.
Stone completed 17 of 30 passes for 254 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Penalties plagued the Mustangs and forced them to play from behind into the fourth quarter. The Mustangs had 11 penalties for 125 yards, including one unsportsmanlike penalty for spitting that led to an ejection for cornerback Brandon Crossley in the third quarter.
“It’s not who we are and who we want to be,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “I will look at the film… anything out of character will be addressed.”
The penalty opened the door for the Wolf Pack to continue a 15-play drive and take a 24-13 lead with 3:23 left in the third.
“That’s probably the most undisciplined game we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Lashlee said. “Self-inflicted wounds that made it really hard on our offense in the first half to get anything going.”
Lewis led the Wolf Pack in its near upset, completing 14 passes on 26 attempts for 132 yards. He also led the Wolf Pack with 77 rushing yards and found success throughout the game on quarterback draw plays.
“I give a lot of credit to SMU,” first-year Nevada head coach Jeff Choate said. “That’s what a championship team does with their backs to the wall. They found ways to make plays with a veteran group like that. I really felt like there were a ton of positives to come out of this experience for our guys, but I think we have some strides to make in terms of competitive maturity.”
Nevada opened the scoring with Lewis’ 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jace Henry with a minute left in the first quarter. SMU responded with a 10-play drive to open the second quarter, capped by a one-yard run from L.J. Johnson Jr.
Nevada and SMU both made field goals in the second quarter before Lewis’ 10-yard touchdown pass to Cortez Braham Jr. with nine seconds left in the first half gave the Wolf Pack a 17-10 lead at the break.
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Growing communities, and new, large-scale projects popping up left and right.
It’s a time of rapid growth here in the western United States, and experts say over the next decade, electricity demand is expected to jump more than 20% across the region.
In anticipation of the bump, Nevada and 10 other western states formed a group called the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition, aiming to bring more power to those who need it.
They want to establish a regional framework and prioritize high-impact transmission lines, while urging Congress and the Trump administration to move projects along faster.
This agreement comes after several solar plans have been delayed in Nevada, following the order last year that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum must personally review all projects.
Joe Lombardo detailed the Silver State’s continued economic success depends on reliable, affordable energy, saying in a statement… “As our state expands and attracts new businesses, we need the infrastructure to support that growth. This agreement shows that western states can work together to modernize our grid, protect ratepayers, and build the transmission network needed to power the next generation of economic opportunity.”
Olivia Tanager, Executive Director of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, says the region is growing rapidly, and new transmission is needed. But she noted that when the new power is going to data centers or natural gas plants, she’s not in favor.
“We were promised that the green link transmission projects were going to help decarbonize our grid and be the answer to renewable energy in Nevada. And instead, what we’re seeing is we’re seeing data centers and natural gas plants being hooked up directly to those projects,” said Tanager.
How smartphone apps turn your night sky into a space map
Astronomy apps help you spot constellations, planets and satellites in real time using your smartphone.
Skywatchers across the U.S. are about to be treated to a dazzling weekend filled with not only two active meteor showers, but a celestial alignment starring the moon.
For two nights, Earth’s only natural satellite will host a cosmic party with three planets — Mars, Saturn and Uranus.
The phenomenon, often called a planet parade, presents spectators with a rare opportunity to see not only multiple planets, but also the moon, appear close together in the night sky — at least, from Earth’s vantage.
The best part of the show? Most of the striking spectacle — with the exception of Uranus — will be visible to the naked eye.
Here’s everything to know about the rare sight, as well as when, how and where you can see it across the United States.
The moon will appear in the night sky before sunrise on Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12, NASA said in a monthly skywatching guide.
While the term “planet parade” is not an official astronomy term, it is an unofficial way for astronomers and stargazers to refer to certain celestial events.
The planets in our solar system orbit the sun essentially along a line across the sky in a flat disc-shaped plane called the ecliptic.
Another term for a certain kind of planetary alignment, planet parades are what happens when planets line up along the ecliptic in a straight line and appear to us on Earth to be marching across the night sky, according to NASA. So, while planetary alignments themselves aren’t special, it is notable to have an opportunity to observe multiple planets at once.
During the celestial alignment, the moon will be entering a waning crescent phase before we have a new moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. That means Earth’s only natural satellite is getting less and less full and bright each night as its crescent gets thinner and thinner, NASA explains.
That’s good news for stargazers, as the moon will still be visible without outshining the planets nearby.
Look toward the eastern sky to catch the cosmic lineup in the early morning.
While the moon will of course be the easiest to locate, Mars will look like a small reddish point of light, while Saturn is also bright and easy to spot, NASA explained in a video.
For the clearest views, there are several places that are an easy drive from Reno where you can get a clear view of the stars, including:
Cloudy conditions may bring relief from the recent heat wave, but they could spoil the early-morning view of the planetary parade in much of northwestern Nevada.
Mars and Saturn are among the five planets in our solar system visible without optical aid — along with Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. Telescopes certainly will enhance the view but spectators don’t need any equipment to spot those planets joining the moon in the pre-dawn sky.
As for Uranus, the planet is typically not as bright — despite being the third largest in our solar system — and will require a telescope to see, NASA said.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. The Reno Gazette Journal’s Carly Sauvageau and Brett McGinness contributed to this report.
A Nevada man is believed to have suffered a deadly fall while climbing in Oregon.
He’s been identified as 77-year-old Robert Pickering.
Search and rescue crews say they found his body along Mount Washington, northwest of Bend, according to a social media post from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
A climbing guide reported hearing a rockslide near the summit after Pickering passed his group.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office was one of several groups that assisted in the search.
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