Nevada Sports Net columnist Chris Murray is known to be a bit wordy, so we’re giving him 1,000 words (but no more than that) every Friday to share his thoughts from the week that was in the world of sports.

* AT THIS POINT last year, we offered our game-by-game Nevada football picks for the 2024 season. Our projection had the Wolf Pack going 5-8 overall and 3-4 in the MW. Nevada went 3-10 and 0-7 in the MW. We were too bullish. But (a) the win-total betting line was 2.5 victories, so we covered that; and (b) Nevada played more like a 5-8 team than a 3-10 team. It just couldn’t win close games, which was its own fault but underscored how close the team was to a more respectable 5-8 mark. After being off by two wins last season, let’s see how we do this year. Here are my game-by-game predictions for Nevada’s 2025 season.

* GAME 1: Penn State 56, Nevada 10 — The Nittany Lions are arguably the best team Nevada has ever faced, so I don’t expect this one to be very close. It’s not an ideal way to start a season for a program that needs to build early-season confidence.

* GAME 2: Nevada 41, Sacramento State 24 — The Hornets have a fun new coach in Brennan Marion, whose UNLV offenses beat up the Wolf Pack the last two seasons. Marion has upgraded Sac State’s talent level. But Nevada better win this one.

* GAME 3: Nevada 27, Middle Tennessee 17 — The Blue Raiders are coming off their second-worst record in the school’s FBS era (since 1999) after going 3-9 last season while ranking bottom 15 in the FBS in scoring offense and scoring defense.

* GAME 4: Western Kentucky 27, Nevada 20 — The Hilltoppers have averaged nearly eight wins per season since 2011, although their offense has slipped in recent seasons. This is a winnable road game for Nevada against a high-level C-USA foe.

* GAME 5: Fresno State 24, Nevada 20 — The Wolf Pack has lost four straight against the rival Bulldogs, its last win in the series in 2020. First-year head coach Matt Entz inherits a sizable roster rebuild, but Fresno State has had Nevada’s number.

* GAME 6: Nevada 24, San Diego State 21 — Nevada’s MW home schedule includes the league’s top-three teams in the preseason poll (Boise State, UNLV, SJSU) … plus SDSU. That means the Wolf Pack can’t lose this one if it wants to make a bowl.

* GAME 7: Nevada 31, New Mexico 24 — The Wolf Pack plays at New Mexico for the first time since 2016 and faces first-year Lobos head coach Jason Eck, who beat Nevada as Idaho’s coach in 2023. Nevada should get a touch of revenge here.

* GAME 8: Boise State 28, Nevada 24 — I believe Nevada will upset one of its top two rivals, Boise State and UNLV, at home, although I don’t have the courage to predict either here. The Wolf Pack has close to beating the Broncos on the road in 2024.

* GAME 9: Utah State 34, Nevada 30 — The home team has won the last seven games in this series, and Utah State hosts this contest. Nevada is 2-1 all-time against Aggies head coach Bronco Mendenhall, beating him at BYU in 2010 and 2014.

* GAME 10: Nevada 33, San Jose State 27 (OT) — The Pack had SJSU beat on the road last year before a late collapse, which was the story of Nevada’s season. These predictions have Nevada going 4-4 in one-score games, better than 2024’s 2-6.

* GAME 11: Nevada 20, Wyoming 17 — Laramie isn’t an easy place to play, but Wyoming’s offense has traditionally struggled. The hunch in Nevada wins an ugly game to secure its sixth win to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2021.

* GAME 12: UNLV 33, Nevada 21 — A Wolf Pack season isn’t a success unless it wins the Fremont Cannon. Those are just the facts. The Wolf Pack hasn’t won the Cannon since 2021 and now faces an elite coach, Dan Mullen, in the in-state matchup.

* THAT PUTS NEVADA at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the MW. What will it take to achieve that goal? Lots of things, but first and foremost, good quarterback play. For the last few months, I’ve fielded the same question. “How will Nevada do this season?” My stock response is 6-6 but it comes down to Chubba Purdy, the Wolf Pack’s starting quarterback. Purdy is an elite athlete, but there are questions about his healthy and ability to operate an offense with his arm. Nevada has confidence in him as it didn’t take a quarterback out of the transfer portal. But Purdy is 0-6 as a college starter with his teams averaging just 13 points per game in those contests while never scoring more than 22, which was his first start at Florida State in 2020.

* IF PURDY PLAYS at the level displayed by Brendon Lewis last season, Nevada should make a bowl. But Purdy’s lone start with the Wolf Pack in 2024 resulted in just 13 points, the team’s second fewest of the year, against a bad Hawaii team that allowed 30.9 points per game in its nine other matchups with FBS foes. Purdy has to at least near an all-conference level for Nevada to return to the postseason. And anything shy of a bowl berth would be a major disappointment for a Wolf Pack program that needs to start reestablishing a higher standard of play.

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.