A shoving match at midfield before the teams even went to their sidelines for the opening kickoff showed Saturday night's Nevada-at-Utah State football game would be a slugfest. The whole game was punch/counterpunch by two strong offenses, one ranked tops in the NCAA.
Nevada (2-1, 4-2) did nothing to harm its reputation as national leader with 642 yards of total offense, and Utah State (1-1, 1-5) bettered its total-offense average by 133 yards with 547.USU's offense caved in two drives too early. Nevada scored a touchdown with :36 left for a 48-44 Big West Conference win and USU's fifth straight loss.
Ags Efrem Haymore and Tyrone Trimble each intercepted UN's Chris Vargas in the last 10 minutes. Haymore's pick led to a field goal and 44-41 USU lead, though gaining possession at the UN28 should have meant six; USU instead went backward from second-and-goal at the 1.
The 'Pack missed a field goal with 5:22 left, and Trimble's interception kept them from points with 3:47 left, giving USU the ball on the UN31. With a running game that netted 211 yards and four TDs by Profail Grier on this night, running out the last 4:00 should have been possible. With a holding call and incomplete pass, USU punted in five plays, leaving Nevada 2:56 for the winning drive.
"What we've got to do is find a way to make first downs in that situation," said coach Charlie Weatherbie. "They've (Nevada) been in that situation several times and won." (Vargas has QB'd 11 comeback wins.)
"I guess this shows we aren't no championship team," said Ag QB Anthony Calvillo. "Every time it comes down to that situation, we make a mistake."
It happened against San Jose last year. It happened at Reno last year. It happened at Utah, against Baylor and again Saturday in '93.
But, take heart. USU has come alive at just this juncture the past three seasons: As soon as the Ags suffered a loss that all but knocked them out of the Big West race - once the pressure was off - they came back to win four straight twice (1990, 1991) and three of four last year to just miss titles.
NOTES - The game was full of circus catches: Cotie McMahon's stretched-out-full diving 45-yard grab to set up USU's first TD, Bryan Reeves somersaulting with a hit on a 12-yard catch to set up Nevada's third TD, Aubrey Thompson's dive on a 24-yarder to set up the Ags' final points on the field goal, and Michael Stephens' one-handed snatch on a 25-yarder to help set up his winning TD reception . . . Nevada was 12-for-20 on third downs, USU 4-19.