For many teams, a 35-13 victory would be cause for celebration. For the Nevada Wolf Pack, the team’s victory against San Jose State was a disappointment.
“We were our worst enemy was us tonight,” head coach Chris Ault said. “We’ve got to get a lot better, there’s no question about it.”
The Spartans came into the game at 1-4, with the team’s lone victory coming against the University of California, Davis. Nevada took the opening drive for a touchdown and it looked as though the Wolf Pack was going to be able to dominate the game. But, on San Jose State’s first drive, the Spartans answered with a touchdown of its own. Nevada took a 14-7 lead, but was unable to pull away, largely due to turnovers and penalties. Both quarterback Colin Kaepernick and wide reveiver Brandon Wimberly threw interceptions and Nevada was penalized eight times for 89 yards, including three during a second quarter drive that called back three touchdowns. The Wolf Pack settled for a 25-yard field goal attempt, which place kicker Anthony Martinez missed.
“To have three touchdowns called back in the same series, that’s a hard pill to swallow,” Ault said.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick scored on a pair of rushing touchdowns to lead the Wolf Pack in the first half but the Spartans were able to move the ball against Nevada’s defense, gaining 250 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 194 passing yards-a total Ault said was unacceptable.
To start the second half, the Spartans were driving deep into Nevada territory and were threatening to score a possible game-tying touchdown. But San Jose State quarterback Jordan La Secla was pressured and threw an interception to safety Duke Williams.
Nevada’s defense stepped up after the interception, shutting the Spartans out in the second half and holding the team to 122 yards of total offense.
“Someone needed to step up,” Williams said. “Coach called out a couple of people at the half and we needed someone to make a play. I was just that guy.”
Defensive end Dontay Moch had five tackles-for-loss during the game, giving him 52 for his career. That officially made him the leader in both Nevada and Western Athletic Conference history.
“It means a lot to me,” Moch said. “It’s something I’ve been striving for. I’ve been working for it my whole career. Now I want to put it up higher and higher so no one can reach it.”
A couple plays later, running back Vai Taua went 73-yards for a touchdown to put Nevada up 28-13. Taua finished the game with 196 rushing yards, a season high.
The teams engaged in a defensive battle with no team scoring until the fourth quarter when Taua scored on a four-yard run to give Nevada a 35-13 lead.
Despite the 22-point margin, Kaepernick said the team is far from satisfied with its performance.
“We made little mistakes on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball,” Kaepernick said. “We didn’t play very well tonight. We made mistakes here and there and those are the things we need to improve on.”
The Wolf Pack travels to play at Hawaii Oct. 16. The Warriors defeated Fresno State 49-27 and is currently in first place in the WAC.