Breanna Denney/Nevada Sagebrush
Quarterback Cody Fajardo (17) avoids a Fresno State sack on Saturday, Nov. 22. Fajardo finished the game with 165 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
by Stone Harper
Saturday was supposed to be a night to recognize one of the most admired senior classes in Wolf Pack history, and it was supposed to be a chance to get one step closer to the Mountain West Championship. It was also supposed to be Cody Fajardo’s last hoorah at Mackay Stadium. Unfortunately, none of these things happened.
It ended up being a 40-20 loss to Fresno State, and a lot of disappointment from the Wolf Pack players and coaches.
“I’m embarrassed,” Fajardo said. “I’m disgusted, it’s going to hurt knowing that senior night was an embarrassment for all the seniors.”
It didn’t start off terribly for the Wolf Pack as Fajardo was able to break two read option keepers for touchdowns of 55 and 60 yards leading Nevada to a 14-7 lead with 12 minutes left in the second quarter.
However, there was a turning point in the game. After Fajardo’s second touchdown, the Wolf Pack were able to force a fumble that was recovered by Nigel Haikins. One play later, in Fresno State territory, Fajardo threw an interception, which allowed the Bulldogs to score on that drive.
This began the downfall for Nevada, as the team was turnover prone for the rest of the game. On the first play of the second half, with the Wolf Pack trailing 28-20, Fajardo completed a pass to Jerico Richardson. He then fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Fresno State. Senior Richy Turner also muffed a punt that was recovered by the Bulldogs, leading to two Fresno State touchdowns.
The offensive players were not the only ones to blame though. The inconsistent defense continued to struggle, allowing 38 points and over 550 yards of total offense. The Wolf Pack especially struggled when trying to contain Fresno State quarterback Brain Burrell. The 6-foot-4 junior has been benched multiple times this season, but had his best game of the season, throwing for 313 yards and four touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown on the night.
The Bulldogs running game was also very potent, even though Fresno State lost its leading rusher Marteze Waller early in the game. Backup running back Josh Quezada rushed for 119 yards and the Bulldogs tallied 238 total rushing yards.
“I was speechless,” said defensive end Brock Hekking. “I was heartbroken. There was a lot at stake tonight. It was just really disappointing.”
The team’s third phase, special teams, also let them down on Saturday, as the normally dependable Brent Zuzo missed his only field goal opportunity of the night and also missed an extra point on the teams second touchdown; it was only Zuzo’s second missed extra point of the season.
Overall, this was Nevada’s worst performance of the season. In its four previous losses, the Wolf Pack was beat by a combined 26 points. The team almost matched that total on Saturday, losing by 20 points with all three phases of the game being played poorly by Nevada.
“We stunk,” said head coach Brian Polian. “We stunk on all three phases, the fourth if you want to count coaching. We got our butts beat. I’m incredibly disappointed by it; we just got outplayed on all three phases of the game.”
With the loss, the Wolf Pack is now eliminated from contention in the West division, but the Pack still has a lot to play for this season. Next week, they will take on UNLV in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon. If Nevada wins this game, it will get back the Cannon that the team lost for the first time in nine years. It will also give Nevada its seventh win of the season which will all but assure Nevada its first bowl game appearance in the Polian era.
“Next week is our biggest game of the year,” Fajardo said. We are going to head down to Vegas and get that cannon back.”
Stone Harper can be reached at sharper@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @StoneHarperNVSB.