Nevada Drops Third Straight Loss as Colorado State Wins 30-20

Round two of the Jay Norvell Bowl went in favor of Colorado State. Nevada was given chances to take the game, but ultimately fell 30-20 in Fort Collins. Norvell is now 2-0 against his former team.

The Wolf Pack started the game out pretty rough. There also needs to be an answer to the QB position for next season. Overall, Nevada has one game left until this horrid season is in the past.

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

12:45- Avery Morrow 2-yard TD run (Jordan Noyes PAT)

Nevada 0 - Colorado State 7

7:48- Brandon Talton 37-yard FG

Nevada 3 - Colorado State 7

3:24- Tory Horton 8-yard TD pass from Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi (Noyes PAT)

Nevada 3 - Colorado State 14

2nd Quarter

14:14- Jordan Noyes 30-yard FG

Nevada 3 - Colorado State 17

9:48- Jordan Noyes 42-yard FG

Nevada 3 - Colorado State 20

0:27- Brandon Talton 31-yard FG

Nevada 6 - Colorado State 20

0:00- Richard Toney Jr. 66-yard interception return for TD (Talton PAT)

Nevada 13 - Colorado State 20

3rd Quarter

12:40: Jordan Noyes 31-yard FG

Nevada 13 - Colorado State 23

6:54- Brendon Lewis 9-yard TD run (Talton PAT)

Nevada 20 - Colorado State 23

4th Quarter

10:44- Louis Brown IV 38-yard TD pass from Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi (Noyes PAT)

Nevada 20 - Colorado State 30

Final: Colorado State 30, Nevada 20

Offense

Early turnovers and mistakes were the killer for Nevada. Freshman AJ Bianco made his second consecutive start, going 3-6 with 25 yards and two interceptions. After the second interception in the second quarter, Bianco was taken out of the game after he took a hit by a Rams defender.

Brendon Lewis came in and kept Nevada in the game. He went 18-24 with 169 passing yards, 61 rushing yards, and a touchdown run.

Running back Sean Dollars continued to make some noise, rushing for 69 yards on 20 carries. However, he was held scoreless in this one.

Down three heading into the fourth quarter, Nevada had multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead. The dagger hit when kicker Brandon Talton missed the potential game-tying field goal from 43 yards out in the fourth quarter.

After that, Colorado State was able to bring its score to 30 and held Nevada’s offense on back-to-back drives to seal the game.

Defense

Richard Toney Jr. has been a dominant part of Nevada’s defense this year. His pick-six was his second on the season and played a critical role in getting Nevada back into it.

Rams’ QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi went 15-30 with 245 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Nevada recorded no sacks in the game, leaving Fowler-Nicolosi plenty of time.

Rams’ running back Justin Marshall had a big day, rushing for 98 yards on 19 carries. As a unit, Colorado State rushed for 169 yards.

Old friend Tory Horton picked up 78 yards on 6 receptions and a touchdown. He hurt Nevada in the second half, catching a 53-yard flea flicker pass to get Colorado State in field-goal range.

Up Next

Nevada will close out the 2023 season at home against Wyoming. It’ll be Senior Night at Mackay Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25.