Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Look Bad In 55-41 Loss To Incarnate Word
Nevada’s poor performance dooms them as Incarnate Word races past the Wolf Pack in a 55-41 loss.
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Wolf Pack Doomed By Turnovers and Poor Play in 55-41 Loss To Incarnate Word
Nevada being 2-0 and the defense forcing turnovers and holding a cool trident was a fun way to begin the Ken Wilson era. Then Incarnate Word came to Reno and gave the Wolf Pack a huge dose of reality along with a loss.
The Wolf Pack’s hopes of starting the season 3-0 went up in smoke as Incarnate Word defeated Nevada 55-41 on Saturday afternoon. This loss to Incarnate Word should be a sobering moment for the Wolf Pack faithful and a reminder that this team is miles away from being competitive.
Nevada’s defense played great in their first two games but Incarnate Word carved up the Wolf Pack defense for 618 yards of total offense. The Nevada secondary, the alleged strength of the team, got torched by UIW’s Lindsey Scott Jr., for over 400 yards passing and had no answer to stop UIW’s pass offense.
The Cardinals wide receiver Darion Chafin blazed past the Nevada secondary for 262 yards and two touchdowns on just seven catches. Nevada’s pass defense was horrendous after playing well the previous two weeks against the dregs of the FBS in Texas State and New Mexico State.
Nevada’s offense was better statistically as they tallied up 478 yards of offense but turnovers and poor offensive line play was the doom for the Wolf Pack. Nate Cox completed 22 of 43 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns but he endured several hits by UIW’s defensive line.
Incarnate Word played an excellent game on offense and on defense made enough big plays to put the Wolf Pack in a hole that they couldn’t get out of. The Wolf Pack will have to regroup to get back on the right track.
The Wolf Pack started the game against Incarnate Word in great shape. Nevada recorded two turnovers and converted those turnovers into points quickly. The Cardinals fumbled on their first possession of the game and Nevada turned that into three points on a Brandon Talton field goal to go up 3-0. On UIW’s next possession, QB Lindsey Scott Jr., threw an interception to Nevada’s Bentlee Sanders for his fourth interception of the season.
The Wolf Pack converted that into points when Toa Taua scored on an 11 yard touchdown run to put Nevada up 10-0. The Wolf Pack went up by a score of 17-3 when Nevada went on a 12 play, 75 yard drive that ended when Nate Cox found BJ Casteel for a seven yard touchdown pass..
After that score, the wheels fell off for Nevada.
Incarnate Word made the score 17-9 after Marcus Cooper scored on a 21-yard touchdown run but UIW’s extra point was blocked. After a few series of punts by both teams, Incarnate Word scored again when Lindsey Scott connected with Roger McCuller for a one-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-16 Nevada.
After the Wolf Pack turned the ball over on downs, the Cardinals took the lead for good when Jarrell Wiley scored on a 18-yard touchdown run to put Incarnate Word up 24-17. All in all, Incarnate Word went on a 21-0 scoring run against Nevada to take control of the lead and they never looked back.
In the second half, Incarnate Word increased their lead to 38-17 after Scott found Darion Chafin on a 44-yard touchdown pass. The Wolf Pack did continue to play hard to try to keep the game close and was able to cut the Incarnate Word deficit to 41-34. But Incarnate Word extended the lead to 48-34 on a Lindsey Scott Jr to Marcus Cooper 10-yard touchdown pass.
Nevada cut the Cardinals lead to 48-41 when Devonte Lee scored on a six-yard touchdown run. However, Incarnate Word responded once again when Scott connected with Chafin for a second time on a 41-yard touchdown pass to put UIW up 55-41. That score finally salted the game away for Incarnate Word.
Nevada had a rough outing against Incarnate Word the defense got torched and the offense struggled especially in pass blocking. Nevada must improve on defense and on offense they must protect their quarterback better. Incarnate Word’s defensive line applied pressure to Nate Cox and was able to hit him several times. This must get corrected soon or otherwise it will be a long season for Nevada.
Coach Wilson and the Wolf Pack will have to regroup quickly as they hit the road to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes next Saturday.
