Pac Who? Lewis, Red and aggressive defense run the Beavers out of town in upset win at Mackay Stadium

The Nevada Wolf Pack came back from a 10-point second-half deficit and finally found a way to close out a fourth-quarter lead, beating the visiting Oregon State Beavers 42-37 in a thriller to celebrate the University of Nevada’s 150th birthday.

Running back Savion Red scored a career-high four touchdowns to go along with 137 rushing yards, and quarterback Brendon Lewis topped him with a career-high 151 yards on the ground on just nine carries.

While the 422 yards of total offense were eye-popping, and the Union’s effort up front was key, Nevada (3-4, 0-1 MW) wouldn’t have won without an outstanding defensive effort, forcing four turnovers that accounted for 14 points, including a goal-line interception by Tori Daffin and a pick-six from Kitan Crawford.

Michael Coates Jr. and Kristopher Ross were also outstanding for the Pack in the win.

Upon entering the press area post-game, Nevada head coach Jeff Choate had just two words: “I’m exhausted.”

“I think this was an important win for the program because you’ve got to have that payday sooner or later,” Choate continued. “For them to continue to fight the way they did, down in the game and make plays defensively, it’s been a while since we created some turnovers and obviously that was hugely impactful in this game.”

Nevada played a strong first 20 minutes, taking a 14-7 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the first half on the strength of its dominant running game, which ate up 161 yards on 23 carries and averaged seven yards per carry in the first 30 minutes.

Running back Red led the Nevada attack with 79 first-half yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Wolf Pack defense also showed its teeth with a pair of goal-to-go stops against the Beavers, resulting in an interception and yielding only an Oregon State field goal.

Choate has vowed to have more faith in his players, but with the Pack holding a 14-10 lead with 1:50 left in the half, he dialed up a bit of a head-scratcher on 4th-and-16 from the OSU 33.

Rather than attempt a 50-yard field goal toward the north end zone, which would have been into a gusty north wind, he tried to fool the Beavers with a toss to kicker Matthew Killam, who, upon receiving the pitch behind him, had no chance to get to the edge and was dropped for no gain.

The turnover on downs occurred essentially where a missed field goal would have given the ball to Oregon State, but in that instance, perhaps a shot to the end zone to put some pressure on the defense might have made more sense.

The Beavers took full advantage, marching down the field in just five plays, with Anthony Hankerson cashing in on an 18-yard run up the middle with 38 seconds left. The extra point gave OSU the lead at 17-14 heading into halftime, which had to be mildly deflating after a half that felt like Nevada had won.

Nevada had a chance to atone for giving up the late first-half points, getting the ball after deferring to the second half. But a quick three-and-out gave the ball right back to the Beavers.

Oregon State picked up right where it left off, moving at will, and culminating in Hankerson’s second touchdown of the evening and a 24-14 advantage just four minutes into the second half.

The Wolf Pack regrouped and countered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that featured eight running plays. With just under six minutes left in the third, Red’s third touchdown brought Nevada back within three at 24-21.

The Beavers appeared to be moving down the field again on their next possession, courtesy of some borderline holding and defensive pass interference penalties providing 25 of their 43 yards.

But the Pack defense stiffened, turning away the Beavers on 4th-and-8 from the Nevada 36, taking over with 1:30 left in the third quarter.

An immediate 28-yard run from Red got the Pack a big chunk, followed by a backward pass to backup quarterback Chubba Purdy, who then tossed it all the way back across the field to quarterback Brendon Lewis. Lewis deftly slipped a pair of tackles to pick up 18 yards, setting the Pack up at the OSU 15 to begin the fourth quarter.

Red will have a starring role in the Beavers’ film sessions next week after capping off the six-play, 69-yard drive with his career-high fourth rushing touchdown, tying him for fifth-most touchdowns in a game on Nevada’s all-time list.

The Pack once again put themselves in position with a fourth-quarter lead for the sixth time in seven games, but had only managed to hold the lead twice. Here they were again, up 28-24 with 13:37 left to play.

The contest was far from over.

The Beavers began their next possession at their own 25-yard line and patiently pushed the ball up near midfield. On 2nd-and-10 from their own 47-yard line, they lined up with three wide left.

OSU quarterback Gevani McCoy looked to his left and telegraphed an out route to his favorite target, Jeremiah Noga. Pack defensive back Kitan Crawford had seen enough of Noga and deftly jumped the route, scampering untouched 52 yards into the south end zone.

Killam’s extra point made it 35-24 with 10:43 left.

Pack fans have seen this movie a lot in Choate’s first season. His first year at the helm produced a team that competes hard, and–save for the loss to Minnesota on the road–has given each opponent all it could handle.

Unfortunately, the endings have needed some editing. It’s often said the key is to keep putting yourself in position. The Pack had done that again.

The 21,000-plus in attendance were done with the Groundhog Day routine and gave the Silver and Blue, sporting their throwback silver “N” helmets, all the support they could muster.

Now down 11 points, the Beavers stepped up their tempo on the next possession and completed an 11-play, 75-yard drive in just under seven minutes, culminating in Hankerson’s third touchdown. Hankerson rushed for 154 yards on 28 carries.

OSU lined up for a two-point try to cut the lead to three, but Nevada’s Michael Coates Jr. deflected McCoy’s pass to Trent Walker, and Nevada maintained a critical five-point advantage at 35-30.

And then it happened. Every one of Nevada’s blown fourth-quarter leads has been due to some fatal, self-inflicted mistake.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Beavers surprised Nevada with an onside kick that clearly caught the Pack coaches off guard. OSU recovered the ball easily, as Nevada’s front line was retreating as the ball was kicked along the ground.

Pack fans could feel that lump in their throat–another heartbreaking loss on the horizon for a young team desperately trying to learn how to win.

“We didn’t panic,” said quarterback Brendon Lewis. “We stayed calm, we stayed focused, and we stayed together.”

The Pack defense focused, forcing a three-and-out courtesy of a Ross sack on third down.

Nevada took over at its own 20 after an OSU punt with 5:00 on the clock–five very long minutes when trying to learn how to close out a fourth-quarter lead.

On 2nd-and-10, Purdy entered the game under center in place of Lewis, and his quarterback keeper surprised the Beavers as he dragged tacklers up the middle for an 18-yard gain to the Nevada 38.

A false start pushed the Pack back to its own 33, and that’s when Lewis took matters into his own hands. He faked a handoff and stuck his right foot in the ground. In an instant, he had nothing but green grass in front of him, dashing 67 yards untouched and putting a real dent in the Beavers’ comeback aspirations.

Lewis roared and fired the ball into the padded wall at the back of the south end zone after crossing the goal line in front of a screaming student section, as if to say, “We don’t need your stinkin’ Pac-12 ‘round here anyway.”

“Yeah, it was just crazy. I looked up and saw the fans, and I was just in the moment,” Lewis added. “I felt like I was playing a video game. I play the NCAA video game and play as myself, and I make those plays all the time, so it was like I was in the game.”

Oregon State quickly closed to within five again, but Nevada successfully recovered the Beavers’ second onside kick attempt near midfield.

With 1:50 left and OSU having only two timeouts remaining, one first down by the Nevada offense was all that was needed to secure the victory. But three ultra-conservative run plays only resulted in moving backward.

The Beavers had a chance to break the Pack’s heart again, taking over at their own 13-yard line with 43 seconds left and no timeouts after the Guy Gillespie punt.

The movie. The ending. Was it going to happen again?

It nearly did. It all came down to a final desperation heave from the Pack’s 32-yard line with seven seconds left.

Coates Jr. hauled in McCoy’s Hail Mary pass in the end zone, and Nevada finally flipped the script and had the ending to the movie it had been working so hard to see.

Choate said before exiting the press room, “I want to say thank you to our fans. I think every home game has been exciting in one way or another, and hopefully they’ll continue to come out and support us. There are going to be growing pains in this process, but I think this was an impactful win for us.”

If the Pack keeps showing this silver-screen ending, they’ll be packing Mackay every time out.

Next up: Nevada hosts MW foe Fresno State for Homecoming on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Notes

• Nevada did not commit a turnover.
• Nevada went 3-for-3 in the red zone, with all three being touchdowns.
• Oregon State was 6-for-7 in the red zone, scoring 37 points in the red area. The one failure was Daffin’s goal-line interception.
• Nevada attempted only 13 passes, completing six, one of which was thrown by Chubba Purdy.
• Purdy appeared on the scoresheet three ways, with a completed pass, a pass reception, and a rushing attempt.
• Oregon State amassed 562 yards of offense on 43 rushing plays and 42 pass attempts.
• Both teams combined for 984 yards of total offense.