On weekday mornings, Nevada Sports Net will recap three big headlines of the day in its Morning Download. Read below for today’s topics.
1. History behind Nevada football’s lopsided loss at Utah State
The Nevada football team lost to Utah State, 51-14, on Saturday in a game that could have been cut short at halftime. The Wolf Pack trailed 41-0 at intermission, marking its most points allowed in a first half since a 69-20 loss at Oregon on Sept. 10, 2011. Nevada trailed 41-7 at halftime in that game. The last time the Wolf Pack allowed more than 41 points in the first half was a 56-3 loss to Boise State on Nov. 29, 2003. In that game, Nevada was down 42-0 at intermission in what ended up being Chris Tormey’s final game as the Wolf Pack’s head coach. This is the second recent game where Nevada was blistered in the first half as the Wolf Pack trailed San Diego State, 35-0, at halftime on Oct. 1 before losing 44-10.
“It just kind of happened fast,” Nevada football coach Jeff Choate said on this week’s Wolf Pack All Access. “The start of the game was déjà vu a little bit with what happened with San Diego State.”
2. Wolf Pack basketball survives scare against Pacific
Later Saturday night, the Wolf Pack men’s basketball team survived a scare from Pacific, which stole an inbounds pass and had two point-blank shots it missed at the buzzer, including a wide-open layup off an offensive rebound. Nevada secured a 78-77 win despite Pacific hitting 15 3-pointers. Steve Alford called the Wolf Pack’s defense “brutal.” But Nevada got to the free throw line 39 times to Pacific’s 15 and had an 18-6 edge in offensive rebounds, dominating in the front court as the Tigers were called for 31 fouls to the Wolf Pack’s 18. Nevada improved to 2-0 and plays Southern Illinois (home) and Santa Clara (road) this week.
3. High school football regional title games set
Regional football title games are set in the Class 5A and 4A. In the large-class division, Spanish Springs will host Bishop Manogue at 6 p.m. Friday. The Cougars beat the Miners, 46-14, in the regular season, although Manogue was without quarterback Brandon Mann. In the 4A, McQueen hosts Reno, which upset Carson (based on seed) last week. The Lancers will host that game at 6 p.m. Friday. McQueen beat Reno, 37-36, in the regular season. In the 3A, teams go straight to the state semifinals rather than playing a regional title game. Elko hosts Moapa Valley while Churchill County plays at Virgin Valley. Both games are Saturday with the winners advancing to the state championship.